Description
Use hand and hand-held power tools to lay out, cut, and trim sheet metal to flat patterns and blanks per drawings and templates for fabrication and assembly.
- • Inspect sheets and blanks; mark or reject pieces with dents, warping, corrosion, scratches, or wrong gauge.
- • Deburr and trim excess metal, removing burrs, tabs, and sharp edges from cut parts.
- • Cut and trim sheet metal using hand snips, throatless and bench shears, nibblers, jigsaws, and band saws.
- • Sort materials and parts by gauge, alloy, size, job number, and condition.
- • Mark part numbers, heat/lot numbers, gauges, and job identifiers on blanks.
- • Read blueprints and work orders to determine flat patterns, bend allowances, cut locations, and quantities.
- • Count, weigh, and bundle or band cut blanks for downstream operations.
- • Lay out and scribe cut lines using templates, patterns, squares, rulers, dividers, and layout dye.
- • Position and secure sheets on benches or shears; apply protective film or backers as needed.
- • Stack and stage cut parts on pallets, carts, or racks with surface protection.
- • Straighten, flatten, or lightly form edges as required for accurate layout or trimming.
- • Finish edges using files, scrapers, deburring tools, and abrasive wheels; clean parts with solvents as required.
- • Nest patterns to maximize material yield and maintain grain direction or finish orientation.
- • Punch holes and cut openings, notches, and slots using hand punches, chassis punches, nibblers, or die sets.
- • Replace, sharpen, and adjust snips, shear blades, saw blades, and punch dies.
- • Operate stomp/bench shears, setting blade clearance and stroke to cut to specified sizes.
- • Set fences, backgauges, and stops to control cut dimensions and repeatability.
- • Move sheets and finished parts safely using carts, pallet jacks, or hoists; maintain a clean, safe work area.
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Advanced Manufacturing
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
