Run the IM-09 moulding cell for a shift

You are a trainee moulding machine operator on the afternoon shift.

Simulated workplaceEntry missionCAQA Polyform Plastics and Cable

What is going on

Machine IM-09 is running the Merriwa Holdings downpipe bracket on tool T-118 under job card JC-26-3312. The setter has approved the first-off and handed the cell to you with the setting sheet, the in-process check schedule, the regrind rule of 15 percent from the job's own runners and the packing instructions. Part way through the shift a bracket sticks on a core and the robot alarms. Yesterday an operator on another machine opened the gate and reached in to clear a stuck part, and the whole hall has been reminded of the rule. The Injection Moulding Manager wants the checks, the regrind and the packing done exactly to the card.

Marco Bellini, Injection Moulding Manager
Subject: Your shift on IM-09, downpipe brackets

You are on IM-09 running the Merriwa downpipe brackets on job card JC-26-3312 for the afternoon shift. Josh has set the tool and approved the first-off. I want the hourly in-process checks done and recorded on the job card, the regrind kept to the 15 percent on the setting sheet, the parts packed to the card and any problem reported to Josh, not fixed by you. After yesterday's near miss on IM-04 I want to be very clear: if a part sticks, call the setter. Read the Machine Safety and Isolation Policy before you start.

Your brief

Operate the IM-09 cell for the shift to the job card and setting sheet, carry out and record the hourly in-process checks, manage regrind and packing, respond correctly to the stuck part and robot alarm without reaching into the machine, and hand the cell over at the end of the shift.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

Read the Machine Safety and Isolation Policy and the handover section of the Die Change and Process Setup Procedure and write down what an operator is and is not permitted to do at the machine.
Review job card JC-26-3312 in Production Job Cards and the setting sheet extract supplied, and list the in-process checks, their frequency, the dimensions and limits and the packing quantity.
Carry out the first hourly check on five parts: weight, the two drawing dimensions, and appearance for short shots, flash, sink and splay, and record the results on the job card.
Describe how you manage the regrind: which runners go to the granulator, the 15 percent limit and how you confirm the hopper blend, with reference to the Environment and Waste Policy.
When the bracket sticks on the core and the robot alarms, describe exactly what you do and do not do, who you call and what you say, and record the event on the job card.
After the setter clears the part under lock out, describe the restart, the check you make on the next parts and whether a nonconformance entry is needed for parts produced around the event.
Pack the parts to the card with the correct carton quantity and label, record quantities packed and scrapped, and move the parts to the dispatch location.
Complete the shift handover note on the job card for the night operator: parts made, checks done, scrap, regrind used and anything the setter needs to know.

My notes: what did I enjoy, and what surprised me?

What someone in this role would produce

Written summary of operator permissions and limits at the machine
Completed hourly in-process check records on the job card
Written account of the stuck part response and the call to the setter
Packing and scrap record and shift handover note

Printing this is a record of what you explored. It is not a certificate or a qualification.