Fiberglass Fabricator

What is a Fiberglass Fabricator?

Duties       

To be a successful fiberglass fabricator, you would have to manage the following responsibilities:

• Work with layers of plastic resin to shape surfaces before placing fiberglass mats and repeat layers till the required thickness is achieved on products.
• Assess completed products so they are in line with client specifications, by measuring with micrometers and rulers, as well as tapping them to check for bubbles.
• Check all templates and cut out patterns used in product manufacturing to confirm that they are identical to blueprints, dimensional data, photographs and samples.
• Use pneumatic spray guns with chopper attachments to spray chopped materials like resins, fibreglass and other catalysts onto prepared molds.
• In case of damaged glass fiber parts, perform repairs by examining densities, contours and thicknesses for the best possible fit to assure continued quality of production.

Day In The Life

A wide range of tasks will occupy your time when you work as a fiberglass fabricator. You are primarily responsible for ensuring that finished products and their parts are assembled in the manufacturing process for a wide range of products, depending on the industry. This may include toys, aircraft, household appliances, automobiles, electronic devices and more. With newer technologies, fiberglass fabricators no longer have to do everything from scratch. Instead, they are often assisted by automated manufacturing systems like computers, robots, motion-controlled devices, etc.

The day will begin with a thorough check of existing projects and gathering required materials for a new project. You will use rollers to carefully remove any bubbles in the mold along with checking for other defects. A big responsibility in this job is carefully determine the best precut fiberglass mats, wood-bracing materials and cloth based for the type of projects that are being assembled. You may also mix catalysts with resins and saturate mats or cloths with the mixture with brushes.

Using resin-saturated fiberglass, part of your day can go with important work such as bonding wood reinforcing strips to cabins or decks of a watercraft, by utilizing resin-saturated fiberglass. Strict deadlines are a given in this line of work and the team works towards it through meaningful group discussions and effective communication.

Work Schedule

Fiberglass fabricators work a standard 40 hours per week at a warehouse style setting. You are also likely to work at a manufacturing plant as a fiberglass fabricator. This type of work may require extended periods of sitting and standing for assembly work. Positions are usually full time although you could have to work late evenings and over the weekends.

Growth Of The Job

Employment in this job sector is projected to largely remain unaffected over 2014 to 2024.  The number of job opportunities available for prospective candidates will depend on success or failure of certain manufactured goods. The largest demand for assemblers and fabricators is predicted to be at the employee services industry, due to an increased focus on a flexible workforce to tackle market fluctuations. If you are qualified enough, with technical vocational training and certification, you are likely to find promising positions to work in the manufacturing area.

Typical Employers

Those with technical vocational training and certification to be a fiberglass fabricator, will benefit most from joining this career especially in emerging areas like electro-medical devices or aerospace. Each year, many job openings emerge due to the need to replace retired workers and those who have left the position in search of better opportunities. Employers currently hiring for this type of role are Lockheed Martin, Orbis, Inc., ResourceMFG, Optimus Group, Inc., Integrity Technical Services, Login Consulting Services Inc. and Volt Workforce Solutions.