Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
In short: today's best AI models could do about 12% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 88% of the time, stays with people.
Set up, operate, or tend drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces.
4,680 people do this job in the US. $49,080 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on5 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people35 h
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 5 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 35 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Study machining instructions, job orders, or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications, sequences of operations, setups, or tooling requirements (about 5 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 12%
- 0%
- 88%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 12%. Today's estimate: 12%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 17 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.002% to 0.0016% (released February and March 2025).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.002% | 696 of 708 | 1 of 17 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0016% | 693 of 703 | 1 of 17 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 17 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0023% | 633 of 672 | 1 of 17 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 17 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 17 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 17 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 82% of this job's working time as physical work. For 82% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 70% in a purpose-built cell, 12% in a structured facility. 0.94 of 3, the 157th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 18%
- In a purpose-built cell 70%
- In a structured facility 12%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 17 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study machining instructions, job orders, or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications, sequences of operations, setups, or tooling requirements.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 12% | 21 min8 min to 38 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Verify conformance of machined work to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, micrometers, or fixed or telescoping gauges.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Q-Span Robotic Workstation (robotic calipers + cobot) (New Scale Robotics) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 13 min4 min to 29 min | Stays with people | |
| Select and set cutting speeds, feed rates, depths of cuts, and cutting tools, according to machining instructions or knowledge of metal properties.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Fastems Tool Automation / Central Tool Storage (CTS) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 21 min8 min to 42 min | Stays with people | |
| Position and secure workpieces on tables, using bolts, jigs, clamps, shims, or other holding devices.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Halter LoadAssistant Universal Premium 35 robot cell (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Observe drilling or boring machine operations to detect any problems.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Verify that workpiece reference lines are parallel to the axis of table rotation, using dial indicators mounted in spindles.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, HEIDENHAIN TNC 620 / iTNC 530 touch-probe cycles 400/403/405 with TS-series spindle touch probe (DR. JOHANNES HEIDENHAIN GmbH) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 21 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Establish zero reference points on workpieces, such as at the intersections of two edges or over hole locations.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Renishaw machine tool probes (OMP40/OMP60/RMP60) with Inspection Plus macros (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Perform minor assembly, such as fastening parts with nuts, bolts, or screws, using power tools or hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ASG AX-10 assembly cell (ASG, a division of Jergens Inc.) with X-PAQ screwdriving system (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 21 min8 min to 42 min | Stays with people | |
| Operate single- or multiple-spindle drill presses to bore holes so that machining operations can be performed on metal or plastic workpieces.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Universal Robots UR10 at STAMIT s.r.o. (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Lay out reference lines and machining locations on work, using layout tools, and applying knowledge of shop math and layout techniques.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Vereo Smart vision-guided laser marking (TYKMA Electrox) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 33 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Lift workpieces onto work tables either manually or with hoists or direct crane operators to lift and position workpieces.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, FANUC M-10iA in Acieta Lean Machine Gen 2 machine-tending cell (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Change worn cutting tools, using wrenches.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, HAIMER Automation Cube One (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 8 min4 min to 21 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
- Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic38% now, 38% by 2028
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing9% now, 9% by 2028
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic10% now, 10% by 2028
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners6% now, 6% by 2028
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic6% now, 6% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing620 people
- Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)500 people
- Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)490 people
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing460 people
- Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing390 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 12% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 12% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Study machining instructions, job orders, or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications, sequences of operations, setups, or tooling requirements (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Verify conformance of machined work to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, micrometers, or fixed or telescoping gauges; Select and set cutting speeds, feed rates, depths of cuts, and cutting tools, according to machining instructions or knowledge of metal properties; and Position and secure workpieces on tables, using bolts, jigs, clamps, shims, or other holding devices. Together such tasks are about 88% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 82% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 82% of the working time, 12% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.94 of 3. One example: Productive Robotics OB7 cobot machine-tending package for "move machine controls to lower tools to workpieces and to engage automatic feeds". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 17 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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