AI exposure: Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
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.
Reading this score
computedAt 16.3% of weighted task load, Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic sits at the 27th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 74.7% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 18 tasks it averages 2.47 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Compute unspecified dimensions and machine settings, at 55.0%. The least is Mount attachments, at 0.0%. A gap of 55.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within production occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 107 roles in the group is 16.1%, and only 52 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 18 tasks, 6 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 12 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 1.02 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.47 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.27 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.44 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.06 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 0.95 | 0-3 |
Task by task
18 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compute unspecified dimensions and machine settings, using knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.14 | exposed |
| Select cutting tools and tooling instructions, according to written specifications or knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.52 | exposed |
| Study blueprints, layouts or charts, and job orders for information on specifications and tooling instructions, and to determine material requirements and operational sequences. | 41.7% | 20.8% | 37.5% | 4.30 | exposed |
| Move controls to set cutting speeds and depths and feed rates, and to position tools in relation to workpieces. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.31 | exposed |
| Turn valve handles to direct the flow of coolant onto work areas or to coat disks with spinning compounds. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 3.48 | exposed |
| Program computer numerical control machines. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.93 | exposed |
| Start lathe or turning machines and observe operations to ensure that specifications are met. | 22.5% | 15.0% | 62.5% | 4.05 | untouched |
| Adjust machine controls and change tool settings to keep dimensions within specified tolerances. | 16.7% | 8.3% | 75.0% | 4.34 | untouched |
| Crank machines through cycles, stopping to adjust tool positions and machine controls to ensure specified timing, clearances, and tolerances. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.12 | untouched |
| Replace worn tools, and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines. | 5.4% | 3.0% | 91.7% | 4.22 | untouched |
| Inspect sample workpieces to verify conformance with specifications, using instruments such as gauges, micrometers, and dial indicators. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.24 | untouched |
| Move toolholders manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to feed tools to and along workpieces. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.18 | untouched |
| Position, secure, and align cutting tools in toolholders on machines, using hand tools, and verify their positions with measuring instruments. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.06 | untouched |
| Refill, change, and monitor the level of fluids, such as oil and coolant, in machines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.91 | untouched |
| Clean work area. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.82 | untouched |
| Lift metal stock or workpieces manually or using hoists, and position and secure them in machines, using fasteners and hand tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.73 | untouched |
| Install holding fixtures, cams, gears, and stops to control stock and tool movement, using hand tools, power tools, and measuring instruments. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.61 | untouched |
| Mount attachments, such as relieving or tracing attachments, to perform operations, such as duplicating contours of templates or trimming workpieces. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.49 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.