According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products. | 91% |
| Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications. | 86% |
| Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion. | 85% |
| Reel extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights. | 85% |
| Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials. | 83% |
| Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes. | 81% |
| Clean work areas. | 80% |
| Weigh and mix pelletized, granular, or powdered thermoplastic materials and coloring pigments. | 79% |
| Test physical properties of products with testing devices such as acid-bath testers, burst testers, and impact testers. | 79% |
| Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders. | 77% |
| Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment. | 74% |
| Maintain an inventory of materials. | 74% |
| Adjust controls to draw or press metal into specified shapes and diameters. | 74% |
| Replace worn dies when products vary from specifications. | 74% |
| Select nozzles, spacers, and wire guides, according to diameters and lengths of rods. | 67% |
| Operate shearing mechanisms to cut rods to specified lengths. | 63% |
