Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic parts.
8,930 people do this job in the US. $49,030 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 6%
- 2%
- 92%
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, 6%. Today's estimate: 6%.
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 . 12 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Set up, operate, or tend presses and forging machines to perform hot or cold forging by flattening, straightening, bending, cutting, piercing, or other operations to taper, shape, or form metal.Done daily by most who do it. | 15% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Position and move metal wires or workpieces through a series of dies that compress and shape stock to form die impressions.Done daily by most who do it. | 13% | 50 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Repair, maintain, and replace parts on dies.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 13% | 2.1 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Select, align, and bolt positioning fixtures, stops, and specified dies to rams and anvils, forging rolls, or presses and hammers.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Measure and inspect machined parts to ensure conformance to product specifications.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Start machines to produce sample workpieces, and observe operations to detect machine malfunctions and to verify that machine setups conform to specifications.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Install, adjust, and remove dies, synchronizing cams, forging hammers, and stop guides, using overhead cranes or other hoisting devices, and hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Trim and compress finished forgings to specified tolerances.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 33 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Read work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Remove dies from machines when production runs are finished.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Turn handles or knobs to set pressures and depths of ram strokes and to synchronize machine operations.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Confer with other workers about machine setups and operational specifications.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 8 min4 min to 17 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.
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic7% now, 7% by 2028
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing7% now, 7% by 2028
- Tool and Die Makers13% now, 35% by 2028
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic13% now, 13% by 2028
- Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic30% now, 38% by 2028
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)3,010 people
- Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing1,100 people
- Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing950 people
- Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)490 people
- Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)430 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).