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Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Set up, operate, or tend plating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces. Typically, the product being coated is immersed in molten metal or an electrolytic solution.

Related: Coating, Painting, & Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders Extruding & Forming Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Synthetic & Glass Fibers Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Molding, Coremaking, & Casting Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Welding, Soldering, & Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders

Industries: Manufacturing

Summary
Details

Operate sandblasting equipment to roughen and clean surfaces of workpieces.
Position containers to receive parts, and load or unload materials in containers, using dollies or handtrucks.
Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.
Preheat workpieces in ovens.
Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times.
Clean and maintain equipment, using water hoses and scrapers.
Immerse objects to be coated or plated into cleaning solutions, or spray objects with conductive solutions to prepare them for plating.
Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors.
Read production schedules to determine setups of equipment and machines.
Position objects to be plated in frames, or suspend them from positive or negative terminals of power supplies.
Clean and maintain equipment, using water hoses and scrapers.
Measure, mark, and mask areas to be excluded from plating.
Determine sizes and compositions of objects to be plated, and amounts of electrical current and time required.
Test machinery to ensure that it is operating properly.
Clean workpieces, using wire brushes.
Position and feed materials into processing machines, by hand or by using automated equipment.
Rinse coated objects in cleansing liquids and dry them with cloths, centrifugal driers, or by tumbling in sawdust-filled barrels.
Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces.
Position containers to receive parts, and load or unload materials in containers, using dollies or handtrucks.
Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage.
Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications.
Measure and set stops, rolls, brushes, and guides on automatic feeders and conveying equipment or coating machines, using micrometers, rules, and hand tools.
Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors.
Mix and test solutions, and turn valves to fill tanks with solutions.
Monitor and measure thicknesses of electroplating on component parts to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers.
Suspend sticks or pieces of plating metal from anodes, or positive terminals, and immerse metal in plating solutions.
Maintain production records.
Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.
Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines.
Place plated or coated materials on racks and transfer them to ovens to dry for specified periods of time.
Immerse objects to be coated or plated into cleaning solutions, or spray objects with conductive solutions to prepare them for plating.
Operate hoists to place workpieces onto machine feed carriages or spindles.
Replace worn parts and adjust equipment components, using hand tools.
Measure or weigh materials, using rulers, calculators, and scales.
Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors.
Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes.
Suspend objects, such as parts or molds from cathode rods, or negative terminals, and immerse objects in plating solutions.
Examine completed objects to determine thicknesses of metal deposits, or measure thicknesses by using instruments such as micrometers.
Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines.
Adjust controls to set temperatures of coating substances and speeds of machines and equipment.
Mix and test solutions, and turn valves to fill tanks with solutions.

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

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

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.
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.
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.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
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.
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.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
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.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
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.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
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.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
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.

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

50840/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

24.44/hr

Currently Employed

370

Yearly Projected Openings

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
Achievement/Effort
Integrity
Self Control

Air dryers
Ammeters
Calipers
Conveyor system
Forklifts
Galvanometers
Heat treating age hardening furnace
Hoists
Jacks
Levels
Metal inert gas welding machine
Micrometers
Pallet trucks
Processing tanks
Sand blasting machine
Workshop cranes

Compliance software
Computer aided design CAD software
Electronic mail software
Procurement software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

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