AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-4021.00
Will AI replace Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 16 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 16 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Maintain an inventory of materials. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Reel extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Weigh and mix pelletized, granular, or powdered thermoplastic materials and coloring pigments. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Test physical properties of products with testing devices such as acid-bath testers, burst testers, and impact testers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Replace worn dies when products vary from specifications. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Adjust controls to draw or press metal into specified shapes and diameters. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Select nozzles, spacers, and wire guides, according to diameters and lengths of rods. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Operate shearing mechanisms to cut rods to specified lengths. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean work areas. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 16 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 16 of 16. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A standard-tier model or lower covers 18% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 18% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 82% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 60,840
- Median annual wage
- $47,720
- Middle half of earners
- $40,450 to $56,840
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +1.2%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 82% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure20
- Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 80% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure23
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 79% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure22
- Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers 79% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure15
- Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 78% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure27
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic and AI
Will AI replace Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
Not on current evidence. None of the 16 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 16 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.
What is the AI exposure of Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
16 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 16 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 16 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment, at 30 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 18% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 82% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, and what do they earn?
60,840 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $47,720 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +1.2% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/extruding-and-drawing-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic
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