Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

Pay

Getting in

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

On-the-job training

Moderate-term on-the-job training

Prior experience

None

Calculate your switch to molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

What the work is like

Core tasks

• Measure and visually inspect products for surface and dimension defects to ensure conformance to specifications, using precision measuring instruments.
• Observe continuous operation of automatic machines to ensure that products meet specifications and to detect jams or malfunctions, making adjustments as necessary.
• Set up, operate, or tend metal or plastic molding, casting, or coremaking machines to mold or cast metal or thermoplastic parts or products.
• Turn valves and dials of machines to regulate pressure, temperature, and speed and feed rates, and to set cycle times.
• Read specifications, blueprints, and work orders to determine setups, temperatures, and time settings required to mold, form, or cast plastic materials, as well as to plan production sequences.
• Observe meters and gauges to verify and record temperatures, pressures, and press-cycle times.
• Connect water hoses to cooling systems of dies, using hand tools.
• Remove parts, such as dies, from machines after production runs are finished.

Also called: Core Machine Operator · Die Cast Technician · Diecast Machine Operator · Machine Operator · Mold Setter · Mold Technician · Molder · Process Technician

Outlook and AI

Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic held 150,000 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 144,900 by 2035 (−3%, declining; all jobs: +3.5%).

Productivity change - share decreases as more processes can be performed by programmed machinery and improvements in software and equipment are expected to increase efficiency, allowing more output to be produced with the same amount of labor.

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