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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Patternmakers, Wood?
Task-level automation exposure for Patternmakers, Wood: 20 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
37%
weighted task index
20 of 20 tasks scored
Median Salary
$49,630 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
220 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-2.0%
employment change
100 openings a year · BLS line item
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 37%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 43%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 20%
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 9/100
Low
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
20 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) 39%
8 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 5%
1 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 56%
11 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
#12230 · Core · 66% automatable
Read blueprints, drawings, or written specifications to determine sizes and shapes of patterns and required machine setups.
visual inspection — Blueprint setup reading partial, human confirms
Study blueprints or other instructions to determine equipment setup requirements.
#12235 · Core · 5% automatable
Fit, fasten, and assemble wood parts together to form patterns, models, or sections, using glue, nails, dowels, bolts, and screws.
physical manipulation — Wood assembly requires hands-on fitting and fastening
Assemble wood products.
#12231 · Core · 8% automatable
Lay out patterns on wood stock and draw outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products, based on blueprint specifications and sketches, and using marking and measuring devices.
physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on
Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
#12234 · Core · 6% automatable
Trim, smooth, and shape surfaces, and plane, shave, file, scrape, and sand models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.
physical manipulation — Manual trimming of workpieces
Shape surfaces or edges of wood workpieces. Trim excess material from workpieces.
#12247 · Core · 60% automatable
Divide patterns into sections according to shapes of castings to facilitate removal of patterns from molds.
decision support — Sequence planning aided; production constraints human-verified
Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
#12232 · Core · 28% automatable
Verify dimensions of completed patterns, using templates, straightedges, calipers, or protractors.
physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
#12236 · Core · 68% automatable
Correct patterns to compensate for defects in castings.
visual inspection — Generates template designs; aesthetic fit needs human review
Design templates or patterns.
#12233 · Core · 13% automatable
Set up, operate, and adjust a variety of woodworking machines such as bandsaws and lathes to cut and shape sections, parts, and patterns, according to specifications.
physical manipulation — Physical control setting for cutting
Set equipment controls to meet cutting specifications. Operate woodworking equipment.
#12240 · Core · 10% automatable
Finish completed products or models with shellac, lacquer, wax, or paint.
physical manipulation — Applying finishes requires hands-on coating work
Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products.
#12246 · Core · 78% automatable
Estimate costs for patternmaking jobs.
data analysis — Cost estimation from inputs; human validates
Estimate costs of products, services, or materials.
#12239 · Core · 12% automatable
Mark identifying information such as colors or codes on patterns, parts, and templates to indicate assembly methods.
physical manipulation — Marking workpieces is hands-on physical task
Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
#12243 · Core · 12% automatable
Repair broken or damaged patterns.
physical manipulation — Manual shaping and fitting of physical templates and molds
Repair templates, patterns, or molds.
#12244 · Core · 82% automatable
Maintain pattern records for reference.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#12241 · Core · 7% automatable
Glue fillets along interior angles of patterns.
physical manipulation — Physical construction of templates and work aids
Construct patterns, templates, or other work aids.
#12237 · Core · 5% automatable
Construct wooden models, templates, full scale mock-ups, jigs, or molds for shaping parts of products.
physical manipulation — Mold building is hands-on craft work
Build production molds.
#12238 · Core · 72% automatable
Compute dimensions, areas, volumes, and weights.
data analysis — Dimension calculations from given specs
Calculate dimensions of workpieces, products, or equipment.
#12242 · Core · 58% automatable
Select lumber to be used for patterns.
decision support — Input material selection from specs; human approves
Select production input materials.
#12249 · Core · 70% automatable
Collect and store patterns and lumber.
data analysis — Materials inventory records and forecasting automatable
Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
#12245 · Core · 73% automatable
Inventory equipment and supplies, ordering parts and tools as necessary.
decision support — Ordering via systems automatable; human approves spend
Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products. Order materials, supplies, or equipment.
#12248 · Supplemental · 20% automatable
Issue patterns to designated machine operators.
physical manipulation — Physically delivering supplies to workers
Distribute supplies to workers.
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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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