The duties of plastics technicians can be grouped into five general categories: research and development, mold and tool making, manufacturing, sales and service, and related technical tasks.
Research and development technicians work in laboratories to create new materials or to improve existing ones. In the laboratory, technicians monitor chemical reactions, test, evaluate test results, keep records, and submit reports. They set up, calibrate, and operate devices to obtain test data for interpretation and comparison. As new product designs are conceived, they work on prototypes, assist in the design and manufacture of specialized tools and machinery, and monitor the manufacturing process.
Mold and tool making technicians are a specialized division of plastics manufacturing. Those with drafting skills are employed as mold and tool designers or as drawing detailers. They may also become involved in product design.
Plastics manufacturing technicians work in molding, laminating, or fabricating. Molding requires the technician to install molds in production machines, establish correct molding cycles, monitor the molding process, maintain production schedules, test incoming raw materials, inspect goods in production, and ensure that the final product meets specifications. Laminating technicians are trained to superimpose materials in a predetermined pattern. This process is used to make aircraft, aerospace and mass-transit vehicles, boats, satellites, surfboards, recreational vehicles, and furniture. Laminating entails bench work for small parts, and teamwork for large parts. A reinforced plastics item the size of a shoe box can be built by one person, while a large motorized vehicle for a Disney World ride requires the work of several technicians. Technicians employed as fabricators work with plastic sheets, rods, and tubes, using equipment similar to that used in woodworking. Aircraft windshields and canopies, solariums, counter displays, computer housings, signs, and furniture are some of the products made by fabricators. Basic machine shop methods combined with heat forming, polishing, and bonding are skills used by technicians in this area.
Sales and service technicians are needed in the sales departments of materials suppliers, machinery manufacturers, molding companies, laminators, and fabricators.
Plastics technicians are also important and valued employees in certain related fields. For example, companies that make computers, appliances, electronic devices, aircraft, and other products that incorporate plastics components rely heavily on plastics technicians to specify, design, purchase, and integrate plastics in the manufacture of the company's major product line.
- 3-D Printing Specialists
- Advanced Manufacturing Engineers
- Advanced Manufacturing Technicians
- Aeronautical and Aerospace Technicians
- Aerospace Engineers
- Air Quality Engineers
- Appliance Service Technicians
- Audio Recording Engineers
- Automation Engineers
- Automotive Engineering Technicians
- Automotive Engineers
- Avionics Engineers
- Avionics Technicians
- Biochemical Engineers
- Biomedical Engineers
- Broadcast Engineers
- Building Automation Systems Engineers
- Building Performance Diagnosticians
- Ceramics Engineers
- Chemical Engineers
- Chemical Technicians
- Chemists
- Chief Robotics Officer
- Civil Engineering Technicians
- Civil Engineers
- Computer-Aided Design Drafters and Technicians
- Digital Workplace Experience Engineers
- Drafters
- Driverless Car Engineers
- Drone Engineers
- Electrical Engineering Technologists
- Electrical Engineers
- Electromechanical Engineering Technologists
- Electronics Engineering Technicians
- Electronics Engineers
- Electronics Service Technicians
- Embedded Systems Engineers
- Energy Efficiency Engineers
- Engineering Technicians
- Engineers
- Environmental Engineers
- Fiber Optics Technicians
- Forensic Engineers
- Fuel Cell Engineers
- Genetic Engineers
- Geotechnical Engineers
- Hardware Engineers
- Hydropower and Marine Energy Industry Workers
- Hypersonics Engineers
- Hypersonics Technicians
- Industrial Chemicals Workers
- Industrial Designers
- Industrial Engineering Technicians
- Industrial Engineers
- Industrial Safety and Health Technicians
- Information Technology Infrastructure Engineers
- Instrumentation Technicians
- Job and Die Setters
- Laboratory Testing Technicians
- Laser Technicians
- Manufacturing Engineering Technologists
- Manufacturing Engineers
- Manufacturing Production Technicians
- Manufacturing Supervisors
- Marine Engineers
- Materials Engineers
- Mechanical Engineering Technicians
- Mechanical Engineers
- Mechatronics Engineers
- Metallurgical Engineers
- Metallurgical Technicians
- Microelectronics Technicians
- Millwrights
- Mining Engineers
- Nanosystems Engineers
- Nuclear Engineers
- Optical Engineers
- Packaging Engineers
- Packaging Machinery Technicians
- Petroleum Engineers
- Petroleum Technicians
- Plastics Engineers
- Plastics Products Manufacturing Workers
- Product Development Directors
- Product Management Directors
- Product Managers
- Quality Control Engineers
- Quality Control Technicians
- Radio Frequency Engineers
- Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialists
- Remote Health Care Engineers
- Renewable Energy Engineers
- Robotics Engineers
- Robotics Integrators
- Robotics Technicians
- Semiconductor Technicians
- Software Designers
- Software Engineers
- Solar Engineers
- Spacecraft Test Technicians
- Stationary Engineers
- Traffic Engineers
- Transportation Engineers
- Welders and Welding Technicians
- Wind Energy Engineers