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Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic parts.
- Median pay
- $49,240
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -18.9%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Time Management
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
What they do
- Read work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup.
- Position and move metal wires or workpieces through a series of dies that compress and shape stock to form die impressions.
- Measure and inspect machined parts to ensure conformance to product specifications.
- Set up, operate, or tend presses and forging machines to perform hot or cold forging by flattening, straightening, bending, cutting, piercing, or other operations to taper, shape, or form metal.
- Turn handles or knobs to set pressures and depths of ram strokes and to synchronize machine operations.
- Install, adjust, and remove dies, synchronizing cams, forging hammers, and stop guides, using overhead cranes or other hoisting devices, and hand tools.
- Start machines to produce sample workpieces, and observe operations to detect machine malfunctions and to verify that machine setups conform to specifications.
- Confer with other workers about machine setups and operational specifications.
- Trim and compress finished forgings to specified tolerances.
- Remove dies from machines when production runs are finished.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.