Set up and operate metalworking machines, such as milling or grinding machines, to shape or fabricate parts.

“Set up and operate metalworking machines, such as milling or grinding machines, to shape or fabricate parts.” is a supplemental task performed by Engine and Other Machine Assemblers. Among the occupation's 12 rated tasks, workers place it 2nd by importance (#11 most important). About 54% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Operate industrial processing or production equipment. in Controlling Machines and Processes
• Operate cutting or grinding equipment. in Controlling Machines and Processes

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.00. Automation potential label: T0.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Read and interpret assembly blueprints or specifications manuals, and plan assembly or building operations. · importance 4.7
• Inspect, operate, and test completed products to verify functioning, machine capabilities, or conformance to customer specifications. · importance 4.5
• Position or align components for assembly, manually or using hoists. · importance 4.4
• Set and verify parts clearances. · importance 4.4
• Verify conformance of parts to stock lists or blueprints, using measuring instruments such as calipers, gauges, or micrometers. · importance 4.4
• Fasten or install piping, fixtures, or wiring and electrical components to form assemblies or subassemblies, using hand tools, rivet guns, or welding equipment. · importance 4.3
• Remove rough spots and smooth surfaces to fit, trim, or clean parts, using hand tools or power tools. · importance 4.2
• Lay out and drill, ream, tap, or cut parts for assembly. · importance 4.1
• Rework, repair, or replace damaged parts or assemblies. · importance 4.1
• Assemble systems of gears by aligning and meshing gears in gearboxes. · importance 4.0
• Maintain and lubricate parts or components. · importance 3.9

See all tasks on the Engine and Other Machine Assemblers page.

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-task-13969,
  title  = {Set up and operate metalworking machines, such as milling or grinding machines, to shape or fabricate parts.},
  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/tasks/task-13969}
}