What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in the U.S. earn more than $49,030 a year — the middle 80% land between $36,800 and $68,720. About 8,930 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Plant and machine operators and assemblers earn about ₹17,329 a month on average — around ₹2.1 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$49,030typical pay / year
8,930people in this work
$68,720+top 10% earn
₹2.1 lakha year in India (family avg)
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Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Fixing2
Repair, maintain, and replace parts on dies.
+Inspect the die bank for the damaged punch set used on last night’s run, remove the cracked elements, refit…
Repair, maintain, and replace parts on dies.
+Inspect the die bank for the damaged punch set used on last night’s run, remove the cracked elements, refit the correct hardened replacements, lap mating faces to spec, record the replacement parts and next inspection date in the maintenance log.
The tools that do the workMachine controlInventory trackingjob descriptionsO*NET
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Tend rotary swaging machines
+Stand the rotary swaging line up for the 07:00 batch, verify feed timing and collet clearance against the…
Tend rotary swaging machines
+Stand the rotary swaging line up for the 07:00 batch, verify feed timing and collet clearance against the setup sheet, clear any jammed bar stock, run 20 trial strokes to confirm part form and cycle time, flag operator if scrap rate exceeds three percent.
The tools that do the workMachine controlESCOjob descriptions
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Keeping the record1
Read and interpret technical drawings
+Take the new assembly drawing for the steering collar, walk the dimensions against the fixture and current…
Read and interpret technical drawings
+Take the new assembly drawing for the steering collar, walk the dimensions against the fixture and current dies, note any tolerance clashes or missing radii, mark the drawing with required die changes and return it with comments to engineering before the next production changeover.
The tools that do the workInventory trackingjob descriptionsO*NET
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The daily work19
Remove dies from machines when production runs are finished.
+Stop the press run, lock out the drive, remove the die set, inspect mounts and alignment, clean mating faces,…
Remove dies from machines when production runs are finished.
+Stop the press run, lock out the drive, remove the die set, inspect mounts and alignment, clean mating faces, replace any worn shims, then return the machine to test cycle and note serial numbers of removed dies in the log before releasing power.
The tools that do the workMachine controlO*NET
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Sharpen cutting tools and drill bits, using bench grinders.
+Dress and true the bench grinder wheels, secure the cutting tool or drill in the fixture, grind to specified…
Sharpen cutting tools and drill bits, using bench grinders.
+Dress and true the bench grinder wheels, secure the cutting tool or drill in the fixture, grind to specified relief and clearance angles while constantly cooling, measure edge geometry on the gauge, then record the tool ID and new cutting tolerance in the maintenance ledger.
The tools that do the workMachine controlO*NET
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Inspect finished parts for defects
+Pull the batch off the line, inspect ten percent of parts for cracks, scale, and dimensional tolerance with…
Inspect finished parts for defects
+Pull the batch off the line, inspect ten percent of parts for cracks, scale, and dimensional tolerance with mic and go/no-go gauges, segregate any rejects, note defect types and counts in the quality sheet, and escalate recurring defects to the foreman.
The tools that do the workInventory trackingjob descriptions
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Ensure safety procedures are followed
+Walk the floor at shift start and hourly, confirm guards and emergency stops are engaged, verify PPE use at…
Ensure safety procedures are followed
+Walk the floor at shift start and hourly, confirm guards and emergency stops are engaged, verify PPE use at each station, document any violations with location and crew name, stop work for immediate hazards and report unresolved issues to safety manager before continuing.
The tools that do the workMachine controljob descriptions
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Tag workpieces using a rotary swager
+Load the part into the rotary swager, set the tag index and depth to the job spec, stamp the agreed ID and…
Tag workpieces using a rotary swager
+Load the part into the rotary swager, set the tag index and depth to the job spec, stamp the agreed ID and heat number, verify legibility and placement on three sample pieces, then update the batch tags recorded in the job ticket.
The tools that do the workMachine controlInventory trackingESCO
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Monitor moving workpiece in a machine
+Stand at the feed station, watch the workpiece path through the cycle, listen for abnormal sounds, stop the…
Monitor moving workpiece in a machine
+Stand at the feed station, watch the workpiece path through the cycle, listen for abnormal sounds, stop the machine on any misfeed or vibration, remove and quarantine inadequate pieces, note cycle time and fault in the shift log, and hand over observations at break.
