Job Purpose:
Set up, operate, or tend lathe machines to turn, bore, thread, form, or face metal or plastic materials, such as wire, rod, or bar stock.

Essential Duties and/or Responsibilities:

• Inspect sample workpieces to verify conformance with specifications, using instruments such as gauges, micrometers, and dial indicators.
• Study blueprints, layouts or charts, and job orders for information on specifications and tooling instructions, and to determine material requirements and operational sequences.
• Adjust machine controls and change tool settings in order to keep dimensions within specified tolerances.
• Move controls to set cutting speeds and depths and feed rates, and to position tools in relation to workpieces.
• Start lath or turning machines and observe operations to ensure that specifications are met.
• Select cutting tools and tooling instructions, according to written specifications or knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.
• Crank machines through cycles, stopping to adjust tool positions and machine controls to ensure specified timing, clearances, and tolerances.
• Lift metal stock or workpieces manually or using hoists, and position and secure them in machines, using fasteners and hand tools.
• Replace worn tools, and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines.
• Position, secure, and align cutting tools in toolholders on machines, using hand tools, and verify their positions with measuring instruments.
• Compute unspecified dimensions and machine settings, using knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.
• Install holding fixtures, cams, gears, and stops to control stock and tool movement, using hand tools, power tools, and measuring instruments.
• Move toolholders manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to feed tools to and along workpieces.
• Turn valve handles to direct the flow of coolant onto work areas or to coat disks with spinning compounds.

Knowledge and Skills Required:

• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Equipment Selection - Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
• Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.