DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA
51-4072 Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Occupational Description:
Set up, operate, or tend metal or plastic molding, casting, or coremaking machines to mold or cast metal or thermoplastic parts or products.| Percentiles | |||||||||
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| Geography | Employment | Emp SE* | Mean | Mean SE* | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
| Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN | 2,220 | 221 | $18.73/hr | $0.96/hr | $12.05/hr | $14.74/hr | $17.79/hr | $21.97/hr | $28.00/hr |
| Minnesota | 4,070 | 322 | $18.60/hr | $0.52/hr | $12.76/hr | $15.13/hr | $17.94/hr | $21.65/hr | $25.72/hr |
| U S | 172,520 | 2,933 | $16.92/hr | $0.08/hr | $10.95/hr | $12.88/hr | $15.68/hr | $19.76/hr | $24.80/hr |
| *SE = Standard error, a measure of the statistical reliability of the estimate. | |||||||||
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Tasks for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Removes casting from mold, mold from press, or core from core box, using tongs, pliers, hydraulic ram, or by inversion.
- Pours or loads metal or sand into melting pot, furnace, mold, core box or hopper, using shovel, ladle, or machine.
- Observes and records data from pyrometers, lights, and gauges to monitor molding process and adjust furnace temperature.
- Signals or directs other workers to load conveyor, spray molds, or remove ingots.
- Requisitions molds and supplies and inventories and records finished products.
- Weighs metals and powders and computes amounts of materials necessary to produce mixture of specified content.
- Smoothes and cleans inner surface of mold, using brush, scraper, airhose, or grinding wheel, and fills imperfections with refractory material.
- Sprays, smokes, or coats molds with compounds to lubricate or insulate mold, using acetylene torches or sprayers.
- Skims or pours dross, slag, or impurities from molten metal, using ladle, rake, hoe, spatula, or spoon.
- Assembles shell halves, patterns, and foundry flasks, and reinforces core boxes, using glue, clamps, wire, bolts, rams, or machines.
- Inspects metal casts, and molds for cracks, bubbles, or other defects and measures castings to ensure specifications met.
- Repairs or replaces damaged molds, pipes, belts, chains, or other equipment, using hand tools, hand- powered press, or jib crane.
- Cleans, glues, and racks cores, ingots, or finished products for storage.
- Cuts spouts and pouring holes in molds and sizes hardened cores, using saws.
- Fills core boxes and mold patterns with sand or powders, using ramming tools or pneumatic hammers, and removes excess.
- Positions, aligns, and secures molds or core boxes in holding devices or under pouring spouts and tubes, using hand tools.
- Sets up matrices in assembly stick by hand according to specifications.
- Stops machine when galley is full or when strip is completed.
- Inserts and locks galley or matrix case into place on machine.
- Positions composing stick to length of line specified in casting instructions.
- Forwards galley to appropriate personnel for proofing.
- Removes and stores assembly stick, controller reel, and matrix case.
- Places reel of controller paper on holder, threads around reels, and attaches to winding roll.
- Starts machine and monitors operation for proper functioning.
- Positions, aligns, and secures assembled mold, mold components, and machine accessories onto machine press bed, and attaches connecting lines.
- Presses button or pulls lever to activate machine to inject dies and compress compounds to form and cure specified products.
- Sets machine controls to regulate molding temperature, volume, pressure, and time, according to knowledge of plastics and molding procedures.
- Installs dies onto machine or press and coats dies with parting agent, according to work order specifications.
- Reads specifications to determine setup and prescribed temperature and time settings to mold, form, or cast plastic materials.
- Observes and adjusts machine set up and operations to eliminate production of defective parts and products.
- Measures and visually inspects products for surface and dimension defects, using precision measuring instruments, to ensure conformance to specifications.
- Mixes catalysts, thermoplastic materials, and coloring pigments according to formula, using paddle and mixing machine.
- Repairs and maintains machines and auxiliary equipment, using hand tools and power tools.
- Trims excess material from part, using knife, and grinds scrap plastic into powder for reuse.
- Removes finished or cured product from dies or mold, using hand tools and airhose.
- Weighs premixed compounds and dumps compound into die well or fills hoppers of machines that automatically supply compound to die.
- Starts machine that automatically liquefies plastic material in heating chamber, injects liquefied material into mold, and ejects molded product.
- Turns valves and dials of machines to regulate pressure and temperature, to set press-cycle time, and to close press.
- Observes continuous operation of automatic machine and width and alignment of plastic sheeting to ensure side flanges.
- Pulls level and toggle latches to fill mold and regulate tension on sheeting and to release mold covers.
- Dumps plastic powder, preformed plastic pellets, or preformed rubber slugs into hopper of molding machine.
- Feels stiffness and consistency of molded sheeting to detect machinery malfunction.
- Breaks seals that hold plastic product in molds, using hand tool, and removes product from mold.
- Heats plastic material prior to forming product or cools product after processing to prevent distortion.
- Weighs prescribed amounts of material for molded part and finished product to ensure specifications are maintained.
- Removes product from mold or conveyor, and cleans and reloads mold.
- Positions mold frame to correct alignment and tubs containing mixture on top of mold to facilitate loading of molds.
- Examines molded product for surface defects, such as dents, bubbles, thin areas, and cracks.
- Fills tubs, molds, or cavities of machine with plastic material in solid or liquid form prior to activating machine.
- Trims flashing from product.
- Signals coworker to synchronize feed of materials into molding process.
- Throws flash and rejected parts into grinder machine to be recycled.
- Reports defect in molds to supervisor.
- Stacks molded parts in boxes or on conveyor for subsequent processing or leaves parts in mold to cool.
- Mixes and pours liquid plastic into rotating drum of machine that spreads, hardens, and shapes mixture.
- Observes meters and gauges to verify specified temperatures, pressures, and press-cycle times.
- Moves controls to start, set, or adjust casting, molding, or pressing machines.
- Repairs or replaces worn or defective machine parts and dies.
- Obtains and moves specified pattern to work station, manually or using hoist, and secures pattern to machine, using wrenches.
- Removes castings from dies and dips castings in water to cool, using pliers or tongs.
- Preheats die sections with torch or electric heater.
- Stacks and mounts rotor core laminations over keyed mandrel of casting machine, and removes and stamps rotor with identifying data.
- Lines cylinder pot with asbestos strips and disk to prevent chilling.
- Loads metal ingots or aluminum bars into melting furnace, and transfers molten metal to reservoir of die casting machine.
- Connects water hose to cooling system of die, using hand tools.
- Cleans and lubricates casting machine and dies, using airhose and brushes.
- Inspects castings and core slots for defects, using fixed gauges.
- Loads die sections into machine, using equipment such as chain fall or hoist, and secures in position, using hand tools.
- Pours molten metal into cold-chamber machine or cylinders, using hand ladle.
- Starts and operates furnace, oven, diecasting, coremaking, metal molding, or rotating machines to pour metal or create molds and casts.
- Positions ladles or pourers and adjusts controls to regulate the flow of metal, sand, or coolant into mold.
