How to become a Sheet Metal Worker 2024

Sheet Metal Worker Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.

Sheet Metal Worker is Also Know as

In different settings, Sheet Metal Worker is titled as

Commercial Sheet Metal Service Installer
Field Installer
HVAC Sheet Metal Installer (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Installer)
HVAC Sheet Metal Specialist (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Specialist)
Sheet Metal Fabricator
Sheet Metal Installer
Sheet Metal Journeyman
Sheet Metal Layout Mechanic
Sheet Metal Mechanic
Sheet Metal Worker

Education and Training of Sheet Metal Worker

Sheet Metal Worker is categorized in Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Sheet Metal Worker

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Education Required for Sheet Metal Worker

These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Degrees Related to Sheet Metal Worker

Training Required for Sheet Metal Worker

Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Sheet Metal Worker in different industries are

What Do Sheet Metal Worker do?

Convert blueprints into shop drawings to be followed in the construction or assembly of sheet metal products.
Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
Select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications.
Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items.
Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills.
Trim, file, grind, deburr, buff, or smooth surfaces, seams, or joints of assembled parts, using hand tools or portable power tools.
Finish parts, using hacksaws or hand, rotary, or squaring shears.
Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
Shape metal material over anvils, blocks, or other forms, using hand tools.
Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices.
Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
Perform building commissioning activities by completing mechanical inspections of a building's water, lighting, or heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
Perform sheet metal work necessary for solar panel installations.
Verify that heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are designed, installed, and calibrated in accordance with green certification standards, such as those of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or written or verbal instructions.
Lay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squares, or rulers.
Develop or lay out patterns, using computerized metalworking equipment.
Maneuver completed roofing units into position for installation.
Inspect individual parts, assemblies, or installations, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, scales, or micrometers.
Secure metal roof panels in place by interlocking and fastening grooved panel edges.
Fasten roof panel edges or machine-made moldings to structures by nailing or welding.

Qualities of Good Sheet Metal Worker

Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Tools Used by Sheet Metal Worker

AC welding power units
AC/DC welding power units
Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
Adjustable widemouth pliers
Adjustable wrenches
Allen wrenches
Ammeters
Angle grinders
Aviation snips
Ball peen hammers
Bandsaws
Bar folders
Beading machines
Beam compasses
Bolt cutters
Box and pan brakes
Bumping hammers
Burring machines
C clamps
Calibrated flow hoods
Calipers
Carbon dioxide CO2 monitors
Caulking guns
Center punches
Chain hoists
Chalk lines
Circular saws
Clamp-on ammeters
Cleat folders
Cleat formers
Cold chisels
Cold-cut saws
Combination snips
Combustion analyzers
Computer controlled presses
Computer controlled saws
Cordless drills
Cutoff saws
Desktop computers
Dial indicators
Digital multimeters
Dimplers
Dividers
Double seaming equipment
Draft gauges
Drifts
Drill presses
Easy edgers
Electric drills
Electric impact wrenches
Foot shears
Framing squares
Groovers
Hacksaws
Hammer drills
Hammers
Hand brakes
Hand crimpers
Hand dollies
Hand notchers
Hard hats
Hoists
Hole punches
Humidity sensors
Hydraulic hoists
Hydraulic presses
Inclined manometers
Jigs
Ladders
Laser cutters
Laser levels
Laser printers
Magnehelic pressure gauges
Mechanical tachometers
Metal inert gas MIG welders
Microamp meters
Micrometers
Millivolt meters
Multimeters
Nibblers
Nut drivers
Ohmmeters
Oxyacetylene welding equipment
Oxygen testers
Personal computers
Pipe cutters
Pipe reamers
Pipe threaders
Pitot tubes
Plasma cutters
Plumb bobs
Pneumatic hammers
Pneumatic impact wrenches
Pneumatic riveters
Polishers
Pop rivet guns
Portable plasma cutters
Portable spot welders
Power brakes
Power buffers
Power notchers
Power presses
Power punches
Power routers
Power sanders
Power shears
Pressure gauges
Prick punches
Protective clothing
Protractors
Psychrometers
Punches
Ring and circular shears
Rivet presses
Riveting hammers
Riveting tools
Rotary punches
Safety glasses
Safety gloves
Safety goggles
Scaffolding
Scale rulers
Scratch awls
Screwdrivers
Scribers
Seamers
Set squares
Setting hammers
Side cutting pliers
Single-cut mill saw files
Slings
Slip roll formers
Smoke testers
Socket wrench sets
Soldering furnaces
Spiral duct machines
Spirit levels
Spot welders
Squares
Squaring shears
Stack thermometers
Stencils
Straightedges
Strobe tachometers
T squares
Tap sets
Tape measures
Templates
Tempscribes
Tongs
Trammel points
Transit levels
Tungsten inert gas TIG welding equipment
Turning machines
U-tube manometers
Unishears
V-notchers
Velometers
Vernier calipers
Vise grip pliers
Welding facial shields
Welding helmets
Welding tips
Wire cutters
Wiring machines

Technology Skills required for Sheet Metal Worker

Applied Production ProFab
Applied Production ProFold
Autodesk AutoCAD
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Corte Certo
FCC Software AutoPOL Series
JETCAM Expert
Merry Mechanization SMP/IS
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
PTC Creo Parametric
QuickPen DuctDesigner 3D
Revcad Software Sheet Lightning
Siemens NX
Spreadsheet software
Striker Systems SS-Profile
WiCAM PN4000
XY Soft Sheet Cutting Suite

US Universities

How to become Sheet Metal Worker in 2024