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Overview
Surface grinding machine operators set up and tend grinders that remove small amounts of metal with abrasive wheels on horizontal or vertical axes to create flat, smooth workpiece surfaces.
In job descriptions, look for surface grinder operation, abrasive machining, flatness checks, gauge monitoring, controller setup, quality standards, burr removal, test runs and precision measuring equipment.
Explore this occupation
Open in Job ExplorerWork context
Surface grinding machine operators work with grinders, abrasive wheels, gauges and metal workpieces that need flatness and smooth finish. The work includes setting controllers, monitoring moving workpieces, removing burrs and checking quality after test runs.
Skills and specializations
Important skills include surface grinder operation, abrasive machining, precision metalworking, gauge monitoring and equipment availability. Specialization can involve tight flatness tolerances, fine finishing, maintenance, quality inspection or different metal products.
Salary context
Salary context depends on tolerance requirements, machine size, cycle-time targets, material value, shift work, setup responsibility and whether the operator performs test runs, maintenance or product inspection. This guide gives no salary amounts.
Career paths
Experience can lead toward precision grinding setup, CNC machining, metal finishing, quality control, process optimisation, maintenance coordination or team responsibility in a finishing or plating production environment.
Good to know
Check adverts for flatness measurement, abrasive wheels, controller setup, burr removal, test runs, moving workpiece monitoring and precision measuring equipment. These words show how demanding the grinding and inspection work is.
Editorial note
This guide is editorial occupation context. It is not official labour-market statistics or salary data for this exact occupation.
Map overview
Click the map to search for surface grinding machine operator jobs.
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O*NET relationships
See occupations connected to this ESCO occupation in the official O*NET–ESCO mapping. The relationship type comes from the source and is not a ranking or recommendation.
O*NET relationships: 3
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
51-4033.00
O*NET occupation is broader
The O*NET occupation covers a broader field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETTool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
51-4194.00
Close relationship
The occupations are closely related, but the official mapping does not treat them as exact equivalents.
Open in O*NETCrushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
51-9021.00
O*NET occupation is broader
The O*NET occupation covers a broader field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETSource and method
These relationships come from the official European Commission O*NET–ESCO crosswalk.
Relationship direction: O*NET occupation to ESCO occupation.
Several O*NET occupations can point to the same ESCO occupation, and one O*NET occupation can point to several ESCO occupations.
AltoTrail preserves the source relationship type. The order is technical and does not show which occupation is best, most relevant or recommended.
AltoTrail validates and presents the source relationships without adding ranking or recommendation semantics.
Alternative labels
Occupation group
Metal finishing, plating and coating machine operators (8122)
Source facts
| ESCO URI | http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/4a1d28b0-eca5-4c0a-a49d-ce974e7d04ce |
|---|---|
| ESCO code | 8122.11 |
| ISCO group | 8122 |
| Concept type | Occupation |