Application

This unit of competency defines the skills and knowledge required to apply protective finishes using electroplating to household fittings, hardware, artefacts and accessories made from a range of ferrous and non-ferrous materials.

It includes pre-treatment, use of plating techniques, solutions and compositions for protective finishes, recognition and assessment of impurities and imperfections and associated corrective actions.

Processing may be manual, semi or fully automatic still or barrel plating environments and may include volume production and ‘one-off’ components.

Where pre-treatment operations only are required unit MEM08002 Pre-treat work for subsequent surface coating should be selected.

Where straightforward operation/monitoring of electroplating processes are required unit MEM08003 Perform electroplating operations should be selected.

Where surface preparation operations are required unit MEM08011 Prepare surfaces using solvents and/or mechanical means and unit MEM08012 Prepare surfaces by abrasive blasting (basic), should also be selected as appropriate.

Where the interpretation of technical drawings is required unit MEM09002 Interpret technical drawing should also be selected.

Where the selection and use of engineering measurement is required unit MEM12023 Perform engineering measurements should also be selected.

Where basic inspection of completed or partly completed products produced by others is required unit MEM15004 Perform inspection should also be selected.

Where the selection and use of power tools/hand held operations is required unit MEM18002 Use power tools/hand held operations should also be selected.

Where construction of anodes, shields/robbers is required appropriate fabrication units should also be selected.

Where dogging/lifting is required appropriate materials handling units to suit regulatory requirements should also be selected.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

What You'll Learn

Assessment Requirements

Performance Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria on at least two (2) occasions and include:

following work instructions, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and safe work practices

determining the correct electroplating treatment, method and process for a range of ferrous and non-ferrous components to have a protective coating applied

selecting, setting up and using electroplating equipment and masking up components to be plated, as necessary

carrying out the electroplating process, monitoring solutions and other parameters, adjusting as necessary to meet the specified surface finish

cleaning and maintaining electroplating equipment, reporting any faults.

Knowledge Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate the required knowledge for this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria and include knowledge of:

safe work practices and procedures and use of personal protective equipment (PPE)

effects of plating process on different materials

basic principles of chemistry, electro chemistry and metallurgy related to the process, including:

importance of maintaining satisfactory electrical contact

methods for detecting unsatisfactory contact

effects of build-up on cathode contacts

properties of different base materials

different pre-treatment processes and their application

process parameters and their relation to each other

differences between chromate conversion coatings

types of defects, their causes and related corrective actions

mechanical/chemical pre-treatment processes

purpose and application of simple tests including ph and concentration

operating parameters of solutions, including temperature, agitation rate and similar parameters

acceptable appearances for each stage of the electroplating operation and common abnormalities

application of different equipment to the type of work processed and correct operation and cleaning requirements, including cleaning filters

solutions, solution compositions and operating ranges for processes relative to protective finishes, including cleaning/pre-treatment, electroplating and post-treatment

procedures for testing plate thickness

safe working procedures for handling chemicals relative to protective finishes and for safely adding to baths

procedures for measuring out materials, including use of scales and volumetric measurement devices

level of impurities and permissible limits, effects of impurities and purification procedures for protective finish solutions

different anode arrangements, including use of baskets and bags, and conforming anodes

correct operation of anodes and appropriate remedial action

effect of maintenance schedules on plant performance and performance requirements and basic maintenance checks for rectifier, bus bars, agitation, heating/cooling, extraction and tank linings.

Assessment Conditions

Assessors must:

have vocational competency in electroplating protective finishes at least to the level being assessed with relevant industry knowledge and experience

satisfy the assessor requirements in the Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 or its replacement and comply with the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011, its replacement or equivalent legislation covering VET regulation in a non-referring state/territory as the case requires

Where possible assessment must occur in operational workplace situations. Where this is not possible or where personal safety or environmental damage are limiting factors, assessment must occur in a sufficiently rigorous simulated environment that reflects realistic operational workplace conditions. This must cover all aspects of workplace performance, including environment, task skills, task management skills, contingency management skills and job role environment skills

Conditions for assessment must include access to all tools, equipment, materials and documentation required, including relevant workplace procedures, product and manufacturing specifications

Assessment processes and techniques must be appropriate to the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of the work being performed and the needs of the candidate.

Foundation Skills

• text: This section describes those required skills (reading, writing, oral communication and numeracy) that are essential to workplace performance in this unit of competency. Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.

Prerequisite Units

• {'code': 'MEM07001', 'title': 'Perform operational maintenance of machines/equipment'}
• {'code': 'MEM08001', 'title': 'Perform wire, jig and barrel load/unload work'}
• {'code': 'MEM08003', 'title': 'Perform electroplating operations'}
• {'code': 'MEM11011', 'title': 'Undertake manual handling'}
• {'code': 'MEM13003', 'title': 'Work safely with industrial chemicals and materials'}
• {'code': 'MEM13015', 'title': 'Work safely and effectively in manufacturing and engineering'}
• {'code': 'MEM16006', 'title': 'Organise and communicate information'}
• {'code': 'MEM18001', 'title': 'Use hand tools'}

Parent Qualifications

• MEM40119 — Certificate IV in Engineering
  MEM

Related Units

• MEM27027 — Install or modify mobile plant air conditioning systems
  Same training package
• MEM18009 — Perform precision levelling and alignment of machines and engineering components
  Same training package
• MEM18060 — Maintain, repair control instrumentation - single and multiple loop control systems
  Same training package
• MEM15011 — Exercise external quality assurance
  Same training package
• MEM25003 — Set up marine vessel structures
  Same training package
• MEM19054 — Fabricate platinum jewellery items
  Same training package