About This Career

Sets up, operates, or tends forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic parts.

This career is part of the Manufacturing cluster Production pathway.

A person in this career:

• Reads work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup.
• Positions and moves metal wires or workpieces through a series of dies that compress and shape stock to form die impressions.
• Measures and inspects machined parts to ensure conformance to product specifications.
• Sets up, operates, or tends presses and forging machines to perform hot or cold forging by flattening, straightening, bending, cutting, piercing, or other operations to taper, shape, or form metal.
• Turns handles or knobs to set pressures and depths of ram strokes and to synchronize machine operations.
• Installs, adjusts, and removes dies, synchronizing cams, forging hammers, and stop guides, using overhead cranes or other hoisting devices, and hand tools.
• Starts machines to produce sample workpieces, and observes operations to detect machine malfunctions and to verify that machine setups conform to specifications.
• Confers with other workers about machine setups and operational specifications.
• Trims and compresses finished forgings to specified tolerances.
• Removes dies from machines when production runs are finished.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Conditions are very hot (above 90 F) or very cold (under 32 F)
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
• Seeing clearly up close

Work Hours and Travel

• Rotating shift work