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MEM18015 Current

Application

This unit of competency defines the skills and knowledge required to maintain tools and dies.

It covers identifying and analysing defects in tooling, disassembling and assessing tooling components, manufacturing or repairing tooling components to conform to specifications, and assembling tooling components. Potential production/maintenance problems are also identified.

Where simple maintenance not requiring precision repair is required unit MEM18006 Perform precision fitting of engineering components should be selected.

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

What You'll Learn

1. Determine job requirements

  • 1.1 Follow standard operating procedures (SOPs)
  • 1.2 Comply with work health and safety (WHS) requirements at all times
  • 1.3 Use appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in accordance with SOPs
  • 1.4 Identify job requirements from specifications, drawings, job sheets or work instructions

2. Identify and analyse defects in tooling

  • 2.1 Determine defects from production components produced, production reports or tool inspections
  • 2.2 Plan sequence of maintenance operations

3. Disassemble and assess tooling components

  • 3.1 Disassemble tooling and assess condition of components against prints, drawings and manufacturers’ drawings
  • 3.2 Replace/recondition worn/damaged parts

4. Manufacture/repair and assemble tooling components

  • 4.1 Obtain materials to meet tooling requirements
  • 4.2 Select and use appropriate hand and hand held power tools
  • 4.3 Choose appropriate machining process from a range of standard tool room machines
  • 4.4 Set machining parameters to produce components to specification
  • 4.5 Initiate heat treatment according to specification, where appropriate
  • 4.6 Check tooling components and assemble in conformance with specifications and procedures
  • 4.7 Check production components to ensure compliance to specifications, as required

5. Identify potential production/ maintenance problems

  • 5.1 Identify and record conditions leading to tooling failure
  • 5.2 Identify recurrent faults and initiate solutions

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

identifying and interpreting specifications, drawings and sample products/components to maintain tools and dies

examining defective tooling for breakage, wear and defects requiring precision repair

disassembling the defective tooling in accordance with acceptable tool making techniques and procedures and marking worn/damaged components for repair or replacement

obtaining appropriate materials for manufacture of replacement tooling components and testing for hardness

using appropriate hand and hand held power tools to fashion/manufacture tooling components to specifications and utilising sample components or sections to test tooling components being manufactured

shaping and producing the tooling components to specifications using appropriate machines and machine processes and initiating heat treatment, where required

assembling and fitting all tooling components to specifications using acceptable tool making techniques and procedures

using precision instruments to check the first-off component/product for compliance to specifications

recording the conditions that lead to the failure of a given set of tooling and initiating design modifications/alterations to rectify recurring faults or failure.

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)

common tooling defects from a range of sample products/components and reasons and probable causes of tooling failure

reasons for establishing a sequential plan for the repair/maintenance of defective tooling

procedures for:

documenting plans for the repair/maintenance of defective tooling

disassembling defective tooling

identifying worn/damaged tooling and components for repair or replacement

obtaining/selecting the chosen materials in terms of strength, durability, component finish, heat treatment requirement, availability and reasons for selection

hardness testing materials

initiating the heat treatment of tool steels and components and heat treatment requirements to achieve specified hardness

fitting/assembling the tooling components and precautions to be taken

fitting/assembling the tooling components

documenting the chosen mode of tooling failures

initiating modifications/alterations to tooling design

specifications of all tooling components

precision instruments to be used to check tooling components for conformance to specification and reasons for selection

reasons for deciding to repair or replace worn/damaged components

appropriate materials, including physical properties for each component of the tooling to be replaced

hand and hand held power tools to be used to fashion/manufacture the required tooling components and reasons for selection

appropriate machines and machining processes to shape/produce the required tooling components and reasons for selection

effect of machining parameters on the surface finish and tolerances achievable from machining processes for given machining tasks and specifications

reasons for heat treating the tool steel in accordance with heat treatment procedures and specifications

appropriate precision instruments for checking the components produced

specifications of the finished product

common causes of tooling failure and conditions leading to the failure of a given set of tooling

previous faults with the given set of tooling

any commonalities of causes of failures or trends/events associated with tooling failure and proposed solutions for a range of recurrent faults that may occur in tooling and reasons for selection.

Assessment Conditions

Assessors must:

have vocational competency in maintaining tools and dies 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.

Assessment must include evidence of 160 hours of workplace practice associated with the skills of this unit in a functioning workplace.

All aspects of competent application of the unit must be addressed including prerequisite competency units and associated workplace performance, including environment, task skills, task management skills, contingency management skills and job role environment skills.

Knowledge assessment may be either verbal or written but must adequately reflect the knowledge requirements of the unit and its prerequisites in a functioning workplace.

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

Parent Qualifications

Related Units

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Last updated from training.gov.au: 22 February 2026