US dataswitch to UK

Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

adjusting machine controls and change tool settings to keep dimensions within specified tolerances, replacing worn tools, positioning, securing and starting lathe or turning machines and observing operations to ensure that specifications are met. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: replacing worn tools and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines is work software can't reach.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 10%
changing shape: 12%
staying human: 78%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 15 out of 100 (13–19 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 18 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

What shifts is computing unspecified dimensions and machine settings: the overhead at the edges, not the middle you trained for.

Your week, as this page understands it

Set up, operate, or tend lathe and turning machines to turn, bore, thread, form, or face metal or plastic materials, such as wire, rod, or bar stock. The job title says “lathe”, “turning machine tool setters”, “operators”, “tenders”, “metal” or “plastic”: officially one job, several names. The real job is the part underneath: replacing worn tools and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic is not one task. It is 18 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is replacing worn tools and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 10%
changing shape: 12%
staying human: 78%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

How we know this

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

1 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Shifting to AI

2 tasks

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

Computing unspecified dimensions and machine settings
This is reading one thing and writing another: unspecified dimensions in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Compute unspecified dimensions and machine settings, using knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 75 out of 100 (68–82 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Speeds, feeds and missing dimensions are standard shop calculations software handles from published material data.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Selecting cutting tools and tooling instructions
This is reading one thing and writing another: tools in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Select cutting tools and tooling instructions, according to written specifications or knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 68 out of 100 (61–75 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Picking a cutting tool from written specifications is a lookup job, though the shop's own tooling matters.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

Changing shape

2 tasks

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

Studying blueprints
The software now makes the first pass at blueprints, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Study blueprints, layouts or charts, and job orders for information on specifications and tooling instructions, and to determine material requirements and operational sequences.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 58 out of 100 (51–65 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Software can read a job order and suggest a sequence, but shop drawings still need a machinist's eye.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Programing computer numerical control machines
The software now makes the first pass at computer numerical control machines, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Program computer numerical control machines.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 56 out of 100 (49–63 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Writing machine programs is code, and software is good at generating and checking it.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Staying human

14 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

Adjusting machine controls and change tool settings to keep dimensions within specified tolerances
This work happens in the physical world: machine controls, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Adjust machine controls and change tool settings to keep dimensions within specified tolerances.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 10 out of 100 (6–14 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Holding a part within tolerance means adjusting the machine while it runs.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Replacing worn tools and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines
This work happens in the physical world: worn tools, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Replace worn tools, and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Changing and sharpening cutting tools is hands on bench work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Inspecting sample workpieces to verify conformance with specifications
This work happens in the physical world: sample workpieces, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Inspect sample workpieces to verify conformance with specifications, using instruments such as gauges, micrometers, and dial indicators.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Measuring a part with micrometers and gauges means holding both the part and the instrument.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Starting lathe or turning machines and observing operations to ensure that specifications are met
This work happens in the physical world: lathe, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Start lathe or turning machines and observe operations to ensure that specifications are met.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Starting the machine and watching the cut requires someone standing at it.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Moving controls to set cutting speeds and depths and feed rates
This work happens in the physical world: controls, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Move controls to set cutting speeds and depths and feed rates, and to position tools in relation to workpieces.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Setting speeds, feeds and tool positions is done with hands on the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Cranking machines through cycles
This work happens in the physical world: machines, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Crank machines through cycles, stopping to adjust tool positions and machine controls to ensure specified timing, clearances, and tolerances.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Cranking a machine through its cycle to check clearances is done at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

Show the other 8 tasks

Lifting metal stock or workpieces manually
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: metal stock, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Lift metal stock or workpieces manually or using hoists, and position and secure them in machines, using fasteners and hand tools.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Lifting and clamping metal stock into a machine is physical handling.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Positioning, securing and align cutting tools in toolholders on machines
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: align cutting tools, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Position, secure, and align cutting tools in toolholders on machines, using hand tools, and verify their positions with measuring instruments.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Mounting and aligning cutting tools is precise hand work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Installing holding fixtures, cams, gears and stops to control stock and tool movement
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: fixtures, cams, gears and stops, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Install holding fixtures, cams, gears, and stops to control stock and tool movement, using hand tools, power tools, and measuring instruments.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Fitting fixtures, cams and stops is hands on setup with tools.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Moving toolholders manually or by turning handwheels
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: toolholders, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Move toolholders manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to feed tools to and along workpieces.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Feeding tools along the work by handwheel is physical machine operation.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Turning valve handles to direct the flow of coolant onto work areas or to coat disks with spinning compounds
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: valve handles, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · Core
Source: “Turn valve handles to direct the flow of coolant onto work areas or to coat disks with spinning compounds.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Turning coolant valves is done by hand at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Mounting attachments, such as relieving or tracing attachments, to perform operations
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: attachments, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · Core
Source: “Mount attachments, such as relieving or tracing attachments, to perform operations, such as duplicating contours of templates or trimming workpieces.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Mounting machine attachments is physical setup work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Refilling change and monitoring the level of fluids, such as oil and coolant, in machines
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: change, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Refill, change, and monitor the level of fluids, such as oil and coolant, in machines.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Topping up oil and coolant is physical machine upkeep.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Cleaning work area
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: work area, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Clean work area.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Cleaning a work area is entirely physical and nothing about it can be done from a screen.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay: $50,620a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
People doing this job: 16,710in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: unspecified dimensions in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: computing unspecified dimensions and machine settings and selecting cutting tools and tooling instructions. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where worn tools get done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

