AI exposure Production
Will AI replace extruding and drawing machine setters?
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic. US occupation 51-4021.
The reading
0.0%
of the time extruding and drawing machine setters spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of extruding and drawing machine setters' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.
Ranked 346 of 756 US occupations. No AI use seen in the work yet, along with 410 other occupations.No handover started yet, along with 410 other occupations.
Per cent of working time Square-law scale
Average US job 7.7%
Among the least exposed jobs there are.Still waiting for liberation.
What AI already does for extruding and drawing machine settersWhat extruding and drawing machine setters no longer do alone
O*NET lists 16 tasks for extruding and drawing machine setters. None of them shows meaningful AI use at work yet.
What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human
16 of the 16 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.
- Adjust controls to draw or press metal into specified shapes and diameters.Core task
- Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes.Core task
- Clean work areas.Core task
- Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.Core task
- Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.Core task
- Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders.Core task
Show the other 10
- Maintain an inventory of materials.Core task
- Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.Core task
- Operate shearing mechanisms to cut rods to specified lengths.Core task
- Replace worn dies when products vary from specifications.Core task
- Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.Core task
- Test physical properties of products with testing devices such as acid-bath testers, burst testers, and impact testers.Core task
- Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment.Core task
- Reel extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights.
- Select nozzles, spacers, and wire guides, according to diameters and lengths of rods.
- Weigh and mix pelletized, granular, or powdered thermoplastic materials and coloring pigments.
How that compares
Among the 98 production occupations, extruding and drawing machine setters rank 35. The group averages 0.8%, and its most exposed job is Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers at 12.1%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.
Level with 0.0%
What this does and does not mean
Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.
A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.
Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.