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Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.

Related: Cutting & Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, & Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Milling & Planing Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders

Industries: Manufacturing

Summary
Details

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

Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.

Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

49590/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

23.84/hr

Currently Employed

2,080

Yearly Projected Openings

210

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cautiousness

Abrasive drums
Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
Adjustable wrenches
Anvils
Bending machines
Blow torch
C clamps
Calipers
Claw hammer
Cleaning scrapers
Cold chisels
Cutting die
Cutting machines
Double ended stud
Drill press or radial drill
Feeler gauges
Forklifts
Gage block set
Gear cutting tool
Grease guns
Hand trucks or accessories
Hex keys
Hoists
Horizontal turning center
Hydraulic press brake
Hydraulic press frames
Induction heaters
Label making machines
Level sensors or transmitters
Locking pliers
Mainframe console or dumb terminals
Metal shearing machine
Micrometers
Multi-tasking or universal machining center
Nibblers
Open die forging press
Pallet trucks
Personal computers
Power grinders
Power saws
Precision file
Pressure or steam cleaners
Protective gloves
Protractors
Punching pliers
Rulers
Sawing machines
Saws
Scales
Screwdrivers
Scribers
Sharpening stones or tools or kits
Shears
Sledge hammer
Squares
Straight edges
Templates
Tongs
Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
Track cranes
Tube bending machine
Utility knives
Wire brushes

Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Industrial control software
Inventory management software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

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