screw machine operator

What the work can involve

Screw machine operators work on shop floors where metal blanks, dies, tooling and automatic lathes must keep producing threaded parts. The work is practical: prepare the machine, feed workpieces, run tests, watch cycle time and remove parts that do not meet quality standards.

Skills and specializations

Useful strengths include reading machine settings, selecting tools, monitoring moving workpieces, using measuring equipment, keeping production records and noticing tool wear before it damages a batch. Some roles add CNC controllers, CAM software or die changes.

Salary context

Salary context depends on machine responsibility, shift pattern, setup work, quality control, production volume, maintenance duties and whether the operator handles CNC programming or only tends prepared machines. This guide does not provide salary amounts.

Career paths

Experience can lead toward senior machine operator, setup technician, CNC operator, production quality role, maintenance support or team lead in metal manufacturing.

Good to know

Check whether vacancies name screw machines, automatic lathes, metal type, tolerances, measuring tools, tooling changes, waste handling and who responds when a machine faults.

Editorial note

This guide is editorial career context. It is not official labour-market statistics or role-specific salary data.

Alternative labels

Occupation group

Metal working machine tool setters and operators (7223)

Source facts