Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
In short: today's best AI models could do about 6% 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 94% of the time, stays with people.
Perform precision smoothing, sharpening, polishing, or grinding of metal objects.
5,600 people do this job in the US. $50,060 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on2 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people38 h
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 2 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 38 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Study blueprints or layouts of metal workpieces to determine grinding procedures, and to plan machine setups and operational sequences (about 2 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.
- 6%
- 0%
- 94%
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, 0%. 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.
Measured use over time
None of this job's 18 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
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 95% of this job's working time as physical work. For 92% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 81% in a purpose-built cell, 11% in a structured facility. 1.04 of 3, the 98th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 5%
- No robot shown 3%
- In a purpose-built cell 81%
- In a structured facility 11%
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 . 18 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Set up and operate grinding or polishing machines to grind metal workpieces, such as dies, parts, and tools.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ANCA TXcell / dual-robot grinding cell (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 22% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Select and mount grinding wheels on machines, according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, WALTER grinding wheel changer (wheel change system for Helitronic tool grinders) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Straighten workpieces and remove dents, using straightening presses and hammers.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, MAE M-AH automatic straightening machine (RICOS control) (MAE. Maschinen- und Apparatebau Götzen GmbH) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| File or finish surfaces of workpieces, using prescribed hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Teqram EasyGrinder (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 29 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Study blueprints or layouts of metal workpieces to determine grinding procedures, and to plan machine setups and operational sequences.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, ANCA FX7/MX7 Linear tool grinders with LaserULTRA and iView in-machine measurement (Spreyer Werkzeugtechnik) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Inspect, feel, and measure workpieces to ensure that surfaces and dimensions meet specifications.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ANCA LaserPlus / LaserUltra on MX and TX tool grinders (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Remove and replace worn or broken machine parts, using hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Fit parts together in pre-assembly to ensure that dimensions are accurate.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ABB RobotWare Assembly Force Control (Assembly FC) / Integrated Force Control (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Dress grinding wheels, according to specifications.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ANCA AutoStick in-process wheel conditioning system (ANCA CNC tool grinders) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Attach workpieces to grinding machines and form specified sections and repair cracks, using welding or brazing equipment.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ANCA RoboMate loader (Fanuc robot) on ANCA tool and cutter grinders (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect dies to detect defects, assess wear, and verify specifications, using micrometers, steel gauge pins, and loupes.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ZOLLER »genius 3« universal measuring machine (E. Zoller GmbH & Co. KG) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 29 min17 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.
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic10% now, 10% by 2028
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand11% now, 11% by 2028
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing9% now, 9% by 2028
- Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic38% now, 38% 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).
- Sawmills and Wood Preservation1,330 people
- Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance640 people
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing490 people
- Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)390 people
- Animal Slaughtering and Processing300 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 Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 6% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 6% 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 Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners 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 blueprints or layouts of metal workpieces to determine grinding procedures, and to plan machine setups and operational sequences (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Set up and operate grinding or polishing machines to grind metal workpieces, such as dies, parts, and tools; Select and mount grinding wheels on machines, according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures; and Straighten workpieces and remove dents, using straightening presses and hammers. Together such tasks are about 94% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners?
- 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 Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 95% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 92% of the working time, 11% in a structured facility. Its index is 1.04 of 3. One example: ANCA FX7/MX7 Linear tool grinders with LaserULTRA and iView in-machine measurement (Spreyer Werkzeugtechnik) for "monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur". 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 18 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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