Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Career, Salary and Skills

Occupation description

Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.

National salary and employment

Top skills

Typical tasks

• Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
• Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.
• Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.
• Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment.
• Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes.
• Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders.
• Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.
• Operate shearing mechanisms to cut rods to specified lengths.

Technology

• Enterprise application integration EAI software
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Word
• Operational databases
• SAP software

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary by location

Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.

• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in OH
  Median $46,340 · Employment 5,020
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in TX
  Median $45,890 · Employment 4,070
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in CA
  Median $45,880 · Employment 3,870
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in IN
  Median $49,420 · Employment 3,740
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in WI
  Median $50,230 · Employment 3,190
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in TN
  Median $47,550 · Employment 2,980
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in PA
  Median $51,150 · Employment 2,960
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in NC
  Median $53,330 · Employment 2,950
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in IL
  Median $48,520 · Employment 2,750
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in GA
  Median $48,410 · Employment 2,560
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in Chicago, IL
  Median $48,630 · Employment 2,070
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in SC
  Median $49,040 · Employment 2,000

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