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Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

	Median Wage (USD, 2024)	Projected Job Openings (2024-2034)	Projected Growth (2024-2034)
National Statistics	$41600	2500	-13.6%
State Statistics	-	-	-
City Statistics	-	-	-

Statistics

National

State

City

State

City

$41600

Median Wage (USD, 2024)

2500

Projected Job Openings (2024-2034)

-13.6%

Projected Growth (2024-2034)

Set up, operate, or tend plating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces. Typically, the product being coated is immersed in molten metal or an electrolytic solution.

Experience Requirements Overview

Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Less than a High School Diploma

Related Work Experience: N.A.

On-Site or In-Plant Training: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

On-the-Job Training: Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months

Detailed Work Activities

Inspect finishes of workpieces or finished products.
Immerse objects or workpieces in cleaning or coating solutions.
Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products.
Operate painting or coating equipment.
Feed materials or products into or through equipment.
Conduct test runs of production equipment.
Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
Record operational or production data.
Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.
Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning.
Load materials into production equipment.
Position containers to receive materials or workpieces.
Clean production equipment.
Maintain production or processing equipment.
Lubricate production equipment.
Determine metal or plastic production methods.
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
Adjust flow of electricity to tools or production equipment.
Clean workpieces or finished products.
Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes.
Measure materials to mark reference points, cutting lines, or other indicators.
Mix substances to create chemical solutions.
Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.
Load items into ovens or furnaces.
Study blueprints or other instructions to determine equipment setup requirements.
Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.
Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.
Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production.
Replace worn equipment components.
Trim excess material from workpieces.
Operate grinding equipment.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times.
Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes.
Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage.
Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces.
Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.
Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications.
Maintain production records.
Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines.
Examine completed objects to determine thicknesses of metal deposits, or measure thicknesses by using instruments such as micrometers.
Rinse coated objects in cleansing liquids and dry them with cloths, centrifugal driers, or by tumbling in sawdust-filled barrels.
Determine sizes and compositions of objects to be plated, and amounts of electrical current and time required.
Test machinery to ensure that it is operating properly.
Measure or weigh materials, using rulers, calculators, and scales.
Measure, mark, and mask areas to be excluded from plating.
Immerse objects to be coated or plated into cleaning solutions, or spray objects with conductive solutions to prepare them for plating.
Read production schedules to determine setups of equipment and machines.
Suspend objects, such as parts or molds from cathode rods, or negative terminals, and immerse objects in plating solutions.
Suspend sticks or pieces of plating metal from anodes, or positive terminals, and immerse metal in plating solutions.
Adjust controls to set temperatures of coating substances and speeds of machines and equipment.
Monitor and measure thicknesses of electroplating on component parts to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers.
Operate hoists to place workpieces onto machine feed carriages or spindles.
Position and feed materials into processing machines, by hand or by using automated equipment.
Position objects to be plated in frames, or suspend them from positive or negative terminals of power supplies.
Operate sandblasting equipment to roughen and clean surfaces of workpieces.
Clean and maintain equipment, using water hoses and scrapers.
Clean workpieces, using wire brushes.
Mix and test solutions, and turn valves to fill tanks with solutions.
Replace worn parts and adjust equipment components, using hand tools.
Place plated or coated materials on racks and transfer them to ovens to dry for specified periods of time.
Measure and set stops, rolls, brushes, and guides on automatic feeders and conveying equipment or coating machines, using micrometers, rules, and hand tools.
Position containers to receive parts, and load or unload materials in containers, using dollies or handtrucks.
Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors.
Preheat workpieces in ovens.

Work Styles

Innovation

A tendency to be inventive, to be imaginative, and to adopt new perspectives on ways to accomplish work.

Innovation

Achievement Orientation

Intellectual Curiosity

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Initiative

Adaptability

Self-Confidence

Perseverance

Leadership Orientation

Humility

Sincerity

Empathy

Cooperation

Optimism

Social Orientation

Cautiousness

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Integrity

Stress Tolerance

Self-Control

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 30.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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