Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners — Tasks

Task statements

• Monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur.
• Select and mount grinding wheels on machines, according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures.
• Set up and operate grinding or polishing machines to grind metal workpieces, such as dies, parts, and tools.
• Inspect, feel, and measure workpieces to ensure that surfaces and dimensions meet specifications.
• Perform basic maintenance, such as cleaning and lubricating machine parts.
• Remove finished workpieces from machines and place them in boxes or on racks, setting aside pieces that are defective.
• Study blueprints or layouts of metal workpieces to determine grinding procedures, and to plan machine setups and operational sequences.
• Dress grinding wheels, according to specifications.
• Remove and replace worn or broken machine parts, using hand tools.
• Fit parts together in pre-assembly to ensure that dimensions are accurate.
• File or finish surfaces of workpieces, using prescribed hand tools.
• Inspect dies to detect defects, assess wear, and verify specifications, using micrometers, steel gauge pins, and loupes.
• Compute numbers, widths, and angles of cutting tools, micrometers, scales, and gauges, and adjust tools to produce specified cuts.
• Turn valves to direct flow of coolant against cutting wheels and workpieces during grinding.
• Attach workpieces to grinding machines and form specified sections and repair cracks, using welding or brazing equipment.
• Straighten workpieces and remove dents, using straightening presses and hammers.
• Place workpieces in electroplating solutions or apply pigments to surfaces of workpieces to highlight ridges and grooves.
• Duplicate workpiece contours, using tracer attachments.