Product Assembler

Man's voice: Welcome to this Competenz career showcase. We're taking a look at the inside workings of production design and manufacturing.

A career in product design and manufacturing has never been more exciting.

Let's take a look at Adept, New Zealand's leading product development and manufacturing company.

Adept makes a huge range of products from concept to design and final manufacturing. They make loads of stuff for other New Zealand manufacturers like Fisher & Paykel Healthcare – as well as their own products.

Over 95% of their products are exported to about 50 different countries overseas. So how does it start?

First up design engineers talk through the product requirements then they get to work designing a solution. They use specialist computer programmers to build, test and refine the design. When they're satisfied with a prototype it's ready for a team of tool designers to decide how to actually produce the item in a factory.

Tool designers work out the best way to manufacture the design. They look
at each component within the design which will be manufactured using a specialist process.

Every part of the design has to be detailed – it's like a giant jigsaw where CAD or CAM programmers create code to run CNC machines which then produce the individual components.

Each part has to fit together perfectly to work within the overall design. The verification process ensures that each part is perfect too micro accuracy.

It takes an army of skilled tradespeople to ensure all the elements in the design are manufactured to the highest standards. Everyone is a specialist in what they do.

Using highly technical equipment and specialist knowledge they can produce
the moulds that the factory will use.

There are so many job roles in the process – from production planning to material handlers, machine operators, die setters, composite fabricators, mechanical engineers, NC programmers and operators, along with the toolmakers, managers and designers. And everyone can take pride and get in each component exactly right.

With all component parts in place the factory comes alive.

You can see that there are still more roles on the factory floor in operating and maintaining the machiner. Assembly and cleanroom workers have a vital role to play in the manufacturing process, too.

And there is another specialist process fresh within the industry – composite fabrication. Carbon is the new business buzz, creating exciting new opportunities right now and with such fast-paced technology who knows what's just around the next corner.

So that's some insight into the world of design and manufacturing with huge thanks to Adept who are truly shaping tomorrow's world.

If you need help to shape your world for tomorrow why not talk to us about apprenticeship opportunities and on-the-job training.