Profession photographic equipment assembler

Photographic equipment assemblers build photographic products such as cameras, film cameras, and projectors. They collect the different optical, electronic, and mechanical camera components, such as the battery, mirrors, image processor, and lenses, and piece together cameras according to specifications using hand tools or machinery.

Would you like to know what kind of career and professions suit you best? Take our free Holland code career test and find out.

Personality Type

• Realistic / Conventional

Knowledge

• Optical glass characteristics

  The characteristics of optical glass such as refractive index, dispersion, and chemical properties.

• Optical manufacturing process

  The process and different stages of manufacturing an optical product, from design and prototyping to the preparation of optical components and lenses, the assembly of optical equipment, and the intermediate and final testing of the optical products and its components.

• Quality standards

  The national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.

• Digital camera sensors

  Types of sensors used in digital cameras, such as charged coupled devices (CCD) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor sensors (CMOS).

• Glass coatings

  Coatings used to protect glass from damage, to influence its behaviour when damaged, to keep harmful UV rays out, and others. Their usage cases, advantages and disadvantages and price points.

• Photographic lenses

  The types of lenses used for photographic purposes, such as telephoto lenses, with a larger focal length and shallower angles of refraction for a magnified view, and landscape lenses, with a shorter focal length and sharper angles of refraction for a wider view.

• Electronics

  The functioning of electronic circuit boards, processors, chips, and computer hardware and software, including programming and applications. Apply this knowledge to ensure electronic equipment runs smoothly.

• Optical equipment standards

  The national and international quality and safety standards and regulations with regards to the use and manufacture of optical equipment, including optical materials, optical components, optical systems, ophthalmic equipment, optomechanical equipment, optical measuring equipment, photographic equipment, and optoelectronic equipment.

• Cameras

  Types of cameras, such as single-lens reflex cameras and point-and-shoot cameras.

Skills

• Use precision tools

  Use electronic, mechanical, electric, or optical precision tools for precision work.

• Operate optical equipment

  Use specific optical machinery in order to cut, polish, adjust and refine optics.

• Ensure conformity to specifications

  Ensure that the assembled products are conform to the specifications given.

• 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.

• Meet deadlines

  Ensure operative processes are finished at a previously agreed-upon time.

• Clean optical components

  Clean optical components after every cycle in the manufacturing process.

• Operate optical assembly equipment

  Set up and operate optical processing or assembly equipment, such as optical spectrum analysers, power saws, lasers, die bonders, soldering irons, and wire bonders.

• Read assembly drawings

  Read and interpret drawings listing all the parts and subassemblies of a certain product. The drawing identifies the different components and materials and provides instructions on how to assemble a product.

• Grind glass

  Grind and polish glass or lenses smooth through the application of a range of glass grinding techniques. Glass can be ground using hand tools or glass grinding machinery. Treat the glass with abrasive chemicals during the process.

• Cut glass

  Use glass cutting tools or diamond blades to cut pieces out of glass plates, including mirrors.

• 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.

• Select camera apertures

  Adjust lens apertures, shutter speeds and camera focus.

• Assemble cameras

  Mount the components present in the body of the camera, such as the shutter, mirror, flash bulb, image processor, display screen, battery, pentaprism, viewfinder, and image sensor, as well as the lens of the camera. Lenses are mechanically set into place using threaded retaining rings and the use of adhesive cement on the outer cylindrical edge to hold lenses in place.

• Join lenses

  Join the individual glass lenses together with other lenses using cement.

• Smooth glass surface

  Smooth glass or lens surfaces of optical instruments with grinding and polishing tools, such as diamond tools.

• Centre lenses

  Adjust optical axis and mechanical axis of lenses so that they would coincident. This process is called centring.

• Manipulate glass

  Manipulate the properties, shape and size of glass.

• Wear cleanroom suit

  Wear garments appropriate for environments that require a high level of cleanliness to control the level of contamination.

• Apply optical coating

  Apply coating to optical lenses, such as reflective coating to mirrors, anti-reflective coatings to camera lenses, or tinted coatings to sunglasses.

• Remove defective products

  Remove defective materials from the production line.

• Operate precision measuring equipment

  Measure the size of a processed part when checking and marking it to check if it is up to standard by use of two and three dimensional precision measuring equipment such as a caliper, a micrometer, and a measuring gauge.

• Verify lenses compliance

  Verify that lenses are according to the specifications.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB