Description
Set up, operate, and tend pulverizer machines to grind materials into specified powders (e.g., coal, minerals, plastics, chemicals), meeting particle-size, throughput, and safety standards.
- • Read work orders and batch sheets to determine material, fineness, and throughput requirements.
- • Start, stop, and adjust pulverizers, feeders, and classifiers to maintain target grind.
- • Monitor gauges, amperage, vibration, temperatures, and airflow to ensure safe, continuous operation.
- • Inspect incoming material and finished powder to verify conformity to specifications.
- • Weigh and measure feed and product at set intervals to control yield and particle size.
- • Take and label samples; perform sieve or particle-size tests and record results.
- • Set classifier speed, screen selection, or mill gap to achieve specified fineness.
- • Record production, quality, and downtime data in logs or electronic systems.
- • Clear plugs, bridges, or tramp metal from chutes and mills using hand tools per lockout procedures.
- • Replace or adjust wear parts, such as hammers, liners, screens, and belts.
- • Tend conveyors, dust collectors, blowers, and pneumatic transfer lines to move materials.
- • Regulate process air, moisture, and temperature with dampers and valves to control drying and flow.
- • Add grinding aids, anti-caking agents, or other additives per formulations.
- • Reject off-spec material and correct settings to resolve quality issues.
- • Clean mills, classifiers, ducts, and work areas to maintain housekeeping and prevent contamination.
- • Inspect chains, belts, bearings, and seals for wear; report needed repairs.
- • Lubricate equipment and perform routine preventive maintenance with hand tools.
- • Load raw materials into hoppers or feed systems using hand tools or forklifts.
- • Mark bins, totes, and silos with lot numbers, grades, and hazards.
- • Follow safety procedures for dust control, PPE, explosion protection, and lockout/tagout.
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Advanced Manufacturing
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
