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Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

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 welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies. Includes workers who operate laser cutters or laser-beam machines.

Related: Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, & Systems Assemblers Lathe & Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Milling & Planing Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Structural Metal Fabricators & Fitters Welders, Cutters, Solderers, & Brazers

Industries: Manufacturing

Summary
Details

Assemble, align, and clamp workpieces into holding fixtures to bond, heat-treat, or solder fabricated metal components.
Select, position, align, and bolt jigs, holding fixtures, guides, or stops onto machines, using measuring instruments and hand tools.
Set dials and timing controls to regulate electrical current, gas flow pressure, heating or cooling cycles, or shut-off.
Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools.
Turn and press knobs and buttons or enter operating instructions into computers to adjust and start welding machines.
Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools.
Transfer components, metal products, or assemblies, using moving equipment.
Add chemicals or materials to workpieces or machines to facilitate bonding or to cool workpieces.
Correct problems by adjusting controls or by stopping machines and opening holding devices.
Select torch tips, alloys, flux, coil, tubing, or wire, according to metal types or thicknesses, data charts, or records.
Devise or build fixtures or jigs used to hold parts in place during welding, brazing, or soldering.
Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills.
Observe meters, gauges, or machine operations to ensure that soldering or brazing processes meet specifications.
Add chemicals or materials to workpieces or machines to facilitate bonding or to cool workpieces.
Fill hoppers and position spouts to direct flow of flux or manually brush flux onto seams of workpieces.
Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications.
Lay out, fit, or connect parts to be bonded, calculating production measurements, as necessary.
Record operational information on specified production reports.
Set dials and timing controls to regulate electrical current, gas flow pressure, heating or cooling cycles, or shut-off.
Conduct trial runs before welding, soldering, or brazing, and make necessary adjustments to equipment.
Assemble, align, and clamp workpieces into holding fixtures to bond, heat-treat, or solder fabricated metal components.
Select, position, align, and bolt jigs, holding fixtures, guides, or stops onto machines, using measuring instruments and hand tools.
Anneal finished workpieces to relieve internal stress.
Load or feed workpieces into welding machines to join or bond components.
Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills.
Compute and record settings for new work, applying knowledge of metal properties, principles of welding, and shop mathematics.
Dress electrodes, using tip dressers, files, emery cloths, or dressing wheels.
Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies.
Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications.
Start, monitor, and adjust robotic welding production lines.
Fill hoppers and position spouts to direct flow of flux or manually brush flux onto seams of workpieces.
Lay out, fit, or connect parts to be bonded, calculating production measurements, as necessary.
Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices.
Mark weld points and positions of components on workpieces, using rules, squares, templates, or scribes.
Give directions to other workers regarding machine set-up and use.
Load or feed workpieces into welding machines to join or bond components.
Tend auxiliary equipment used in welding processes.
Remove completed workpieces or parts from machinery, using hand tools.
Devise or build fixtures or jigs used to hold parts in place during welding, brazing, or soldering.
Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills.
Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools.
Compute and record settings for new work, applying knowledge of metal properties, principles of welding, and shop mathematics.
Immerse completed workpieces into water or acid baths to cool and clean components.

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

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

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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
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.
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.
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.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

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

78460/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

37.72/hr

Currently Employed

170

Yearly Projected Openings

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
Integrity
Self Control
Cooperation
Independence

Adjustable widemouth pliers
Automatic soldering machine
Ball peen hammer
Bench vises
Blow torch
Braze welding machine
C clamps
Calipers
Claw hammer
Cleaning scrapers
Cold pressure or contact welding machine
Demolition hammers
Desktop computers
Electron beam welding EBW machine
End cut pliers
Facial shields
Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
Goggles
Hand clamps
Hoists
Hydraulic truck cranes
Induction heaters
Laser cutting machine
Laser welding machine
Lifts
Loading equipment
Locking pliers
Magnifiers
Micrometers
Mill saw file
Positioning jig
Power grinders
Protective gloves
Punches or nail sets or drifts
Rulers
Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
Slip or groove joint pliers
Spot welding machine
Squares
Tape measures
Thickness measuring devices
Tongs
Tungsten inert gas welding machine
Welding electrode
Welding masks
Welding or brazing tip cleaner file
Welding or cutting tip
Welding robots
Welding tip dresser or accessories
Winches
Wire brushes

Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Industrial control software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

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