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Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend machines to roll steel or plastic forming bends, beads, knurls, rolls, or plate, or to flatten, temper, or reduce gauge of material.
Also Known As:
Breakdown Mill Operator
Calender Operator
Cold Mill Operator
Machine Operator
Mill Operator
Rolling Mill Operator
Roughing Mill Operator
Temper Mill Operator
Tube Mill Operator
Weld Mill Operator
Wages
Annual wages for Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
23,100
-8% Change From 2023
Explore Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Monitor machine cycles and mill operation to detect jamming and to ensure that products conform to specifications.
- Set distance points between rolls, guides, meters, and stops, according to specifications.
- Read rolling orders, blueprints, and mill schedules to determine setup specifications, work sequences, product dimensions, and installation procedures.
- Fill oil cups, adjust valves, and observe gauges to control flow of metal coolants and lubricants onto workpieces.
- Fill oil cups, adjust valves, and observe gauges to control flow of metal coolants and lubricants onto workpieces.
- Direct and train other workers to change rolls, operate mill equipment, remove coils and cobbles, and band and load material.
- Thread or feed sheets or rods through rolling mechanisms, or start and control mechanisms that automatically feed steel into rollers.
- Position, align, and secure arbors, spindles, coils, mandrels, dies, and slitting knives.
- Examine, inspect, and measure raw materials and finished products to verify conformance to specifications.
- Calculate draft space and roll speed for each mill stand to plan rolling sequences and specified dimensions and tempers.
- Adjust and correct machine set-ups to reduce thicknesses, reshape products, and eliminate product defects.
- Activate shears and grinders to trim workpieces.
- Manipulate controls and observe dial indicators to monitor, adjust, and regulate speeds of machine mechanisms.
- Start operation of rolling and milling machines to flatten, temper, form, and reduce sheet metal sections and to produce steel strips.
- Disassemble sizing mills removed from rolling lines, and sort and store parts.
- Manipulate controls and observe dial indicators to monitor, adjust, and regulate speeds of machine mechanisms.
- Read rolling orders, blueprints, and mill schedules to determine setup specifications, work sequences, product dimensions, and installation procedures.
- Record mill production on schedule sheets.
- Direct and train other workers to change rolls, operate mill equipment, remove coils and cobbles, and band and load material.
- Signal and assist other workers to remove and position equipment, fill hoppers, and feed materials into machines.
- Activate shears and grinders to trim workpieces.
- Select rolls, dies, roll stands, and chucks from data charts to form specified contours and to fabricate products.
- Activate shears and grinders to trim workpieces.
- Remove scratches and polish roll surfaces, using polishing stones and electric buffers.
- Read rolling orders, blueprints, and mill schedules to determine setup specifications, work sequences, product dimensions, and installation procedures.
- Examine, inspect, and measure raw materials and finished products to verify conformance to specifications.
- Install equipment such as guides, guards, gears, cooling equipment, and rolls, using hand tools.
- Disassemble sizing mills removed from rolling lines, and sort and store parts.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")