Machine Operator – Plastics Extrusion

CURRICULUM / SYLLABUS

This program is aimed at training candidates for the job of a “MACHINE OPERATOR - PLASTICS EXTRUSION” in the
“Petrochemical” Sector/Industry and aims at building the following key competencies amongst the learner

Program Name Machine Operator – Plastics Extrusion

Qualification Document Machine Operator – Plastics Extrusion

Name & Reference ID CPC/Q 0304
Version No. 1.0 Version Update Date

Pre-requisites to Training Minimum qualification – 10th Standard

Training Outcomes After completing this programme, participants will be able to:
 Work as Machine Operator in HDPE/PV Pipe Extrusion Industries
 Work as Machine Operator in Plastics Film Extrusion Industries

This course encompasses 08 out of 08 Learning Outcomes(LO) of “Machine Operator – Plastics Extrusion”
Qualification Document .

Sr. Module Theory Practical Key Learning Outcomes Corresponding Equipment

No. Duration Duration LO Code Required
(hh:mm) (hh:mm)
1 Basics Plastics 30:00 10:00 Introduction: CPC/N 0319 Plastic
Raw Material &  Polymers, Fundamentals, Material
Extrusion Terminology of polymers, Samples and
Concept Classification of polymers. Plastic
Thermoplastics: Products
• Brief introduction to raw
materials, properties,
additives and processing and
applications of commodity
plastics, engineering plastics
and speciality Plastics,
material grades, raw
material manufacturers.
Thermoset materials:
• Brief introduction to raw
materials, properties and
applications, raw material
manufacturers.
Plastics Materials &
Applications
• Thermoplastic plastics
• Commodity plastics
• Polyolefin - Polyethylene,
LDPE, HDPE, LLDPE, HMHDPE
1
 • Polypropylene Homo-
polymers – Copolymers
• Polystyrene & Styrene
copolymers - Polystyrene,
HIPS, ABS, Styrene
Acrylonitrile
• Vinyl plastics - Polyvinyl
chloride,
• Phenol formaldehyde - Urea
formaldehyde - Melamine
formaldehyde – Unsaturated
polyesters, Alkyd resins -
Epoxides - Polyurethane -
Silicone
Applications of Plastics
 agriculture, building,
electrical, electronics,
industrial, packaging,
medical, sports, transport,
water management,
telecommunication, toys,
etc.
10:00 30:00 Extrusion Process Techniques & CPC/N 0319 Single Screw
Extrusion Trouble shooting Pipe Extrusion
Process  Basic principles of extrusion Plant Extruder
Techniques & • Types of extruders, general
Trouble features of extruders viz. Twin Screw
shooting barrell, screw, types of Extruder PVC
screws, drive mechanism, Pipe Extrusion
specifications, heating & Plant
cooling systems, flow
mechanism, die entry effects Blown Film
and exit instabilities. Die Extruder Plant
swell, Melt fracture & Bam-
booing. Factors affecting the Three Layer
output of an extruder, Film Extrusion
process variables in Plant
extrusion – back pressure &
its effect on extrusion Blender
process.
• Trouble shooting in extrusion High Speed
processes viz. film, pipe, Mixer
profile, wire
coating/covering, extrusion
coating
10:00 30:00 CPSC/N0319 Single Screw
Extrusion Plant Extrusion Plant & Maintenance. Pipe Extrusion
&  General constructional Plant Extruder
Maintenance features of extruders – power
supply and control system – Twin Screw
drive mechanism – hydraulics, Extruder PVC
pneumatics and electrical Pipe Extrusion
circuits – gear box, clutches, Plant
pumps and safety features –
identification of faults – Blown Film
trouble shooting – preventive Extruder Plant
 maintenance – planning and
safety. Three Layer
 Practical exposures to the Film Extrusion
preventive maintenance Plant
check-points for the extrusion
plant/extrude. Blender
 Daily start-up and shut down
maintenance checks High Speed
 Checking hydraulics and Mixer
electrical circuit for safety,
routine faults and remedies.
 Types of Maintenance, Repair
and maintenance of various
components used in Extrusion
machines, and Dies.
 Study of air compressor
elements, drive mechanism,
lubrication.
 Study of chilling plant/cooling
tower.
 Study of Electrical safety
Measures & Demonstration
about use of protective
devices. Study of single phase
and three phase power supply.
Identification of phase,
Neutral and earth pits.
 Study, Demonstration and
Identification of common
electrical materials such as
wires, cables, switches, fuses,
plugs, connectors, sockets,
Different types of switches,
MCCB etc.
 Post operation techniques of
plastics products: Joining,
welding, sealing, decorative
coating and printing on
extruded products.
