Instrument Maker
Instrument makers manufacture, install and repair instruments. Very high standards have to be met with regard to the design and production of instruments to be used by scientists, industrial organizations and academic institutions.
Instruments may be classified according to their use, as follows:
- Mechanical instruments: used for mechanical purposes e.g. watches, thermometers, odometers and pressure gauges
- Optical instruments: including spectacles, telescopes and cameras, the production of which requires a high degree of skill and accuracy
- Electrical instruments: such as voltmeters, ammeters, kilowatt gauges and delicate electronic equipment
- Chemical instruments: including very complex apparatus used in chemical engineering
- Medical instruments and apparatus: such as scissors and pincers
The instruments have to be checked regularly and defects should be detected and repaired by an instrument maker.
Instrument makers work mostly indoors in designing and manufacturing plants. Working conditions depend on the field of specialisation: mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, chemical or optical. In many cases control panels are in comfortable surroundings.
Employment
- such organisations as: Sasol, Mittal Steel, Telkom, South African Airways, Eskom
- municipalities
- electrical factories
- manufacturing industries
- self-employment, with enough experience and capital, can start own business
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