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Cold forming setter technician (level 3)

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Information about Cold forming setter technician (level 3)

Set-up, configure, operate and monitor complex high value machinery that enables components to be mass produced in the most economically viable way.

Knowledge, skills and behaviours
View knowledge, skills and behaviours

Knowledge

  • Principles of reading and interpreting engineering drawings and documentation.
  • Part numbers for tooling and wire.
  • Types of cold forming machinery. The differences between machines and the mechanisms that they use.
  • Wire: loading, setting the drawer and feeding into the machine
  • Tooling: visual inspection, assembly and securing.
  • Principles of setting-up a cold forming machine.
  • Principles of high-volume metal cold forming techniques in a continuous production environment to build and form the progressions to achieve final shape.
  • Gauges and measurement systems used in cold forming.
  • How to complete visual inspection of the parts as they are made and how to recognise defects and tooling wear.
  • Tooling failure mechanisms. How tools fail and the impact that the set-up of the machine has on tooling failure.
  • Documentation: methods and requirements – electronic and paper.
  • Process monitoring equipment: what the process monitor does and why it is required. How it is used to check machine set-up and to monitor variation in the process.
  • Statistical Process Control (SPC) data input and how to interpret SPC charts.
  • Team working principles.
  • Problem solving techniques for root cause analysis: 5 Whys, Fishbone Diagram, PDCA (Plan Do Check Act), Pareto Chart, Change Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, FMEA (Failure Mode Effects Analysis), DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control).
  • Principles of properties of materials. Metallurgical properties of metals: mild steel, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, copper, brass and aluminium. Effect on materials during the forming process.
  • Principles of steel and wire manufacturing processes.
  • Principles of tooling materials and manufacturing processes.
  • Machine mechanisms, lubrication, air and drive systems.
  • Awareness of health and safety regulations, relevance to the occupation and the technician’s responsibilities: Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), electrical safety and compliance, emergency evacuation procedures, Health and Safety at Work Act – responsibilities, isolation and emergency stop procedures, Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER), manual handling, near miss reporting, noise regulations, Provision and use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), safe systems of work, safety equipment: guards, signage, fire extinguishers, situational awareness, slips, trips and falls, types of hazards, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), working at height, working in confined spaces.
  • Verbal communication techniques. Giving and receiving information. Matching style to audience. Barriers in communication and how to overcome them. Engineering terminology.
  • Non-verbal communication techniques: gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, eye contact, body language.
  • Continuous improvement techniques: lean, 6-sigma, KAIZEN, 5S (sort, set shine, standardise and sustain), SMED (Single minute exchange of dies).
  • Equality Act. Equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Unconscious bias.
  • Maintenance practices and techniques: planned, preventative, predictive and reactive methods and their frequency.
  • Stock requirements. Control systems. Stock rotation. Stock considerations: availability, stock lead times, stock value, faulty stock, salvageability of parts removed.
  • Standard operating procedures (SOP). What they are and why they are important. What they need to cover and why. Visuals and symbols used in SOP.
  • Escalation procedures.
  • Manufacturers’ guidelines: what they are and how to use them. Warranties: what they are and the impact on engineering work.
  • Quality management standards. Quality assurance principles and practice. Record keeping.
  • The cold forming industry. Types of organisations. Types of products. Supply chain. Customers. Customer requirements. Impact on product demand.
  • Planning, prioritising, work scheduling, workflow and time management techniques. Work management systems. Work categorisation systems.
  • Business operation considerations: efficiency, customer satisfaction, competitiveness, minimising risks to operation and ethical issues.
  • Principles of sustainability and circular economy. Energy efficiency and reuse of materials. Recycling procedures. Principles of control and management of emissions and waste. Efficient use of resources.
  • Continued professional development: planning and accessing development opportunities.
  • Principles and requirements of restoring the work area.
  • Principles of hazard identification and risk assessment.
  • Principles of recognising variation in the process when conducting dimensional and visual inspection and making adjustments to the process to maintain control.

Skills

  • Read and interpret information. For example, text, data, engineering drawings, job card, work instructions, risk assessments, method statements, operation manuals, permits to work, instructions.
  • Load, set and feed wire onto the cold forming machine.
  • Select, inspect, assemble, fit and clamp tooling components.
  • Build progressions across multiple stations incorporating processes such as forward and backward extrusion, upsetting, heading, trimming and piercing.
  • Use gauges and measuring equipment.
  • Input and assess charts using Statistical Process Control (SPC).
  • Make adjustments to the process to maintain control.
  • Assess condition of components and equipment. Identify action required such as monitoring tooling for wear during process and make changes.
  • Troubleshoot machine running issues and take corrective action. Escalate issues.
  • Communication with others verbally for example, colleagues and stakeholders.
  • Apply health and safety procedures and safe systems of work in compliance with regulations and standards.
  • Use process monitoring equipment.
  • Create, maintain and enhance productive working relationships.
  • Apply continuous improvement techniques. Devise suggestions for improvement.
  • Carry out and record planned and unplanned learning and development activities.
  • Apply team working principles.
  • Record or enter information – paper based or electronic. For example, energy usage, job sheets, risk assessments, equipment service records, test results, handover documents and manufacturers’ documentation, asset management records, work sheets, checklists, dimensional records, waste environmental records and any legal reporting requirements.
  • Apply environmental and sustainability procedures in compliance with regulations and standards. for example, segregate resources for reuse, recycling and disposal.
  • Follow equality, diversity and inclusion procedures.
  • Apply problem solving techniques.
  • Identify and document hazards and risks in the workplace.
  • Restore the work area on completion of the activity.
  • Apply maintenance practices. For example, check levels, parts wear, pressure and sensors and grease and lubricate.
  • Obtain and check stock and supplies. Complete returns.
  • Apply standard operating procedures (SOP).
  • Identify, organise and use resources to complete tasks with consideration for cost, quality, safety, security and environmental impact.
  • Plan work.
  • Apply quality assurance principles and practices

Behaviours

  • Take responsibility for completing work.
  • Act professionally.
  • Committed to continued professional development (CPD) to maintain and enhance competence in their own area of practice.
  • Respond and adapt to work demands and situations.
  • Take account of diversity and inclusion requirements.
  • Has a focus on quality and promotes improvement.
  • Take personal responsibility for and promote health and safety.
  • Considers the environment and sustainability.
Apprenticeship category (sector)
Engineering and manufacturing
Qualification level
3
Equal to A level
Course duration
36 months
Funding
£24,000
Maximum government funding for
apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
Job titles include
  • Cold forming machine operator
  • Cold forming machine setter
  • Cold forming setter technician
  • Heading operator
  • Heading setter

View more information about Cold forming setter technician (level 3) from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.