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

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Routine cognitive or manual task with high vulnerability to automation.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

Clean work area.

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

Lubricate workpieces with oil.

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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.

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

Clean and lubricate machines.

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Complex problem-solving, strategic leadership, or high-empathy task requiring human judgment.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

Replace defective blades or wheels, using hand tools.

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Complex problem-solving, strategic leadership, or high-empathy task requiring human judgment.

Mark identifying data on workpieces.

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

Hone cutters with oilstones to remove nicks.

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

Operate forklifts to deliver materials.

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Complex problem-solving, strategic leadership, or high-empathy task requiring human judgment.

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

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.

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

Complex problem-solving, strategic leadership, or high-empathy task requiring human judgment.

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

Complex problem-solving, strategic leadership, or high-empathy task requiring human judgment.

Preheat workpieces, using heating furnaces or hand torches.

Semi-structured task combining routine and non-routine responsibilities.