Plastics Fabricator or Welder
What the work is
Operates machines to measure, cut, shape, fit and assemble plastics materials to produce plastic products.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Reads blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine product requirements
- Sets up and operates machines to measure, cut, shape, fit and assemble plastics materials
- Cuts, trims and shapes plastics materials using hand tools
- Fastens seams or joints together with welds or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair plastic items
- Carries out butt and electrofusion welding of polyethylene plastic pipe works and components
- Carries out routine quality checks on products, such as dimensional checks, clarity of colour, and impact resistance
- Finishes off plastic parts, including sanding and polishing
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a plastics factory with moulding machines, a composites bay for boat parts and a small rubber line. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A mould opens and a perfect part drops out, again and again, exactly to size
- A colour change goes smoothly and the first parts off the line need no tweaking
- You fix a problem before the quality team even knew it was there
Hard days
- Parts with tiny flaws that appear out of nowhere in the middle of a big run
- Fumes, noise and hot machinery that make long shifts tiring
- A colleague who wants to hurry a changeover that you know needs more care
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 731331, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.