This standard identifies the competencies you need to operate plastics welding machines that have already been prepared for production, in accordance with approved instructions or welding procedures. You will be expected to check that the machine has been approved for production, and that sufficient supplies of all required materials and consumables are present and correct, and are ready for production operations to be performed.

You must operate the machine safely and correctly, in accordance with instructions and approved procedures, and achieve a weld quality and tolerances that meet the product specification. The production output may be inspected by visual and non-destructive testing methods, to check that the specified quality is being achieved. You must continuously monitor the operation of the machine and make any necessary adjustments to equipment settings, in line with your permitted authority, in order to produce the welded joints to the required specification. Meeting production requirements will be an important issue, and your production records must show consistent and satisfactory performance.

Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for operating the welding machine, and to report any problems or adjustments to the machine that you cannot resolve, or are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You will be expected to work to instructions and drawings, with a minimum of supervision, taking personal responsibility for your own actions and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you carry out.

Your underpinning knowledge will be sufficient to provide a sound basis of your work, and will enable you to adopt an informed approach to applying machine plastic welding procedures and instructions. You will have an understanding of how the plastics welding processes work and are applied in mechanised form, and will know about the equipment and materials, in adequate depth to provide a sound background to the process operation and for carrying out the activities to the required specification.

You will understand the safety precautions required when carrying out the machine welding activities, and when using the associated tools and equipment. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout, and will understand the responsibility you owe to yourself and others in the workplace.

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1. work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
2. follow the relevant joining procedure and work instructions
3. confirm that the welding machine is set up and operating correctly, ready for the joining operations to be carried out
4. check that the parent material, components, and joint preparation comply with specifications
5. carry out and monitor the machine operations in accordance with specifications and work instructions
6. achieve joints of the required quality and specified dimensional accuracy
7. make sure that the rate of output is as specified
8. deal promptly and effectively with problems within your control and report those that you cannot solve
9. shut down the welding machine to a safe condition on conclusion of the joining activities

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1. the safe working practices and procedures to be observed when operating a range of plastics welding machines (working with machinery; the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE); machine guards; operation of machine safety devices; stopping the machine in an emergency; closing the machine down on completion of activities; statutory requirements, risk assessment procedures and relevant requirements of HASAWA, COSHH and Work Equipment Regulations; safe disposal of waste materials)
2. the hazards associated with plastics welding machines (dangers from live electrical components; fumes; hot material; moving parts of machinery), and how they can be minimised
3. principles of plastics welding; terminology used in welding
4. the key components and features of the equipment (types of machines; constructional features, mechanical features, heat generation, force generation and control systems, welding cycle control; feedback and recording)
5. mechanised and automated welding basics (types of machines and their; functions; safety features)
6. how to extract the information required from drawings and welding procedure specifications (to include symbols and conventions to appropriate British, European or relevant International standards in relation to work undertaken)
7. operation of the machine; controls and their function; care of equipment
8. setting up and aligning the workpiece
9. monitoring the welding machine during the welding process; recognition of problems, and action to be taken
10. problems that can occur with the welding activities, materials and weld defects
11. visual inspection of completed weld
12. organisational quality systems (standards to be achieved; data download from machine; corrective actions; production records to be kept)
13. personal weld test/certification and their applicability to your work
14. the extent of your own authority and whom you should report to if you have problems that you cannot resolve
15. reporting lines and procedures, line supervision and technical experts

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1. Confirm that the welding machine is ready for operation, to include checking all of the following:

   1. the welding machine has been approved for production
   2. supplies of components and materials are adequate and correctly prepared
   3. welding machine settings comply with instructions and the welding procedure specification
   4. all machine functions operate correctly
   5. all safety equipment is in place and functioning correctly

2. Produce welded components using two of the following types of equipment:

   1. hot plate                    
   2. hot bar/impulse
   3. electro-fusion                    
   4. spin
   5. vibration                            
   6. orbital
   7. ultrasonic                          
   8. infrared
   9. laser
   10. radio frequency

3. Produce welded components covering both of the following, as applicable to the process:

   1. two different components
   2. two different material groups

4. Monitor the process operation and machine function and make adjustments to required parameters and mechanisms, to include all of the following, as appropriate to machine type:

   1. time(s)
   2. pressure(s)
   3. speed
   4. displacement
   5. temperature/energy input

5. Produce welded components which:

   1. achieve a weld quality equivalent with BSEN13067 or as required by the application standard
   2. meet the required dimensional accuracy within specified tolerances

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​Additional Information

You will be able to apply the appropriate behaviours required in the workplace to meet the job profile and overall company objectives, such as:

• strong work ethic
• positive attitude
• team player
• dependability
• responsibility
• honesty
• integrity
• motivation
• commitment

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3

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31 Mar 2020

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Current

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Original

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Semta

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SEMFWE220

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Engineering, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies, Metal Forming, Welding and Related Trades

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5213

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engineering; welding; fabrication; machine welding; hot plate; electro-fusion; ultrasonic; laser; radio frequency

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