2 Health & Safety 15:00 45:00  Safety, Health and CPC/N 0320 Common
Practices Environment (SHE) aspects safety
 Environment Management equipment
System (EMS) such as fire
 Personal protection extinguishers,
equipment (PPE) helmet,
 Awareness on Fire Fighting protective
Equipment System gloves,
 Safety of equipments, Safety goggles
of Operators etc. First Aid
 Emergency route, and
emergency preparedness
 Identify activities which can
cause potential injury through
sharp objects, burns, fall,
electricity, gas leakages,
radiation, poisonous fumes,
 chemicals, loud noise etc
 Identify areas in the work
places which are potentially
hazardous/ unhygienic in
nature
 Conduct regular checks with
support of the maintenance
team on machine health to
identify potential hazards due
to wear and tear of machine
 Support the Safety team and
the supervisor in creating the
risk mitigation plan
 Follow the instructions given
on the equipment manual
describing the operating
process of the equipment
 Follow the Safety, Health and
Environment related practices
developed by the organization
 Ensure relevant safety
boards/ signs are placed on
the shop floor
 Operate the machine using
the recommended Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE)
and ensure team members
also use the related PPEs at
the workplace
 Maintaining clean and safe
working environment near
the work place and ensure
there is no spillage of
chemicals, production waste,
oil, solvents etc.
 Safety and fire drills for self-
aware of safety hazards and
preventive techniques
 Maintain high standards of
personal hygiene at the work
place
 Ensure that the waste
disposal is done in the
designated area and manner
as per organization SOP.
 First Aid action in case of any
fatal accident due to Fire,
Electricity, Gas, Chemicals etc
 Immediate Action in case Fire,
Gas, Chemicals etc
3 Plastics 30:00 70:00  Types of Chemicals, Additives CPC/N 0321 Blenders
Compounding / and Colorants used.
Mixing  Properties and Importance of High Speed
Chemicals, Additives and Mixer
Colorants and Pigments.
 Properties changes by adding
 Chemicals, additives and
pigments in Plastics.
 Formulation laid down for
different Products.
 Types of Blenders , Mixers and
their Parts
 Preparation Batches as per the
formulations.
 Loading and unloading of
Batches.
 Temperature, Pressure and
Speed involved in Blenders
and Mixers.
 Importance of each and every
Parameters.
 Precaution to be taken care
during the batch preparation.
 Storing of batches after
preparation.
 Understanding Safety
Equipments and Its Use.
 Do’s and Don’t in Area of
Operation
 Safety Precaution Majors
before Operations.
4 Perform the 60:00 180:00 Extrusion process on extruders. CPC/N 0322 Single Screw
HDPE /PVC Pipe  Study of extruders in Idle Run Pipe Extrusion
Extruder Operation (IRO), Free sketch Plant Extruder
Machine of machines, their parts and
Operation parts-function. Twin Screw
 Study of the machine parts & Extruder PVC
functions from screw drive to Pipe Extrusion
the cater pillar. Practice of Plant
die setting on the machine,
sizing techniques. Procedure Blender
for setting up of parameters &
operation practice in running High Speed
the machine to produce pipe Mixer
& tube.
 Types of HDPE / PVC
Extruders.
 Extruder Parts and Their
Functions.
 Pressure and Vacuum Sizing
Units
 Types of Dies Used for
different Extruded Pipes.
 Operations of Haul Off Units
 Dismantling and assembling
Extruder Parts.
 Safety Precaution taken
during assembling and
disassembling.
 Common Process Parameter
like Temperature, Pressure
 and Speed and its controls.
 Effect of process parameters
on Product Properties
 Trial Production and checking
product stabilization.
 Actual Production and
Parameter / Process Control.
 Quality Check and Continuous
Production.
 Post production and storing.
 Common faults found and
trouble shooting.
 Segregation of faulty product
and action taken.
 Disposal of faulty products as
per laid down procedure.
 Understanding Safety
Equipments and Its Use.
 Do’s and Don’t in Area of
Operation
 Safety Precaution Majors
before Operations.
5 Perform the 60:00 180:00  Extrusion processes and the CPC/N 0323 Blown Film
Plastic Film downstream equipments viz Extruder Plant
Extruder dies, take off equipment for
Machine the production of sheets, Three Layer
Operation films, blown film, cast film/slit Film Extrusion
film, BO film, co extruded film Plant
& sheet. Twin screw extruder,
