Will AI replace Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
Estimated risk score: 18 out of 100
Very low replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (0 to 37).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 15 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 51-4035.00 · Production
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 3 of its 15 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Record production output.
- Compute dimensions, tolerances, and angles of workpieces or machines according to specifications and knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.
- Select cutting speeds, feed rates, and depths of cuts, applying knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 11 of its 15 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Mount attachments and tools, such as pantographs, engravers, or routers, to perform other operations, such as drilling or boring.
- Move controls to set cutting specifications, to position cutting tools and workpieces in relation to each other, and to start machines.
- Move cutters or material manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to mill workpieces to specifications.
- Observe milling or planing machine operation, and adjust controls to ensure conformance with specified tolerances.
- Position and secure workpieces on machines, using holding devices, measuring instruments, hand tools, and hoists.
- Replace worn tools, using hand tools, and sharpen dull tools, using bench grinders.
What the job is
Set up, operate, or tend milling or planing machines to mill, plane, shape, groove, or profile metal or plastic work pieces.
Also called: CNC Mill Operator (Computerized Numerical Control Mill Operator), CNC Licensed Mill Operator (Computer Numerical Control Licensed Mill Operator), Scalper, Profiler, Setup Man, PCB Router, File Cutter, Gear Roller.
Related jobs, estimated
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plasticestimate ±1918Very low
- Model Makers, Metal and Plasticestimate ±1919Very low
- Patternmakers, Metal and Plasticestimate ±1919Very low
- Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plasticestimate ±1919Very low
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate