Metal and Plastic Machine Operators

Key Responsibilities

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