Occupation

Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Human Advantage 59%

Moderate human-AI collaboration

AI Automation Risk Moderate Risk
3.8 / 10

Some tasks in this role may be augmented by AI, but human oversight and interpersonal skills remain important.

Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.

Also Known As: Adjuster, Angle Shear Operator, Angle Shear Set Up Operator, Arbor Press Operator, Automatic Punch-Press Operator, Automatic Screwmaker, Automobile Bumper Straightener, Bander Operator +211 more

Video

Core Tasks

  1. Examine completed workpieces for defects, such as chipped edges or marred surfaces and sort defective pieces according to types of flaws.
  2. Measure completed workpieces to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers, gauges, calipers, templates, or rulers.
  3. Set stops on machine beds, change dies, and adjust components, such as rams or power presses, when making multiple or successive passes.
  4. Start machines, monitor their operations, and record operational data.
  5. Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
  6. Test and adjust machine speeds or actions, according to product specifications, using gauges and hand tools.
  7. Install, align, and lock specified punches, dies, cutting blades, or other fixtures in rams or beds of machines, using gauges, templates, feelers, shims, and hand tools.
  8. Read work orders or production schedules to determine specifications, such as materials to be used, locations of cutting lines, or dimensions and tolerances.
  9. Position guides, stops, holding blocks, or other fixtures to secure and direct workpieces, using hand tools and measuring devices.
  10. Position, align, and secure workpieces against fixtures or stops on machine beds or on dies.
  11. Load workpieces, plastic material, or chemical solutions into machines.
  12. Adjust ram strokes of presses to specified lengths, using hand tools.
  13. Clean and lubricate machines.
  14. Mark identifying data on workpieces.
  15. Clean work area.
  16. Plan sequences of operations, applying knowledge of physical properties of workpiece materials.
  17. Operate forklifts to deliver materials.
  18. Lubricate workpieces with oil.

Supplemental Tasks (14)

  1. Turn controls to set cutting speeds, feed rates, or table angles for specified operations.
  2. Scribe reference lines on workpieces as guides for cutting operations, according to blueprints, templates, sample parts, or specifications.
  3. Place workpieces on cutting tables, manually or using hoists, cranes, or sledges.
  4. Turn valves to start flow of coolant against cutting areas or to start airflow that blows cuttings away from kerfs.
  5. Thread ends of metal coils from reels through slitters and secure ends on recoilers.
  6. Grind out burrs or sharp edges, using portable grinders, speed lathes, or polishing jacks.
  7. Remove housings, feed tubes, tool holders, or other accessories to replace worn or broken parts, such as springs or bushings.
  8. Replace defective blades or wheels, using hand tools.
  9. Set blade tensions, heights, and angles to perform prescribed cuts, using wrenches.
  10. Select, clean, and install spacers, rubber sleeves, or cutters on arbors.
  11. Hand-form, cut, or finish workpieces, using tools such as table saws, hand sledges, or anvils.
  12. Preheat workpieces, using heating furnaces or hand torches.
  13. Sharpen dulled blades, using bench grinders, abrasive wheels, or lathes.
  14. Hone cutters with oilstones to remove nicks.

Emerging Tasks

New and evolving responsibilities for this role:

  • Use equipment designed to join sheet metal, such as spot welders.

Education & Training

Job Zone 2 Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Education: These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Experience: Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
On-the-Job Training: 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.

Education Level Distribution

Percentage of workers in this occupation with each education level.

High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
67%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)
16%
Less than a High School Diploma
9%
Some College Courses
7%

Technology & Tools

Hot Technologies

  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Word
  • SAP software

Software (10)

  • Automated inventory software
  • Computerized numerical control CNC software
  • Operational databases
  • Striker Systems SS-Punch

Tools & Equipment (79)

  • Abrasive wheels
  • Adjustable hand wrenches
  • Allen wrenches
  • Anvils
  • Bench grinders
  • Bench lathes
  • Blanking presses
  • C clamps
  • Claw hammers
  • Cleaning scrapers
  • Combination squares
  • Computer terminals
  • Computerized numerical control CNC turret punching machines
  • Core cutters
  • Crimping machines
  • Cutting machines
  • Dial calipers
  • Die cutting presses
  • Digital micrometers
  • Feeler gauges
  • Forklifts
  • Forming presses
  • Gauge blocks
  • Gear-cutting machines
  • Grease guns
  • Hand nibblers
  • Hand torches
  • Handsaws
  • Handtrucks
  • Heating furnaces
  • Hobbing presses
  • Hoisting equipment
  • Honing stones
  • Hydraulic presses
  • Labeling machines
  • Layout scales
  • Layout templates
  • Lift trucks
  • Locking hand pliers
  • Metal chisels
  • Metal cutting dies
  • Metal scribers
  • Multi-axis computerized numerical control CNC machines
  • Multiple punch presses
  • Notching machines
  • Overhead cranes
  • Pallet jacks
  • Personal computers
  • Portable grinders
  • Power guillotine cutters
  • Power press brakes
  • Power saws
  • Power shears
  • Precision files
  • Precision rulers
  • Protective ear muffs
  • Protractors
  • Punch presses
  • Safety gloves
  • Sawing machines
  • Shear presses
  • Shearing machines
  • Sheet metal hand tongs
  • Shims
  • Sledgehammers
  • Slitting machines
  • Speed lathes
  • Steam cleaning equipment
  • Straight screwdrivers
  • Straightedges
  • Table saws
  • Thermal cutting machines
  • Toggle presses
  • Transit levels
  • Tube benders
  • Turret presses
  • Utility knives
  • Vernier calipers
  • Wire brushes

Where This Career Leads

Career progression organized by specialty track and experience level.

Industrial Machinery Advanced Manufacturing

Zone 1
Conveyor Operators and Tenders 77% match
Zone 2
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic You are here
Zone 3
Industrial Machinery Mechanics 82% match

Resume Builder

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Real Talk

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