parts and their functions and Blender
applications.
 Procedure for setting up of
process-parameters eg.
Temperature on different
zones, screw-speed, nip-roller
speed, winder speed, blow-
ratio, control of cooling – air
on bubble, methodology &
practice by trainees to fix the
blown film die on the machine
, familiarization of die parts &
their functions, technical
specification of machines,
defects, causes & remedies,
practice of operating machine
to produce different sizes of
blown film.
 Operation-practice by the
trainee on setting up of
process parameter to produce
blown-film on film plant,
observations on extruder
output, size of film produced
and technical specifications of
machines to be recorded.
 Types of Film Extruders.
  Extruder Parts and Their
Functions.
 Sizing Units
 Types of Dies Used for
different Films.
 Operations of Haul Off Units
 Dismantling and assembling
Extruder Parts.
 Safety Precaution taken during
assembling and disassembling.
 Common Process Parameter
like Temperature, Pressure
and Speed and its controls.
 Effect of process parameters
on Product Properties
 Trial Production and checking
product stabilization.
 Actual Production and
Parameter / Process Control.
 Quality Check and Continuous
Production.
 Post production and storing.
 Common faults found and
trouble shooting.
 Segregation of faulty product
and action taken.
 Disposal of faulty products as
per laid down procedure.
 Understanding Safety
Equipments and Its Use.
 Do’s and Don’t in Area of
Operation
 Safety Precaution Majors
before Operations.
6 To Carryout 10:00 30:00  Take an overlook of the Area CPC/N 0324 House
House Keeping under House Keeping. Keeping
 Put appropriate Signage Equipments
immediately if oily substance /
Water spills on the floor to
avoid accident
 If certain housekeeping
activities require to be
performed by housekeeping
staffs, the Inform them.
 If it has to be carried out by
self then, Identify the material
/ equipment required for
cleaning the areas.
 Plan the sequence for cleaning
the area to avoid re-soiling the
cleaned areas and surfaces.
 Display the appropriate
signage for the work being
conducted.
 Ensure that there is adequate
 ventilation for the work being
carried out.
 Wear the personal protective
equipment required for the
cleaning method and materials
being used.
7 Reporting & 15:00 45:00  Basic Computer Operation on CPC/N 0325 Computer,
Documentation MS Office like MS Word, Excel Printer,
and Power Point Report
 Page set up and Printing Formats,
 Making of Posters and Forms etc
Banners
 Writing Applications and
Notes
 Study about the forms and
formats.
 Filling forms and formats
 National & International
Standards and specifications
as per BIS, ISO, ASTM, etc. for
raw materials and finished
products
 Standard operating
procedures (SOP), Knowledge
about QMS (Quality
management system) and
related documents,
 Reports required to be made
 Filling up of technical forms,
process charts, activity logs etc
8 To Carry Out 40:00 60:00  Ensure that total range of CPC/N 0326 Measuring
Quality Checks checks as per the prescribed Instruments –
national and International Like Vernier,
standards on regular intervals Micrometer
throughout the shifts. Flat & Double
 Use appropriate measuring Ball Ended,
instruments, equipment, tools, Measuring
accessories etc, as prescribed / Tape, Pi Tape,
required Scale , Testing
 Calibration of Measuring Equipments as
equipments and devices and per IS
its importance. Standards
 Identify non-conformities to
quality assurance standards.
 Identify potential causes of
non-conformities to quality
assurance standards
 Identify impact on final
product due to non-
conformance to prescribed
Standards.
 Evaluating the need for action
to ensure that problems do
not reoccur.
 Suggest corrective action to
 address problem.
 Review effectiveness of
corrective action.
Total Duration: 280.00 680:00 Unique Equipment Required:
 Thermoplastic Materials – HDPE/LDPE/PP/PVC
 Thermoset Materials – PF/UF/MF
 Plastic Products – Sector wise
 Single Screw Pipe Extrusion Plant Extruder
 Twin Screw Extruder PVC Pipe Extrusion Plant
 Blown Film Extruder Plant
 Three Layer Film Extrusion Plant
 Blender
 High Speed Mixer
 Measuring Instruments – Like Vernier, Micrometer Flat &
Double Ball Ended, Measuring Tape, Pi Tape, Scale ,
 Testing Equipments as per IS Standards
 Maintenance Equipments
 First Aid Box

Grand Total Course Duration: 960 Hours 00 Minutes