Place materials into molds.

Place materials into molds. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 9 occupations and seen in 15 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing. in Performing General Physical Activities .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 15 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 0 (0%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Place glass into dies or molds of presses and control presses to form products, such as glassware components or optical blanks. · Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds and forms to produce ingots or other castings, using ladles or hand-controlled mechanisms. · Pourers and Casters, Metal · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Position cores into lower sections of molds, and reassemble molds for pouring. · Foundry Mold and Coremakers · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Sift and pack sand into mold sections, core boxes, and pattern contours, using hand or pneumatic ramming tools. · Foundry Mold and Coremakers · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Spray chopped fiberglass, resins, and catalysts onto prepared molds or dies using pneumatic spray guns with chopper attachments. · Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Pour molten metal into molds, manually or with crane ladles. · Foundry Mold and Coremakers · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Drain, transfer, or remove molten metal from furnaces, and place it into molds, using hoists, pumps, or ladles. · Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Create a model of patient's mouth by pouring plaster into a dental impression and allowing plaster to set. · Dental Laboratory Technicians · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses. · Dental Laboratory Technicians · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Pat or press layers of saturated mat or cloth into place on molds, using brushes or hands, and smooth out wrinkles and air bubbles with hands or squeegees. · Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Add metal to molds to compensate for shrinkage. · Pourers and Casters, Metal · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Pour or load metal or sand into melting pots, furnaces, molds, or hoppers, using shovels, ladles, or machines. · Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · importance 3.4 · no direct exposure
• Dump and tamp clay in molds, using tamping tools. · Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons · importance 3.3 · no direct exposure
• Pour molten metal alloys or other materials into molds to cast models of jewelry. · Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers · importance 3.3 · no direct exposure
• Pour, pack, spread, or press plaster, concrete, or other materials into or around models or molds. · Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers
• Pourers and Casters, Metal
• Foundry Mold and Coremakers
• Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators
• Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders
• Dental Laboratory Technicians
• Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons
• Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-place-materials-into-molds,
  title  = {Place materials into molds.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/place-materials-into-molds}
}