Start with what does not change: replacing worn tools and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.

So, given all that: 10% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 12% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 78% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 18 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Computing unspecified dimensions and machine settings is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.

This week: one thing

Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to unspecified dimensions, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.

What you end up holding: a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
How long it takes: ten minutes

If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether worn tools are in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.

Over the next 90 days

Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near studying blueprints. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.

Over the next 12 months

On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them

I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.

I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic: only about 35% of its durable work is work you already do. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 15/100 here, with only 10% of the task list in the top band, and “adjust machine controls and change tool settings to keep dimensions within specified…” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.

How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already replace worn tools, and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders…, and their equivalent is to replace worn tools, using hand tools, and sharpen dull tools, using bench grinders. Across both published task lists that is about 35% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: It is closer than most, and still not close enough: about 35% of that job's durable work is already yours, against the 35% I want to see before I will call something a route.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already move toolholders manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to…, and their equivalent is to move machine controls to lower tools to workpieces and to engage automatic feeds. Across both published task lists that is about 19% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 19% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already lift metal stock or workpieces manually or using hoists, and position and secure…, and their equivalent is to lift workpieces to machines manually or with hoists or cranes. Across both published task lists that is about 15% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 15% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.
Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 10% of its task weight, across 18 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like replacing worn tools and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United States figures

The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Plastics process operatives is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match

The other groups this work is counted across:

In UK official statistics this job is counted as Plastics process operatives, Metal machining setters and setter-operators and Metal working machine operatives. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.

Your route through this

Where to go next, and what it costs

Free, and complete

The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.

Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Find local training
Search what's running near you, from the Labor Department's own database, before anyone sells you a course.
Free to search; individual programs vary, and some are funded
Anywhere in the US:
American Job Center locator
An American Job Center will sit down with you for free. Find yours by ZIP code.
Free
- CareerOneStop local help hub
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Licensed occupations finder
Check what your state actually requires before you pay for anything.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop
Free

No Space for this job, but one for what is happening to it

Nothing Collab365 runs is built for lathe / turning machine tool setters / operators / tenders / metal / plastic, and we are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.

There is one that is not about a job title at all. The AI Authority is about being the person who directs these tools at work rather than the person they get compared to. That is worth saying here, because 10% of the work on this page is already inside what they can do.

Try The AI Authority free →

7 days free, no card needed. Explore up to 2 Spaces before you choose a plan: you pick a plan later, not now.

The AI Authority is a general community about working with AI, not a course for lathe / turning machine tool setters / operators / tenders / metal / plastic. You do not need it to act on anything here: the moves above cost nothing and stand on their own. The data on this page is the same either way.

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No Space for lathe / turning machine tool setters / operators / tenders / metal / plastic yet. Should there be one?

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What a Space actually is, in full

Collab365 launches new communities where the need is real. If one for lathe / turning machine tool setters / operators / tenders / metal / plastic existed, with researched problems, courses and people in the same boat, would you want in?

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This unlocks nothing. Every figure, every row and every step on this page is already yours, whether you fill this in or not.

No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.

Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?: Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 18 official task statements scored for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (United States, SOC 51-4034), 10% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 15 out of 100 (range 13–19, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic” can AI already do?: The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Compute unspecified dimensions and machine settings, using knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics” (75/100, high); “Select cutting tools and tooling instructions, according to written specifications or knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics” (68/100, high); “Study blueprints, layouts or charts, and job orders for information on specifications and tooling instructions, and to determine material requirements and op…” (58/100, partial). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic” stay human?: About 78% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Clean work area” (0/100, minimal); “Refill, change, and monitor the level of fluids, such as oil and coolant, in machines” (0/100, minimal); “Mount attachments, such as relieving or tracing attachments, to perform operations, such as duplicating contours of templates or trimming workpieces” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic” do about AI?: Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 10% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 78% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic calculated?: Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 18 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

Worth knowing about these figures

The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
1 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Task statements: onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights: onet-db (im-rt)
Scores: Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
Pay and employment: bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

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Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.

Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Permalink

https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.