Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.

Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.

Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.

Reel extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights.

Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.

Change dies on extruding machines according to production line changes.

Clean work areas.

Weigh and mix pelletized, granular, or powdered thermoplastic materials and coloring pigments.

Test physical properties of products with testing devices such as acid-bath testers, burst testers, and impact testers.

Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders.

Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment.

Maintain an inventory of materials.

Adjust controls to draw or press metal into specified shapes and diameters.

Replace worn dies when products vary from specifications.

Select nozzles, spacers, and wire guides, according to diameters and lengths of rods.

Operate shearing mechanisms to cut rods to specified lengths.