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Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Laminate layers of fiberglass on molds to form boat decks and hulls, bodies for golf carts, automobiles, or other products.

Related: Coating, Painting, & Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders Foundry Mold & Coremakers Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, & Wall Molders, Shapers, & Casters Tire Builders

Industries: Manufacturing

Summary
Details

Select precut fiberglass mats, cloth, and wood-bracing materials as required by projects being assembled.
Inspect, clean, and assemble molds before beginning work.
Cure materials by letting them set at room temperature, placing them under heat lamps, or baking them in ovens.
Repair or modify damaged or defective glass-fiber parts, checking thicknesses, densities, and contours to ensure a close fit after repair.
Check all dies, templates, and cutout patterns to be used in the manufacturing process to ensure that they conform to dimensional data, photographs, blueprints, samples, or customer specifications.
Mix catalysts into resins, and saturate cloth and mats with mixtures, using brushes.
Inspect, clean, and assemble molds before beginning work.
Trim excess materials from molds, using hand shears or trimming knives.
Trim cured materials by sawing them with diamond-impregnated cutoff wheels.
Pat or press layers of saturated mat or cloth into place on molds, using brushes or hands, and smooth out wrinkles and air bubbles with hands or squeegees.
Inspect, clean, and assemble molds before beginning work.
Apply layers of plastic resin to mold surfaces prior to placement of fiberglass mats, repeating layers until products have the desired thicknesses and plastics have jelled.
Mix catalysts into resins, and saturate cloth and mats with mixtures, using brushes.
Release air bubbles and smooth seams, using rollers.
Spray chopped fiberglass, resins, and catalysts onto prepared molds or dies using pneumatic spray guns with chopper attachments.
Check completed products for conformance to specifications and for defects by measuring with rulers or micrometers, by checking them visually, or by tapping them to detect bubbles or dead spots.
Apply lacquers and waxes to mold surfaces to facilitate assembly and removal of laminated parts.
Bond wood reinforcing strips to decks and cabin structures of watercraft, using resin-saturated fiberglass.

Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.

Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

53690/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

25.81/hr

Currently Employed

1,440

Yearly Projected Openings

160

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cooperation
Self Control
Initiative
Independence

Bending machines
Feed or drive rollers
Glass vacuum moldings
Laboratory heaters
Ladders
Micrometers
Paint brushes
Paint rollers
Paint sprayers
Paint systems ovens
Personal computers
Power drills
Power grinders
Power sanders
Power saws
Power screwguns
Resin guns
Respirators
Rulers
Scaffolding
Shears
Squeegees or washers
Utility knives
Vacuum pumps

Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators

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