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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers?
Task-level automation exposure for Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers: 17 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
22%
weighted task index
17 of 17 tasks scored
Median Salary
$46,350 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
12,850 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-3.3%
employment change
1,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 24 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$33,330 – $61,440
Highest medians
Ohio $61,440
Alabama $60,100
Indiana $57,200
Pennsylvania $55,960
Minnesota $52,600
Lowest medians
Kentucky $33,330
Nebraska $37,630
Utah $38,570
North Carolina $40,090
Virginia $40,770
State figures come from the 51-6091 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 22%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 73%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 0%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 12%
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 35/100
Moderate
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
17 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%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 20%
3 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 73%
13 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
#14208 · Core · 12% automatable
Set up, operate, or tend machines that extrude and form filaments from synthetic materials such as rayon, fiberglass, or liquid polymers.
physical manipulation — Metal and plastic forming equipment run by hand
Operate metal or plastic forming equipment.
#14214 · Core · 12% automatable
Press buttons to stop machines when processes are complete or when malfunctions are detected.
physical manipulation — Metal and plastic forming equipment run by hand
Operate metal or plastic forming equipment.
#14213 · Core · 37% automatable
Notify other workers of defects, and direct them to adjust extruding and forming machines.
text generation — Notifying maintenance needs is routine messaging
Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs. Signal others to coordinate work activities.
#14216 · Core · 42% automatable
Observe machine operations, control boards, and gauges to detect malfunctions such as clogged bushings and defective binder applicators.
visual inspection — Sensor/vision monitoring possible, but physical verification and accountability remain human
Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning.
#14209 · Core · 10% automatable
Load materials into extruding and forming machines, using hand tools, and adjust feed mechanisms to set feed rates.
physical manipulation — Hands-on production flow control
Load materials into production equipment. Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.
#14211 · Core · 12% automatable
Move controls to activate and adjust extruding and forming machines.
physical manipulation — Metal and plastic forming equipment run by hand
Operate metal or plastic forming equipment.
#14212 · Core · 82% automatable
Record details of machine malfunctions.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#14220 · Core · 8% automatable
Clean and maintain extruding and forming machines, using hand tools.
physical manipulation — Physical production equipment maintenance
Clean production equipment. Maintain production or processing equipment.
#14215 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Observe flow of finish across finish rollers, and turn valves to adjust flow to specifications.
physical manipulation — Hands-on production flow control
Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.
#14219 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Remove polymer deposits from spinnerettes and equipment, using silicone spray, brass chisels, and bronze-wool pads.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of equipment in unstructured settings
Clean production equipment.
#14218 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Press metering-pump buttons and turn valves to stop flow of polymers.
physical manipulation — Hands-on production flow control
Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.
#14224 · Supplemental · 47% automatable
Record operational data on tags, and attach tags to machines.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information. Record operational or production data.
#14210 · Supplemental · 27% automatable
Start metering pumps and observe operation of machines and equipment to ensure continuous flow of filaments extruded through spinnerettes and to detect processing defects.
visual inspection — Malfunction detection relies on live physical observation
Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions. Operate pumping systems or equipment.
#14207 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Remove excess, entangled, or completed filaments from machines, using hand tools.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of equipment in unstructured settings
Clean production equipment.
#14227 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Wipe finish rollers with cloths and wash finish trays with water when necessary.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of equipment in unstructured settings
Clean production equipment.
#14225 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Lower pans inside cabinets to catch molten filaments until flow of polymer through packs has stopped.
physical manipulation — Physical placement of containers for material flow
Position containers to receive materials or workpieces.
#14217 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Open cabinet doors to cut multifilament threadlines away from guides, using scissors.
physical manipulation — Hands-on industrial material cutting
Cut industrial materials in preparation for fabrication or processing.
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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
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