Will “Precision Instrument Maker” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔

65% Chance of Automation

“Precision Instrument Maker” will maybe be replaced by robots.

This job is ranked #358 out of #702. A higher ranking (i.e., a lower number) means the job is less likely to be replaced.

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Job Description

Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.

Job Details

The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 51-4041.00
The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 43,220.00
The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 20.00
Currently, there are 391,120 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Machinists”.

Also Known As…

Tasks for “Precision Instrument Maker”

Confer with engineering, supervisory, or manufacturing personnel to exchange technical information.
Evaluate machining procedures and recommend changes or modifications for improved efficiency or adaptability.
Test experimental models under simulated operating conditions for purposes such as development, standardization, or feasibility of design.
Establish work procedures for fabricating new structural products, using a variety of metalworking machines.
Check work pieces to ensure that they are properly lubricated or cooled.
Diagnose machine tool malfunctions to determine need for adjustments or repairs.
Advise clients about the materials being used for finished products.
Align and secure holding fixtures, cutting tools, attachments, accessories, or materials onto machines.
Calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments such as micrometers or vernier calipers.
Program computers or electronic instruments, such as numerically controlled machine tools.
Install experimental parts or assemblies, such as hydraulic systems, electrical wiring, lubricants, or batteries into machines or mechanisms.
Operate equipment to verify operational efficiency.
Dismantle machines or equipment, using hand tools or power tools to examine parts for defects and replace defective parts where needed.
Install repaired parts into equipment or install new equipment.
Measure, examine, or test completed units to check for defects and ensure conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, such as micrometers.
Fit and assemble parts to make or repair machine tools.
Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders.
Set up, adjust, or operate basic or specialized machine tools used to perform precision machining operations.
Dispose of scrap or waste material in accordance with company policies and environmental regulations.
Separate scrap waste and related materials for reuse, recycling, or disposal.
Confer with numerical control programmers to check and ensure that new programs or machinery will function properly and that output will meet specifications.
Set up or operate metalworking, brazing, heat-treating, welding, or cutting equipment.
Study sample parts, blueprints, drawings, or engineering information to determine methods or sequences of operations needed to fabricate products.
Prepare working sketches for the illustration of product appearance.
Monitor the feed and speed of machines during the machining process.
Design fixtures, tooling, or experimental parts to meet special engineering needs.
Support metalworking projects from planning and fabrication through assembly, inspection, and testing, using knowledge of machine functions, metal properties and mathematics.
Lay out, measure, and mark metal stock to display placement of cuts.
Maintain machine tools in proper operational condition.

Related Technology & Tools

Utility knives
Height gauges
Hand saws
Ring gauges
Vernier gear tooth calipers
Milling vises
Broachers
Side cutting pliers
Computerized numerical control CNC turning lathes
Vernier height gauges
Reamers
Cutoff saws
Dial calipers
Multi-axis computerized numerical control CNC machines
Spirit levels
Putty knives
Heat-treating equipment
Bandsaws
Undercut tools
Marking blocks
Punches
Lathes
Metal cutting taps
Laser printers
Magnetic retrievers
Horizontal mills
Ball peen hammers
Breaker lathes
Socket wrench sets
Welding lenses
Jointers
Combination drills
Binocular light compound microscopes
Machinists' hammers
Outside micrometers
Metal spray equipment
Workshop cranes
Machine shop rigging equipment
Hydraulic presses
Cold chisels
Hex wrenches
Grinding dogs
Tongs
Planers
Crankshaft grinders
Rubber mallets
Grinders
Resurfacing machines
Plasma welders
Personal computers
Vertical milling machines
Pillar drill machines
Vernier bevel protractors
Pipe threaders
Aviation snips
Flat files
Sandblasters
Beverly shears
Half-round files
Handheld welders
Soldering equipment
Square chisels
Hermaphrodite calipers
Prick punches
3-axis computerized numerical control CNC machines
Engine lathes
Staging equipment
Sensitive drill presses
Calipers
Micrometers
Buffers
Drum lathes
Metal shears
Dial indicators
Shielded arc welding tools
Steel wedges
Surface grinding machines
Portable welding equipment
Horizontal boring bars
Inside micrometers
Personal digital assistants PDA
Platforms
Chamfer tools
Boring bars
Ladders
Hacksaws
Full face shields
Steel rules
Shears
Cylinder honers
Grinding wheel arbors
Inside spring calipers
Turret lathes
V blocks
Pry bars
Welding shields
Tungsten inert gas TIG welding equipment
Ratchet sets
Cylindrical grinders
Telescoping gauges
Spindle blade screwdrivers
Power sanders
Radial drill presses
Torches
Shims
Hex keys
Sine bars
Center drills
Sledgehammers
Metal inert gas MIG welders
Oxyacetylene welding equipment
Boring tools
Radial drills
Knee mills
Feeler gauges
Chucks
Cold saws
Arbor presses
Chippers
Brake presses
Channel lock pliers
Vernier calipers
Tube benders
Centrifugal spin casters
Phillips head screwdrivers
Brazing equipment
Valve grinding machines
Anvils
Wedges
Angle plates
Horizontal lathes
Vertical turret lathes VTL
Needlenose pliers
Forklifts
Flywheel lathes
Angled feeler gauges
Swaging tools
Deburring tools
Radius gauges
Screwdrivers
Turning lathes
Hand clamps
Screw pitch gauges
Combination pliers
Planer gauges
Computerized numerical control CNC machining centers
Power drills
Parallel blocks
Milling angle form cutters
Scribers
Outside spring calipers
Adjustable wrenches
Power hacksaws
Desktop computers
Shapers
Pipe wrenches
Sharpening equipment
Thread gauges
Composition hammers
Brass hammers
Single-cut mill saw files
Threading machines
Edge finders
Machinists' squares
Milling machines
Combination wrenches
Surface gauges
Gauges

Armchair Machinist software
Microsoft Excel
CNC Mastercam
JETCAM
ERP software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Microsoft Office
CNC TurboCAD/CAM
Autodesk AutoCAD
EditCNC
Computer aided design CAD software
Kentech Trig Kalculator
Kentech Kipware Studio
CNC Consulting Machinists' Calculator
CCG Systems FASTER
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Word