Description
Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
- • Clean work area.
- • Measure completed workpieces to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers, gauges, calipers, templates, or rulers.
- • Examine completed workpieces for defects, such as chipped edges or marred surfaces and sort defective pieces according to types of flaws.
- • Read work orders or production schedules to determine specifications, such as materials to be used, locations of cutting lines, or dimensions and tolerances.
- • Load workpieces, plastic material, or chemical solutions into machines.
- • Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
- • Start machines, monitor their operations, and record operational data.
- • Test and adjust machine speeds or actions, according to product specifications, using gauges and hand tools.
- • 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.
- • Clean and lubricate machines.
- • Position, align, and secure workpieces against fixtures or stops on machine beds or on dies.
- • Scribe reference lines on workpieces as guides for cutting operations, according to blueprints, templates, sample parts, or specifications.
- • Set blade tensions, heights, and angles to perform prescribed cuts, using wrenches.
- • Adjust ram strokes of presses to specified lengths, using hand tools.
- • Place workpieces on cutting tables, manually or using hoists, cranes, or sledges.
- • Position guides, stops, holding blocks, or other fixtures to secure and direct workpieces, using hand tools and measuring devices.
- • Thread ends of metal coils from reels through slitters and secure ends on recoilers.
- • Turn valves to start flow of coolant against cutting areas or to start airflow that blows cuttings away from kerfs.
- • Set stops on machine beds, change dies, and adjust components, such as rams or power presses, when making multiple or successive passes.
- • Lubricate workpieces with oil.
- • Replace defective blades or wheels, using hand tools.
- • Mark identifying data on workpieces.
- • Turn controls to set cutting speeds, feed rates, or table angles for specified operations.
- • Plan sequences of operations, applying knowledge of physical properties of workpiece materials.
- • Hand-form, cut, or finish workpieces, using tools such as table saws, hand sledges, or anvils.
- • Grind out burrs or sharp edges, using portable grinders, speed lathes, or polishing jacks.
- • Sharpen dulled blades, using bench grinders, abrasive wheels, or lathes.
- • Remove housings, feed tubes, tool holders, or other accessories to replace worn or broken parts, such as springs or bushings.
- • Hone cutters with oilstones to remove nicks.
- • Select, clean, and install spacers, rubber sleeves, or cutters on arbors.
- • Preheat workpieces, using heating furnaces or hand torches.
- • Operate forklifts to deliver materials.
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Advanced Manufacturing
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Sources & Standards:
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
