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.
60,840 people do this job in the US. $47,720 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 20%
- 0%
- 80%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h 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, 18%. Today's estimate: 19%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 16 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test physical properties of products with testing devices such as acid-bath testers, burst testers, and impact testers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 11% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain an inventory of materials.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | 98%Half by now | |
| Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 8% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | 96%Half by now | |
| Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Reel extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 29 min13 min to 58 min | Stays with people | |
| Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 33 min17 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Replace worn dies when products vary from specifications.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Adjust controls to draw or press metal into specified shapes and diameters.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 21 min8 min to 42 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean work areas.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 50 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.
- Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers5% now, 5% by 2028
- Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic6% now, 6% by 2028
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic7% now, 7% by 2028
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic13% now, 13% by 2028
- Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders14% now, 14% by 2028
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders7% now, 7% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Plastics Product Manufacturing29,920 people
- Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Production and Processing6,080 people
- Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing4,650 people
- Alumina and Aluminum Production and Processing3,390 people
- Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)3,290 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).