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Simulated workplace
Scenario · Technical, Quality and WHS

Propose a material and compound for the Goldreef screen panel

You are a polymer technologist in the Technical, Quality and WHS team.

Advanced6 to 8 hours8 tasks
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Home/Scenarios/Propose a material and compound for the Goldreef screen panel
The situation

What has happened

Goldreef Mining Services has asked Polyform to develop a modular screen panel for wet screening of abrasive ore at 50 degrees slurry temperature, with a customer drawing, an aperture specification and a target service life. Candidate routes are a cast polyurethane elastomer, a natural rubber compound or a synthetic rubber compound, each with different processing, tooling and safety implications. Polyurethane systems involve isocyanates, which are not currently on the Hazardous Chemicals Register. The Technical, Quality and WHS Manager wants a technical proposal that the General Manager can use to decide whether to quote, including the material choice, compound or system, processing route, trial and test program and the safety and register implications.

Your brief. Prepare a technical proposal that compares candidate materials and compounds against the service conditions, recommends one with reasons, proposes the compound recipe or polyurethane system and processing route, defines the trial and test program with acceptance criteria, and sets out the safety, chemical register and environmental implications.
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Tasks

Deliverables

  • Service condition and requirement summary
  • Material comparison table with recommendation
  • Compound recipe or system proposal and processing route
  • Trial and test program with acceptance criteria
  • Safety, chemical register and environmental assessment and final proposal

Documents to use

Systems to use

Raw Materials and Compounds Stock

Keeps the stock record for resins, masterbatch, copper rod, rubber ingredients, compounds and chemicals with lot numbers, quantities and locations.

Tool and Die Register

Holds every mould, extrusion die, calibrator and cable die with its version, condition, service history, cavity or size details and storage location.

Quality Nonconformance Register

Records nonconforming product, process deviations, cable test failures and customer complaints with disposition and corrective action.

For trainers and assessors

Units of competency

Current on training.gov.au for the Plastics, Rubber and Cablemaking as at 10 September 2026.

PMBTECH505EChoose polymer materials for an application
PMBTECH508EDevelop a new compound
PMBTECH601EDevelop a new product
PMBTECH603EDesign structural or mechanical polymer components
PMBTECH502EAnalyse production trials

Qualifications

PMB50121Diploma of Polymer Technology
PMB40121Certificate IV in Polymer Technology
Assessor notes

What to look for

Evidence guide

Look for a comparison that uses the actual service conditions rather than generic material properties, a recommendation with stated risks, a compound or system proposal specific enough to mix or cast, and a trial program with acceptance criteria at each stage. The safety assessment must address isocyanates explicitly if polyurethane is chosen and must identify the register entries required. The proposal must end with a clear recommendation on quoting.

The student's evidence summary lists every record they created or changed in the systems named above, their notes and the tasks they ticked. Verify it against the deliverables and your own assessment tool.