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Jobs / Production and manufacturing / 51-4021.00

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.

US jobs
60,840
Median wage
$47,720 a year
Job family
Production and manufacturing

Can agents do the work of extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?

We read the evidence for the whole job family, Production and manufacturing: Unmeasured (no change in 12 months)

No direct benchmark gives a success rate.

0% of this occupation's work, by O*NET work activities, is measured by a direct benchmark.

  • 15%Position workpieces or materials on equipmentNot measured
  • 10%Operate industrial processing or production equipmentNot measured
  • 9%Inspect completed work or finished productsNot measured
  • 8%Repair tools or equipmentNot measured
  • 8%Select materials or equipment for operations or projectsNot measured
  • 8%Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areasNot measured
  • 6%Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or productsNot measured
  • 6%Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipmentNot measured

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in production and manufacturing, not always this occupation's tasks.

Also relevant

These benchmarks cover part of this family's work, or have no result yet. They do not set its step.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
  • Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.
  • Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.
  • Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment.
  • Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes.
  • Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders.
  • Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.
  • Operate shearing mechanisms to cut rods to specified lengths.
  • Maintain an inventory of materials.
  • Clean work areas.
  • Adjust controls to draw or press metal into specified shapes and diameters.
  • Replace worn dies when products vary from specifications.
Other job titles for this occupation (27)

Equipment Technician (Equipment Tech) · Extruder Operator · Extrusion Line Operator · Extrusion Operator · Extrusion Press Operator · Machine Operator · Metal Inspector · Setup Operator · Wire Mill Operator · Wire Mill Rover · Draw Machine Operator · Drawbench Operator · Extruding Press Operator · Extrusion Machine Operator · Injection Machine Operator · Metal Drawer · Plastic Extrusion Operator · Plastics Extruder Operator · Retort Press Operator · Rod Drawer · Rod Pointer · Stretch Machine Operator · Tube Drawer · Wire Drawer · Wire Drawing Machine Operator · Wire Drawing Machine Tender · Wire Drawing Setter