Pottery and porcelain caster

Pottery and porcelain casters fill moulds with clay to cast pottery and porcelain wares. They pour excess slip out of the mould when needed, drain moulds, remove the cast from the mould, smooth the casting surfaces to remove marks and place the castings on boards to dry.

The following job titles also refer to pottery and porcelain caster:

porcelain caster
caster of pottery and porcelain ware
pottery and porcelain molder
pottery and porcelain ware caster
pottery and porcelain moulder
caster of pottery and porcelain
pottery caster

No formal educational credential is generally required to work as a pottery and porcelain caster.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Pottery and porcelain caster is a Skill level 2 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to pottery and porcelain caster.

production potter
hand brick moulder
absorbent pad machine operator
plastic heat treatment equipment operator
optical disc moulding machine operator

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of pottery and porcelain caster. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of pottery and porcelain caster with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

automated assembly line operator
metal furnace operator
pulp control operator
industrial robot controller
desalination technician

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of pottery and porcelain caster.

• Materials in porcelain manufacturing: Characteristics and properties of the different raw materials such as china clay, ball clay, alumina, flint and feldspar used for the production of household ware and decorative items.
• Materials used in stoneware manufacturing: Characteristics and properties of the different materials used in the production of the vitreous ceramic made of stoneware clay, or in some cases of non-refractory fire-clay.
• Types of pottery material: Types of clays and mud and their appearance, properties, reaction to fire, etc.

These skills are necessary for the role of pottery and porcelain caster.

• Inspect quality of products: Use various techniques to ensure the product quality is respecting the quality standards and specifications. Oversee defects, packaging and sendbacks of products to different production departments.
• Troubleshoot: Identify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.
• Tend jigger machines: Tend the jigger machine in order to obtain the specified ceramic endproducts such as bowls, plates or cups.
• Tend pug mills: Tend the pug mill by adjusting the controls in order to mix, extrude or deposit the clay charges according to specifications.
• Conform with clay thickness: Conform with the specified clay thickness by pouring the excess slip from moulds while watching the clay level through the mould opening.
• Use personal protection equipment: Make use of protection equipment according to training, instruction and manuals. Inspect the equipment and use it consistently.
• Monitor automated machines: Continuously check up on the automated machine’s set-up and execution or make regular control rounds. If necessary, record and interpret data on the operating conditions of installations and equipment in order to identify abnormalities.
• Extract products from moulds: Remove finished products from moulds and examine them in detail for anomalies.
• Set up the controller of a machine: Set up and give commands to a machine by dispatching the appropriate data and input into the (computer) controller corresponding with the desired processed product.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of pottery and porcelain caster. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Ceramic ware: The production process and characteristics of various types of ceramic ware such as pottery, whiteware, stoneware, chinaware, porcelain or earthenware.
• Ceramics glazes: The characteristics, compounds and application of different glaze type such as raw or frit glazes.
• Casting processes: The various practices used in the casting of metal, plastics and other cast materials, including mould filling, solidification, cooling, and others, all relating to varying approaches in case of different types of material.
• Alumina ceramic: Aluminium oxide, also called alumina, is a ceramic material made of oxygen and aluminium which has many properties suitable for insulation purposes such as hardness, low electrical conductivity and insolubility in water.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of pottery and porcelain caster. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Manage different pottery materials: Manage different recipes of clay and mud according to the genre (such as china) or the expected strength, look, colour, tradition or innovation in the creative process.
• Construct moulds: Construct moulds for the casting of objects in plaster, clay, glass, plastic or metal. Use casting machines and materials such as rubber, plaster or fibreglass.
• Work ergonomically: Apply ergonomy principles in the organisation of the workplace while manually handling equipment and materials.
• Record production data for quality control: Keep records of the machine’s faults, interventions and irregularities for quality control.
• Operate forklift: Operate a forklift, a vehicle with a pronged device in front for lifting and carrying heavy loads.
• Monitor stock level: Evaluate how much stock is used and determine what should be ordered.
• Extract materials from furnace: Remove materials from the furnace using a crane, a conveyor, by tilting the furnace, or using other methods.
• Perform green machining: Finish the shaping process of ceramics after forming by performing several green machining operations such as grinding, blanking and punching.
• Fill moulds: Fill up moulds with appropriate materials and ingredient mixes.
• Load materials into furnace: Load materials in furnace with correct positioning, fastening and levelling when needed.
• Monitor conveyor belt: Monitor the flow of the work pieces on the conveyor belt as they are processed by the machine to ensure optimal productivity.
• Paint decorative designs: Apply designs in paint, using paint sprayers, paintbrushes or spray cans.
• Perform machine maintenance: Perform regular maintenance, possibly including corrections and alterations, on a machine or machine tool to ensure it remains in a proper productive state.
• Operate drying blowers: Operate the portable air and heat blowers by placing them in the drying aisles in order to dry specific products.
• Tend clay extrusion machine: Set up and monitor machine which mix, heat or melt clay, and pull or push the material through a shaped die to form it into a continuous profile with a preset cross section such as tubes, pipes and sheeting.
• Form moulding mixture: Form the moulding mixture adding specified amounts of materials, such as sand, clay, silica mud or plastic pellets, according to a fixed recipe, set up the controller of the melting tanks and monitor the melting process.
• Report defective manufacturing materials: Maintain required company records and forms in order to report any defective materials or questionable conditions of manufacturing machinery and equipment.
• Apply glaze coating: Dip the products into a specific glaze coating that will make them waterproof and fix the decorative patterns and colours after the firing process.
• Check quality of raw materials: Check the quality of basic materials used for the production of semi-finished and finished goods by assessing some of its characteristics and, if needed, select samples to be analysed.
• Polish clay products: Use abrasives to smoothen the surface of clay products such as sculptures, dolls and models working with sanding papers, manual or power tools.
• Monitor end-product drying process: Let the end-products to cool and dry during the correct amount of time. If necessary, hasten the drying process using kilns or delay it by allowing water to humidify the products.
• Operate a ceramics kiln: Manage the temperature of a kiln to achieve the expected results according to the type of clay such as biscuit stoneware or porcelain. Manage sintering and enamels colours.
• Keep records of work progress: Maintain records of the progress of the work including time, defects, malfunctions, etc.
• Pack fragile items for transportation: Pack fragile items such as glass panes or glass objects using the appropriate boxes and cushioning materials such as air-encapsulated plastic or customised foam enclosures to make sure the content will not move during transportation.
• Prepare production prototypes: Prepare early models or prototypes in order to test concepts and replicability possibilities. Create prototypes to assess for pre-production tests.
• Tend tumbling machine: Tend a machine designed to smoothen metal or stone surfaces by having the different pieces rub against each other inside a tumbling barrel, monitor and operate it according to regulations.

8181 – Glass and ceramics plant operators

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References

1. Pottery and porcelain caster – ESCO