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Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.
Also Known As:
Extruder Operator
Extrusion Operator
Glass Forming Crew Member
Machine Operator
Press Operator
Tuber Operator
Wages
Annual wages for Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
58,400
2% Change From 2024
Explore Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Measure, mix, cut, shape, soften, and join materials and ingredients, such as powder, cornmeal, or rubber to prepare them for machine processing.
- Clear jams, and remove defective or substandard materials or products.
- Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as templates, micrometers, or scales.
- Review work orders, specifications, or instructions to determine materials, ingredients, procedures, components, settings, and adjustments for extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines.
- Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as templates, micrometers, or scales.
- Select and install machine components, such as dies, molds, and cutters, according to specifications, using hand tools and measuring devices.
- Remove materials or products from molds or from extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines, and stack or store them for additional processing.
- Remove molds, mold components, and feeder tubes from machinery after production is complete.
- Measure, mix, cut, shape, soften, and join materials and ingredients, such as powder, cornmeal, or rubber to prepare them for machine processing.
- Clean dies, arbors, compression chambers, and molds, using swabs, sponges, or air hoses.
- Select and install machine components, such as dies, molds, and cutters, according to specifications, using hand tools and measuring devices.
- Review work orders, specifications, or instructions to determine materials, ingredients, procedures, components, settings, and adjustments for extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines.
- Send product samples to laboratories for analysis.
- Remove molds, mold components, and feeder tubes from machinery after production is complete.
- Complete work tickets, and place them with products.
- Swab molds with solutions to prevent products from sticking.
- Press control buttons to activate machinery and equipment.
- Record and maintain production data, such as meter readings, and quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced.
- Activate machines to shape or form products, such as candy bars, light bulbs, balloons, or insulation panels.
- Adjust machine components to regulate speeds, pressures, and temperatures, and amounts, dimensions, and flow of materials or ingredients.
- Adjust machine components to regulate speeds, pressures, and temperatures, and amounts, dimensions, and flow of materials or ingredients.
- Clear jams, and remove defective or substandard materials or products.
- Synchronize speeds of sections of machines when producing products involving several steps or processes.
- Measure, mix, cut, shape, soften, and join materials and ingredients, such as powder, cornmeal, or rubber to prepare them for machine processing.
- Complete work tickets, and place them with products.
- Pour, scoop, or dump specified ingredients, metal assemblies, or mixtures into sections of machine prior to starting machines.
- Measure arbors and dies to verify sizes specified on work tickets.
- Remove materials or products from molds or from extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines, and stack or store them for additional processing.
- Couple air and gas lines to machines to maintain plasticity of material and to regulate solidification of final products.
- Monitor machine operations and observe lights and gauges to detect malfunctions.
- Turn controls to adjust machine functions, such as regulating air pressure, creating vacuums, and adjusting coolant flow.
- Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as templates, micrometers, or scales.
- Disassemble equipment to repair it or to replace parts, such as nozzles, punches, and filters.
- Feed products into machines by hand or conveyor.
- Install, align, and adjust neck rings, press plungers, and feeder tubes.
- Notify supervisors when extruded filaments fail to meet standards.
- Move materials, supplies, components, and finished products between storage and work areas, using work aids such as racks, hoists, and handtrucks.
- Adjust machine components to regulate speeds, pressures, and temperatures, and amounts, dimensions, and flow of materials or ingredients.
- Review work orders, specifications, or instructions to determine materials, ingredients, procedures, components, settings, and adjustments for extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- 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.
- 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.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- 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.
- 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.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- 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.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- 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.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- 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.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")