AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-4193.00

Will AI replace Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?

Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: AI can already handle 2 of 33 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 33 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, from most to least exposed. 2 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications. 80 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Monitor and measure thicknesses of electroplating on component parts to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers. 80 Estimated Standard 4.0
Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Maintain production records. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Clean and maintain equipment, using water hoses and scrapers. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.7
Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times. 15 Estimated No tier 4.7
Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes. 15 Estimated No tier 4.5
Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces. 15 Estimated No tier 4.4
Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur. 15 Estimated No tier 4.4
Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Determine sizes and compositions of objects to be plated, and amounts of electrical current and time required. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Test machinery to ensure that it is operating properly. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Measure or weigh materials, using rulers, calculators, and scales. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Measure, mark, and mask areas to be excluded from plating. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Examine completed objects to determine thicknesses of metal deposits, or measure thicknesses by using instruments such as micrometers. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Immerse objects to be coated or plated into cleaning solutions, or spray objects with conductive solutions to prepare them for plating. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Read production schedules to determine setups of equipment and machines. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Suspend objects, such as parts or molds from cathode rods, or negative terminals, and immerse objects in plating solutions. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Suspend sticks or pieces of plating metal from anodes, or positive terminals, and immerse metal in plating solutions. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Adjust controls to set temperatures of coating substances and speeds of machines and equipment. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Rinse coated objects in cleansing liquids and dry them with cloths, centrifugal driers, or by tumbling in sawdust-filled barrels. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Operate hoists to place workpieces onto machine feed carriages or spindles. 15 Estimated No tier 3.9
Position and feed materials into processing machines, by hand or by using automated equipment. 15 Estimated No tier 3.9
Position objects to be plated in frames, or suspend them from positive or negative terminals of power supplies. 15 Estimated No tier 3.9
Clean workpieces, using wire brushes. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Mix and test solutions, and turn valves to fill tanks with solutions. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Replace worn parts and adjust equipment components, using hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Place plated or coated materials on racks and transfer them to ovens to dry for specified periods of time. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Measure and set stops, rolls, brushes, and guides on automatic feeders and conveying equipment or coating machines, using micrometers, rules, and hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 3.5
Position containers to receive parts, and load or unload materials in containers, using dollies or handtrucks. 15 Estimated No tier 3.5
Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors. 15 Estimated No tier 3.4
Preheat workpieces in ovens. 15 Estimated No tier 2.9
Operate sandblasting equipment to roughen and clean surfaces of workpieces. 12 Estimated No tier 3.8

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 33 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 33 of 33. 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

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 13% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 16% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 84% 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
32,410
Median annual wage
$43,960
Middle half of earners
$37,260 to $49,600
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
-13.6%

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.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic and AI

Will AI replace Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?

AI already handles 2 of the 33 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 20 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. BLS projects employment to change by -13.6% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?

20 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 33 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 33 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications; Monitor and measure thicknesses of electroplating on component parts to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 13% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 84% 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 Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, and what do they earn?

32,410 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $43,960 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -13.6% 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: Plating 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/plating-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic

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