Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Notify other workers of defects, and direct them to adjust extruding and forming machines.
• Start metering pumps and observe operation of machines and equipment to ensure continuous flow of filaments extruded through spinnerettes and to detect processing defects.
• Clean and maintain extruding and forming machines, using hand tools.
• Press buttons to stop machines when processes are complete or when malfunctions are detected.
• Observe machine operations, control boards, and gauges to detect malfunctions such as clogged bushings and defective binder applicators.
• Move controls to activate and adjust extruding and forming machines.
• Set up, operate, or tend machines that extrude and form filaments from synthetic materials such as rayon, fiberglass, or liquid polymers.
• Notify other workers of defects, and direct them to adjust extruding and forming machines.
• Open cabinet doors to cut multifilament threadlines away from guides, using scissors.
• Remove polymer deposits from spinnerettes and equipment, using silicone spray, brass chisels, and bronze-wool pads.
• Wipe finish rollers with cloths and wash finish trays with water when necessary.
• Record details of machine malfunctions.
• Press metering-pump buttons and turn valves to stop flow of polymers.
• Lower pans inside cabinets to catch molten filaments until flow of polymer through packs has stopped.
• Remove excess, entangled, or completed filaments from machines, using hand tools.
• Load materials into extruding and forming machines, using hand tools, and adjust feed mechanisms to set feed rates.
• Load materials into extruding and forming machines, using hand tools, and adjust feed mechanisms to set feed rates.
• Start metering pumps and observe operation of machines and equipment to ensure continuous flow of filaments extruded through spinnerettes and to detect processing defects.
• Clean and maintain extruding and forming machines, using hand tools.
• Record operational data on tags, and attach tags to machines.
• Record operational data on tags, and attach tags to machines.
• Observe flow of finish across finish rollers, and turn valves to adjust flow to specifications.

Skills

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

Abilities

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

Knowledge

• 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.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• 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.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• 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.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 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.
• 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.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

U.S. Annual Salary

44980/yr

U.S. Hourly Wage

21.63/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

150

Yearly Projected Openings

20

Personality

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
• Cautiousness

Tools

• Allen wrench
• Analytical balances
• Blow torch
• Blowers or dryers
• Calipers
• Cleaning scrapers
• Conveyor feeders
• Counters
• Dial indicator or dial gauge
• Electronic counters
• Extruders
• Forklifts
• Furnaces
• Gage block set
• Hopper scale
• Humidity sensor
• Industrial shrink wrap equipment
• Intensive mixers
• Label making machines
• Ladders
• Laser printers
• Loading equipment
• Micrometers
• Multi tool pliers
• Open end wrenches
• Personal computers
• Power drills
• Power staple guns
• Processing tanks
• Pyrometers
• Screwdrivers
• Staple guns
• Stereo or dissecting light microscopes
• Storage tanks
• Tachometers
• Tape measures
• Tension testers
• Thickness measuring devices
• Thread unravelling machine
• Wire drawing machine
• Wire gauge

Technology

• Data base management system software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Industrial control software
• Office suite software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software