AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?

Task-level automation exposure for Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: 31 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

17% weighted task index

31 of 31 tasks scored

Median Salary

$46,330 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

High

171,200 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

-10.5% employment change

13,200 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 50 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$24,090 – $53,680

Highest medians

Oregon $53,680

Maine $51,820

Washington $51,160

Colorado $50,790

Minnesota $49,770

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $24,090

New Mexico $39,430

Florida $39,440

Idaho $39,580

Mississippi $40,650

State figures come from the 51-4031 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 17%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 80%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 10%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 5%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 55/100 High

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

31 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 7%

2 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 5%

1 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 88%

28 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#10110 · Core · 28% automatable

Measure completed workpieces to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers, gauges, calipers, templates, or rulers.

physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces

Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.

#10111 · Core · 18% automatable

Examine completed workpieces for defects, such as chipped edges or marred surfaces and sort defective pieces according to types of flaws.

visual inspection — Material product inspection is physical and sensory

Inspect metal, plastic, or composite products. Sort materials or products for processing, storing, shipping, or grading.

#10112 · Core · 73% automatable

Read work orders or production schedules to determine specifications, such as materials to be used, locations of cutting lines, or dimensions and tolerances.

information retrieval — Parse specs and materials from orders

Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements. Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.

#10115 · Core · 40% automatable

Start machines, monitor their operations, and record operational data.

data analysis — Record production data into structured logs

Monitor equipment operation to ensure that products are not flawed. Operate cutting equipment. Record operational or production data.

#10114 · Core · 12% automatable

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

physical manipulation — Cutting equipment operation is manual and judgment-based

Operate cutting equipment.

#10116 · Core · 15% automatable

Test and adjust machine speeds or actions, according to product specifications, using gauges and hand tools.

visual inspection — Physical inspection of production machinery in situ

Inspect production equipment. Operate cutting equipment.

#10113 · Core · 4% automatable

Load workpieces, plastic material, or chemical solutions into machines.

physical manipulation — Hands-on loading of materials into equipment

Load materials into production equipment.

#10131 · Core · 15% automatable

Turn controls to set cutting speeds, feed rates, or table angles for specified operations.

physical manipulation — Physical control setting for cutting

Set equipment controls to meet cutting specifications.

#20820 · Core · 5% automatable

Clean work area.

physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of work areas

Clean work areas.

#10128 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Lubricate workpieces with oil.

physical manipulation — Manual application of lubricants to workpieces

Apply lubricants or coolants to workpieces.

#10117 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

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.

physical manipulation — Mounting tools requires hands-on setup

Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment.

#10122 · Supplemental · 12% automatable

Adjust ram strokes of presses to specified lengths, using hand tools.

physical manipulation — Metal and plastic forming equipment run by hand

Operate metal or plastic forming equipment.

#10119 · Supplemental · 6% automatable

Position, align, and secure workpieces against fixtures or stops on machine beds or on dies.

physical manipulation — Aligning parts for assembly needs hands and judgment

Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment. Align parts or workpieces to ensure proper assembly.

#10127 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Set stops on machine beds, change dies, and adjust components, such as rams or power presses, when making multiple or successive passes.

physical manipulation — Manual fixture adjustment

Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.

#10118 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Clean and lubricate machines.

physical manipulation — Manual lubrication of production equipment

Clean production equipment. Lubricate production equipment.

#10124 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Position guides, stops, holding blocks, or other fixtures to secure and direct workpieces, using hand tools and measuring devices.

physical manipulation — Manual fixture adjustment

Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.

#10123 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Place workpieces on cutting tables, manually or using hoists, cranes, or sledges.

physical manipulation — Mounting workpieces is physical loading

Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.

#10129 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Replace defective blades or wheels, using hand tools.

physical manipulation — Hands-on removal and fitting of worn components

Replace worn equipment components.

#10132 · Supplemental · 60% automatable

Plan sequences of operations, applying knowledge of physical properties of workpiece materials.

decision support — Sequence planning aided; production constraints human-verified

Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.

#10130 · Supplemental · 12% automatable

Mark identifying data on workpieces.

physical manipulation — Marking workpieces is hands-on physical task

Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.

#10126 · Supplemental · 15% automatable

Turn valves to start flow of coolant against cutting areas or to start airflow that blows cuttings away from kerfs.

physical manipulation — Physical valve/control manipulation for coolant

Adjust equipment controls to regulate coolant flow.

#10137 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Hone cutters with oilstones to remove nicks.

physical manipulation — Manual sharpening of cutting tools

Sharpen cutting or grinding tools.

#10136 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Remove housings, feed tubes, tool holders, or other accessories to replace worn or broken parts, such as springs or bushings.

physical manipulation — Disassembly requires hands-on tool use

Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair. Remove accessories, tools, or other parts from equipment.

#10135 · Supplemental · 11% automatable

Sharpen dulled blades, using bench grinders, abrasive wheels, or lathes.

physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel

Operate grinding equipment. Sharpen cutting or grinding tools.

#20821 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Operate forklifts to deliver materials.

situated mobility — Driving forklifts requires real-world navigation and control

Operate forklifts or other loaders.

#10138 · Supplemental · 22% automatable

Select, clean, and install spacers, rubber sleeves, or cutters on arbors.

decision support — Equipment selection against specs; human verifies fit

Select production equipment according to product specifications. Clean production equipment. Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment.

#10120 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Scribe reference lines on workpieces as guides for cutting operations, according to blueprints, templates, sample parts, or specifications.

physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on

Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.

#10134 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Grind out burrs or sharp edges, using portable grinders, speed lathes, or polishing jacks.

physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel

Smooth metal surfaces or edges. Operate grinding equipment.

#10121 · Supplemental · 15% automatable

Set blade tensions, heights, and angles to perform prescribed cuts, using wrenches.

physical manipulation — Physical control setting for cutting

Set equipment controls to meet cutting specifications.

#24012 · Supplemental · 7% automatable

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

physical manipulation — Welding is skilled hands-on metalwork

Weld metal components. Braze metal parts or components. Operate welding equipment.

#10139 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Preheat workpieces, using heating furnaces or hand torches.

physical manipulation — Heating workpieces requires physical operation

Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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