Explore by Career/Production
Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend plating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces. Typically, the product being coated is immersed in molten metal or an electrolytic solution.
- Median pay
- $41,600
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -13.6%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
What they do
- Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times.
- Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes.
- Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage.
- Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces.
- Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.
- Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications.
- Maintain production records.
- Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines.
- Examine completed objects to determine thicknesses of metal deposits, or measure thicknesses by using instruments such as micrometers.
- Rinse coated objects in cleansing liquids and dry them with cloths, centrifugal driers, or by tumbling in sawdust-filled barrels.
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.