51-4021.00 · Task explorer
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: reported tasks and exploration worksheet
Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.
Use the skill profile to plan your next practice →
Read the task inventory
This source lists 16 tasks, including 13 marked Core and 3 marked Supplemental. Labels and dates are retained below. Employers can combine or divide these responsibilities differently; explore the task itself before assuming it belongs in every version of the role.
Task source dates: 08/2026.
16 tasks shown
Core · Task 8473 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
Core · Task 8477 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.
Core · Task 8474 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.
Core · Task 8480 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment.
Core · Task 8476 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes.
Core · Task 8486 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders.
Core · Task 8475 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.
Core · Task 8483 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Operate shearing mechanisms to cut rods to specified lengths.
Core · Task 8488 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Maintain an inventory of materials.
Core · Task 8481 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Clean work areas.
Core · Task 8482 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Adjust controls to draw or press metal into specified shapes and diameters.
Core · Task 8478 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Replace worn dies when products vary from specifications.
Core · Task 8487 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Test physical properties of products with testing devices such as acid-bath testers, burst testers, and impact testers.
Supplemental · Task 8479 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Reel extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights.
Supplemental · Task 8485 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Weigh and mix pelletized, granular, or powdered thermoplastic materials and coloring pigments.
Supplemental · Task 8484 · 08/2026 · Incumbent
Select nozzles, spacers, and wire guides, according to diameters and lengths of rods.
Make the shortlist useful
- Choose one to three activities that tell you something different about the work. Avoid selecting several ways of describing the same interest.
- For each, write an example you can discuss or a question that would change your understanding of the role.
- Keep source task IDs with your notes so you can return to the same description. Do not include private employer or customer information.
The exported worksheet distinguishes the reported task from your own notes. It supports exploration, not a hiring decision or a validated assessment.
Keep your worksheet
Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.
Source and practice material
Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.
Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.