# 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.

- Code: 51-4191.00 (O*NET-SOC; SOC 2018 51-4191)
- Family: [Production](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations#family-51), one of its 114 occupations
- Tasks: 23 tasks (8 core and 15 supplemental)
- Page: https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/51-4191.00
- JSON: https://foundation.org.ai/data/tasks/51-4191.00.json

## What the work is made of

1. Read production schedules and work orders to determine processing sequences, furnace temperatures, and heat cycle requirements for objects to be heat-treated.  
   Core task · Task 12087 · Rated by 69 people who do the job, July 2016
2. Record times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times.  
   Core task · Task 12088 · Rated by 69 people who do the job, July 2016
3. 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.  
   Core task · Task 12094 · Rated by 70 people who do the job, July 2016
4. Start conveyors and open furnace doors to load stock, or signal crane operators to uncover soaking pits and lower ingots into them.  
   Core task · Task 12107 · Rated by 68 people who do the job, July 2016
5. 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.  
   Core task · Task 12089 · Rated by 68 people who do the job, July 2016
6. Remove parts from furnaces after specified times, and air dry or cool parts in water, oil brine, or other baths.  
   Core task · Task 12091 · Rated by 68 people who do the job, July 2016
7. Move controls to light gas burners and to adjust gas and water flow and flame temperature.  
   Core task · Task 12099 · Rated by 68 people who do the job, July 2016
8. Instruct new workers in machine operation.  
   Core task · Task 12093 · Rated by 70 people who do the job, July 2016
9. 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.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12095 · Rated by 68 people who do the job, July 2016
10. 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.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12090 · Rated by 67 people who do the job, July 2016
11. Examine parts to ensure metal shades and colors conform to specifications, using knowledge of metal heat-treating.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12104 · Rated by 70 people who do the job, July 2016
12. Set and adjust speeds of reels and conveyors for prescribed time cycles to pass parts through continuous furnaces.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12112 · Rated by 69 people who do the job, July 2016
13. Load parts into containers and place containers on conveyors to be inserted into furnaces, or insert parts into furnaces.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12096 · Rated by 69 people who do the job, July 2016
14. Test parts for hardness, using hardness testing equipment, or by examining and feeling samples.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12102 · Rated by 70 people who do the job, July 2016
15. Signal forklift operators to deposit or extract containers of parts into and from furnaces and quenching rinse tanks.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12101 · Rated by 69 people who do the job, July 2016
16. Mount workpieces in fixtures, on arbors, or between centers of machines.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12097 · Rated by 68 people who do the job, July 2016
17. Reduce heat when processing is complete to allow parts to cool in furnaces or machinery.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12100 · Rated by 70 people who do the job, July 2016
18. Mount fixtures and industrial coils on machines, using hand tools.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12113 · Rated by 68 people who do the job, July 2016
19. Heat billets, bars, plates, rods, and other stock to specified temperatures preparatory to forging, rolling, or processing, using oil, gas, or electrical furnaces.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12108 · Rated by 69 people who do the job, July 2016
20. Position stock in furnaces, using tongs, chain hoists, or pry bars.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12092 · Rated by 70 people who do the job, July 2016
21. Repair, replace, and maintain furnace equipment as needed, using hand tools.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12106 · Rated by 70 people who do the job, July 2016
22. Clean oxides and scales from parts or fittings, using steam sprays or chemical and water baths.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12109 · Rated by 68 people who do the job, July 2016
23. Stamp heat-treatment identification marks on parts, using hammers and punches.  
   Supplemental task · Task 12111 · Rated by 69 people who do the job, July 2016

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## Where this comes from

Quoted from O*NET 29.0, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0: free to copy and reuse, with credit. Nothing on this page is written by the Org.AI Foundation.
