Occupation Details
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend heating equipment, such as heat-treating furnaces, flame-hardening machines, induction machines, soaking pits, or vacuum equipment to temper, harden, anneal, or heat treat metal or plastic objects.
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Interests
Realistic
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values
Relationships
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Salary & Job Outlook
Starting Salary
$33,480.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$48,420.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$52,050.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
270
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
300
+3 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
32
new opportunities yearlyGrowth Rate
0.1%
projected increasePreparation: Experience, Training, and Education
The list below outlines the prior educational experience required to perform in this occupation.
Some Training - Certificate or hands-on training
Experience Requirements
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Requirements
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Training Details
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Transferrable Skills and Experience
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
School Programs
The following lists school programs which are applicable to this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Apprenticeship
Contact your regional representative to learn more about apprenticeships available in your area by visiting Apprenticeship Contacts.
Skills
The list below includes the skills required by workers in this occupation; skills are what allow you to learn more quickly and improve your performance.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Skill level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Knowledge
The list below includes knowledge items, the principles and facts required by this occupation.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
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.
Mechanical
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Knowledge level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Work Environment
The list below includes the physical and social factors that influence the nature of work in this occupation.
Hover over or tap each factor to see its description.
Work Styles
Included in the list below are the personal work style characteristics that can affect how well a worker is likely to perform in this occupation.
Adaptability/Flexibility
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Independence
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Leadership
Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Persistence
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Tools & Technology
This list below describes the machines, equipment, tools, software, and information technology that workers in this occupation will use.
Tools
- Atmosphere furnaces
- Automated salt bath furnaces
- Batch type hardening furnaces
- Bridge cranes
- Carbonitriding equipment
- Chain hoists
- Claw hammers
- Conductivity testers
- Continuous hardening furnaces
- Digital thermocouples
- Electronic hand trucks
- Exhaust gas collection systems
- Finger protection gloves
- Flame-hardening machines
- Free-standing jib cranes
- Gas powered generators
- Heat resistant face masks
- Induction hardening furnaces
- Industrial furnace tongs
- Kevlar gloves
- Lubricant guns
- Mechanical vacuum pumps
- Open end hand wrenches
- Order pickers
- Pallet riders
- Personal computers
- Power grinding tools
- Protective clothing
- Pry bars
- Quench presses
Technology
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Outlook
Duties
Duties are job behaviors describing activities that occur on multiple jobs. The generalized and detailed work activities described in the list below apply to this occupation.
- test manufactured products or materials
- adjust production equipment/machinery setup
- set up production equipment or machinery
- maintain or repair industrial or related equipment/machinery
- clean equipment or machinery
- install equipment or attachments on machinery or related structures
- use x-ray or magnetic inspection techniques
- demonstrate or explain assembly or use of equipment
- maintain production or work records
- attach or mark identification onto products or containers
- perform safety inspections in manufacturing or industrial setting
- examine products or work to verify conformance to specifications
- read work order, instructions, formulas, or processing charts
- signal directions or warnings to coworkers
- understand technical operating, service or repair manuals
- recognize characteristics of metals
- recognize characteristics of alloys
- move or fit heavy objects
- load, unload, or stack containers, materials, or products
- use power or hand tools in metals processing
- use precision measuring tools or equipment
- operate metal or plastic fabricating equipment/machinery
- use non-destructive test equipment
- operate hoist, winch, or hydraulic boom
- fabricate, assemble, or disassemble manufactured products by hand
- load or unload material or workpiece into machinery
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- Read production schedules and work orders to determine processing sequences, furnace temperatures, and heat cycle requirements for objects to be heat-treated.
- Determine flame temperatures, current frequencies, heating cycles, and induction heating coils needed, based on degree of hardness required and properties of stock to be treated.
- Record times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times.
- Determine types and temperatures of baths and quenching media needed to attain specified part hardness, toughness, and ductility, using heat-treating charts and knowledge of methods, equipment, and metals.
- Set up and operate die-quenching machines to prevent parts from warping.
- Examine parts to ensure metal shades and colors conform to specifications, using knowledge of metal heat-treating.
- Adjust controls to maintain temperatures and heating times, using thermal instruments and charts, dials and gauges of furnaces, and color of stock in furnaces to make setting determinations.
- Set and adjust speeds of reels and conveyors for prescribed time cycles to pass parts through continuous furnaces.
- Start conveyors and open furnace doors to load stock, or signal crane operators to uncover soaking pits and lower ingots into them.
- Set up and operate or tend machines, such as furnaces, baths, flame-hardening machines, and electronic induction machines, that harden, anneal, and heat-treat metal.
- Load parts into containers and place containers on conveyors to be inserted into furnaces, or insert parts into furnaces.
- Remove parts from furnaces after specified times, and air dry or cool parts in water, oil brine, or other baths.
- Test parts for hardness, using hardness testing equipment, or by examining and feeling samples.
- Move controls to light gas burners and to adjust gas and water flow and flame temperature.
- Place completed workpieces on conveyors, using cold rods, tongs, or chain hoists, or signal crane operators to transport them to subsequent stations.
- Signal forklift operators to deposit or extract containers of parts into and from furnaces and quenching rinse tanks.
- Mount workpieces in fixtures, on arbors, or between centers of machines.
- Reduce heat when processing is complete to allow parts to cool in furnaces or machinery.
- Mount fixtures and industrial coils on machines, using hand tools.
- Heat billets, bars, plates, rods, and other stock to specified temperatures preparatory to forging, rolling, or processing, using oil, gas, or electrical furnaces.
- Position stock in furnaces, using tongs, chain hoists, or pry bars.
- Instruct new workers in machine operation.
- Repair, replace, and maintain furnace equipment as needed, using hand tools.
- Clean oxides and scales from parts or fittings, using steam sprays or chemical and water baths.
- Stamp heat-treatment identification marks on parts, using hammers and punches.
- Position parts in plastic bags, and seal bags with irons.
Learning Resources
More information on this occupation may be found in the links provided below.
Machine setters, operators, and tenders?metal and plastic
Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.
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