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Remove inadequate workpieces
+Stop the line at bay 3 if a blade shows cracks or wrong taper, clench it with the glove, lift it clear, tag…
Remove inadequate workpieces
+Stop the line at bay 3 if a blade shows cracks or wrong taper, clench it with the glove, lift it clear, tag it as rejected, stack on the scrap trolley and note time and defect on the shift log before restarting the feeder.
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Monitor automated machines
+Watch the forging cells from the mezzanine for one hour, record any feed interruptions, abnormal temperatures…
Monitor automated machines
+Watch the forging cells from the mezzanine for one hour, record any feed interruptions, abnormal temperatures or misfeeds, call maintenance immediately for a seized roller and log any operator overrides in the shift book.
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Quality standards
+Check ten finished horseshoes at noon against the drawing tolerances, measure crown width and curvature,…
Quality standards
+Check ten finished horseshoes at noon against the drawing tolerances, measure crown width and curvature, reject any beyond tolerance, update the quality board with pass rate and notify the foreman if pass rate drops below 92 percent.
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Quality and cycle time optimisation
+Run a ten-piece takt study on the cold press, time each station, note bottlenecks and scrap causes, propose a…
Quality and cycle time optimisation
+Run a ten-piece takt study on the cold press, time each station, note bottlenecks and scrap causes, propose a fixture tweak and a one-minute cycle reduction to present at the afternoon production meeting.
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Hold metal work piece in machine
+Clinch the vise jaw over the blank, check alignment against the centre punch, hold steady while the ram…
Hold metal work piece in machine
+Clinch the vise jaw over the blank, check alignment against the centre punch, hold steady while the ram descends, feel for slippage, readjust the clamp if the piece shifts and sign off clamp force on the job sheet.
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Remove processed workpiece
+When a finished axe comes off the line lift it with the tong, inspect the eye and edge, place accepted pieces…
Remove processed workpiece
+When a finished axe comes off the line lift it with the tong, inspect the eye and edge, place accepted pieces on the conveyer to packing and put rejects in the quarantine bin with defect and time noted on the batch card.
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Supply machine
+Top up the press feed with ten finished supply blanks from the iron bin, stage them on the feed tray in the…
Supply machine
+Top up the press feed with ten finished supply blanks from the iron bin, stage them on the feed tray in the stamped A-to-J order, check the feed pawl and sensor gap, then run at half speed until five good parts pass inspection.
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Types of metal
+Pull the metal roster and mark which bars are mild steel, 1045, 4140 and brass, set aside the nonconforming…
Types of metal
+Pull the metal roster and mark which bars are mild steel, 1045, 4140 and brass, set aside the nonconforming sheet that failed the hardness check, update the parts board with the three approved bar types and note the rejected lot for quarantine.
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Swaging machine types
+Inspect the swaging line and record which machines are single-station cold swagers, multi-station progressive…
Swaging machine types
+Inspect the swaging line and record which machines are single-station cold swagers, multi-station progressive swagers, and the rotary swage head unit, tag the rotary head for the next maintenance window, and note capacity limits for each machine on the shift sheet.
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Perform test run
+Run a one-minute test cycle on Line 2 with the standard test billet, run at production speed, watch the feed…
Perform test run
+Run a one-minute test cycle on Line 2 with the standard test billet, run at production speed, watch the feed and ejection for jams, remove any warped pieces, measure three test parts for dimension and surface finish, and log pass or fail on the QA sheet.
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Ensure equipment availability
+Confirm the torch, hammer, and swage dies scheduled for the afternoon job are calibrated and present, move…
Ensure equipment availability
+Confirm the torch, hammer, and swage dies scheduled for the afternoon job are calibrated and present, move the backup die set to the bench, clear any blocked coolant lines, and update the board that the equipment is available for the 2pm run.
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Inventory tracking
+Enter metal stock, coal and finished horseshoe counts into inventory tracking, record items used on the three…
Inventory tracking
+Enter metal stock, coal and finished horseshoe counts into inventory tracking, record items used on the three commissions today and flag low stock of 1/2-inch bar for next supplier order.
The tools that do the workInventory trackingO*NET
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Inventory tracking
+record forged-stock and raw bar inventory tracking after this morning's run: add five new lengths of 1-inch…
Inventory tracking
+record forged-stock and raw bar inventory tracking after this morning's run: add five new lengths of 1-inch round steel, subtract three finished horseshoes, and set reorder reminder when 1-inch stock drops below four pieces.
The tools that do the workInventory trackingO*NET
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses
Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses