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Manufacturing & Production · Updated Aug 2026

Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend milling or planing machines to mill, plane, shape, groove, or profile metal or plastic work pieces.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
47/100
Moderate

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

Replacement Risk
45/100
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
Confidence83/100
Task coverage90%

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
Verify alignment of workpieces on machines, using measuring instruments such as rules, gauges, or calipers.High
67
Position and secure workpieces on machines, using holding devices, measuring instruments, hand tools, and hoists.High
64
Replace worn tools, using hand tools, and sharpen dull tools, using bench grinders.High
67
Compute dimensions, tolerances, and angles of workpieces or machines according to specifications and knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.High
67
Study blueprints, layouts, sketches, or work orders to assess workpiece specifications and to determine tooling instructions, tools and materials needed, and sequences of operations.High
67
Mount attachments and tools, such as pantographs, engravers, or routers, to perform other operations, such as drilling or boring.High
67
Observe milling or planing machine operation, and adjust controls to ensure conformance with specified tolerances.High
50
Turn valves or pull levers to start and regulate the flow of coolant or lubricant to work areas.Medium
69
Remove workpieces from machines, and check to ensure that they conform to specifications, using measuring instruments such as microscopes, gauges, calipers, and micrometers.High
24
Move controls to set cutting specifications, to position cutting tools and workpieces in relation to each other, and to start machines.High
25
Select and install cutting tools and other accessories according to specifications, using hand tools or power tools.High
23
Move cutters or material manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to mill workpieces to specifications.High
18
Select cutting speeds, feed rates, and depths of cuts, applying knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.High
17
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

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

  1. Turn valves or pull levers to start and regulate the flow of coolant or lubricant to work areas.69
  2. Verify alignment of workpieces on machines, using measuring instruments such as rules, gauges, or calipers.67
  3. Replace worn tools, using hand tools, and sharpen dull tools, using bench grinders.67
  4. Compute dimensions, tolerances, and angles of workpieces or machines according to specifications and knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.67
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. Move cutters or material manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to mill workpieces to specifications.01
  2. Select cutting speeds, feed rates, and depths of cuts, applying knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.02
  3. Move controls to set cutting specifications, to position cutting tools and workpieces in relation to each other, and to start machines.03
  4. Select and install cutting tools and other accessories according to specifications, using hand tools or power tools.04
  5. Remove workpieces from machines, and check to ensure that they conform to specifications, using measuring instruments such as microscopes, gauges, calipers, and micrometers.05
Where else this work leads

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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 dependency48
Physical dependency67
Adoption pressure50
Labour-market resilience58
Methodology & sources

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

Confidence83/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →