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Manufacturing & Production · Updated Aug 2026

Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
49/100
Moderate

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
49/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence79/100
Task coverage80%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Record and maintain production data, such as meter readings, and quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced.High
74
Adjust machine components to regulate speeds, pressures, and temperatures, and amounts, dimensions, and flow of materials or ingredients.High
72
Turn controls to adjust machine functions, such as regulating air pressure, creating vacuums, and adjusting coolant flow.High
72
Review work orders, specifications, or instructions to determine materials, ingredients, procedures, components, settings, and adjustments for extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines.High
73
Activate machines to shape or form products, such as candy bars, light bulbs, balloons, or insulation panels.High
72
Notify supervisors when extruded filaments fail to meet standards.High
75
Synchronize speeds of sections of machines when producing products involving several steps or processes.High
72
Couple air and gas lines to machines to maintain plasticity of material and to regulate solidification of final products.High
72
Measure arbors and dies to verify sizes specified on work tickets.Medium
73
Pour, scoop, or dump specified ingredients, metal assemblies, or mixtures into sections of machine prior to starting machines.High
72
Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as templates, micrometers, or scales.High
37
Monitor machine operations and observe lights and gauges to detect malfunctions.High
28
Measure, mix, cut, shape, soften, and join materials and ingredients, such as powder, cornmeal, or rubber to prepare them for machine processing.High
37
Remove materials or products from molds or from extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines, and stack or store them for additional processing.High
24
Select and install machine components, such as dies, molds, and cutters, according to specifications, using hand tools and measuring devices.High
22
Clear jams, and remove defective or substandard materials or products.High
18
Clean dies, arbors, compression chambers, and molds, using swabs, sponges, or air hoses.High
19
Disassemble equipment to repair it or to replace parts, such as nozzles, punches, and filters.Medium
22
Remove molds, mold components, and feeder tubes from machinery after production is complete.Medium
24
Move materials, supplies, components, and finished products between storage and work areas, using work aids such as racks, hoists, and handtrucks.Medium
18
Install, align, and adjust neck rings, press plungers, and feeder tubes.Medium
18
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Notify supervisors when extruded filaments fail to meet standards.75
  2. Record and maintain production data, such as meter readings, and quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced.74
  3. Review work orders, specifications, or instructions to determine materials, ingredients, procedures, components, settings, and adjustments for extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines.73
  4. Measure arbors and dies to verify sizes specified on work tickets.73
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Clear jams, and remove defective or substandard materials or products.01
  2. Move materials, supplies, components, and finished products between storage and work areas, using work aids such as racks, hoists, and handtrucks.02
  3. Install, align, and adjust neck rings, press plungers, and feeder tubes.03
  4. Select and install machine components, such as dies, molds, and cutters, according to specifications, using hand tools and measuring devices.04
  5. Clean dies, arbors, compression chambers, and molds, using swabs, sponges, or air hoses.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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AI risk 44

Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers

Closely related work

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency57
Physical dependency60
Adoption pressure64
Labour-market resilience59
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence79/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →