DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA
51-9032 Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Occupational Description:
Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material. Excludes “Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders" (51-7040), "Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic" (51-4031), and "Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders" (51-6062).| Percentiles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | Employment | Emp SE* | Mean | Mean SE* | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
| EDR 4 - West Central | N/A | 7 | $15.92/hr | $0.47/hr | $11.94/hr | $12.87/hr | $14.42/hr | $20.07/hr | $22.10/hr |
| Minnesota | 2,140 | 186 | $17.61/hr | $0.44/hr | $12.01/hr | $14.59/hr | $17.57/hr | $20.84/hr | $23.14/hr |
| U S | 59,430 | 1,307 | $15.60/hr | $0.09/hr | $9.93/hr | $12.06/hr | $15.14/hr | $18.55/hr | $22.30/hr |
| *SE = Standard error, a measure of the statistical reliability of the estimate. | |||||||||
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| Occupation (click title for details) | OES | Projections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Median Wage | % Change - | |
| Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 190 | $14.19/hr | N/A |
| Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic | 150 | $16.90/hr | N/A |
| Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, & Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, &Tenders, Metal & Plastic | 80 | $19.39/hr | N/A |
| Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 70 | $16.15/hr | N/A |
| Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 30 | $12.53/hr | N/A |
Tasks for Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
- Marks cutting lines, or identifying information on stock, using marking pencil, ruler, or scribe.
- Observes cutting machine in operation, to ensure even flow of stock and to detect jamming, improper feeding, or foreign materials.
- Stops cutting machine when necessary, by pulling lever, pressing button, or depressing pedal, and removes debris.
- Adjusts feeding guides, blades, settings, or speed, to regulate specified depth, length, or width of material, using hand tools or hands.
- Adjusts machine controls to position and align, and to regulate speed and pressure of components.
- Activates machine to cut, slice, slit, perforate, or score fiber products, such as paperboard sheets, rubber shoe soles, or plaster wallboard.
- Monitors operation of cutting or slicing machine to detect malfunctions, removes defective or substandard materials, and readjusts machine components to conform to standards.
- Positions materials, such as rubber, paper, or leather on feeding mechanism of cutting or slicing machine.
- Replaces worn or broken parts, and cleans and lubricates cutting or slicing machine to maintain equipment in working order.
- Maintains production records, such as quantity, type, and dimensions of materials produced.
- Removes completed materials or products from cutting or slicing machine and stacks or stores for additional processing.
- Examines, measures, and weighs materials or products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring devices, such as ruler, micrometer, or scale.
- Reviews work order, blueprints, specifications, or job sample to determine components, settings, and adjustments for cutting and slicing machines.
- Selects and installs machine components, such as cutting blades, rollers, and templates, according to specifications, using hand tools.
- Starts saw and moves blade across surface of material, such as stone, concrete slabs, and asbestos-cement sheets and pipes, to saw.
- Starts pump to circulate water and abrasive onto blade or cable during cutting.
- Turns crank or presses button to move car under sawing cable or saw frame.
- Observes operation to detect uneven sawing and exhausted abrasive supply and tightens pulleys or adds abrasive to maintain cutting speed.
- Builds bed of timbers on car, and aligns and levels stone on bed, using crowbar, sledgehammer, wedges, blocks, rule, and spirit level.
- Marks dimensions or traces on stone according to diagram, using chisel and hammer, straightedge, rule, and chalked string.
- Operates crane or signals crane operator to position or remove stone from car or saw bed.
- Washes stone, using water hose, and verifies width or thickness of cut stone, using rule.
- Aligns cable or blades with marks on stone, and presses button or turns lever to lower sawing cable or blades to stone.
- Changes or replaces saw blades, cables, and grinding wheels, using wrench.
- Adjusts blade pressure against stone, using ammeter, and lowers blade in stone as cut depth increases.
- Operates single cut machine to cut glass.
- Removes and replaces worn cutter heads, using hand tools.
- Measures glass with tape to verify dimensions and observes glass to detect defects.
- Starts vacuum-cupped crane, to lift and transfer glass.
- Directs workers on cutting team.
- Reviews work order and maintains record of production, using counter.
- Adjusts timing mechanism, to synchronize breaker bar to snap glass at score.
- Starts machine to verify setup.
- Adjusts position, height, and stroke of cutting bridges, manually or by turning controls, to score glass to specific dimensions.
- Starts cutting machine by pressing button, pulling lever, or depressing pedal to cut stock, following markings or specifications.
- Reads work order, or receives oral instructions, regarding specifications, for stock to be cut.
- Positions stock along cutting lines, or against stops, on bed of scoring or cutting machine.
- Feeds stock into cutting machine, conveyor, or under cutting blades, by threading, guiding, pushing, or turning handwheel.
- Stacks and sorts cut material according to type and size, for packaging, further processing, or shipping.
- Moves stock or scrap to and from machine transporting either manually or using cart, handtruck, or lift truck.
- Records data concerning amount and type of stock cut from duties performed, including weight, length, and width.
- Cleans and lubricates cutting machine, conveyors, blades, saws, or knives, using steam hose, scrapers, brush, or oil cans.
- Cuts stock manually, to prepare for machine cutting, using tools such as knife, cleaver, handsaw, or hammer and chisel.
- Sharpens cutting blades, knives, or saws, using file, bench grinder, or honing stone.
- Examines and measures stock to ensure conformance to specifications, using ruler, gauge, micrometer or scale, and removes defects.
- Installs or replaces cutting knives, blades, or wheels, in cutting machine, using hand tools.