About This Career

Sets up, operates, or tends 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.

This career is part of the Manufacturing cluster Production pathway.

A person in this career:

• Reads production schedules and work orders to determine processing sequences, furnace temperatures, and heat cycle requirements for objects to be heat-treated.
• Records times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times.
• Adjusts 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.
• Starts conveyors and opens furnace doors to load stock, or signals crane operators to uncover soaking pits and lower ingots into them.
• Sets up and operates or tends machines, such as furnaces, baths, flame-hardening machines, and electronic induction machines, that harden, anneal, and heat-treat metal.
• Removes parts from furnaces after specified times, and air dries or cools parts in water, oil brine, or other baths.
• Moves controls to light gas burners and to adjust gas and water flow and flame temperature.
• Instructs new workers in machine operation.
• Determines flame temperatures, current frequencies, heating cycles, and induction heating coils needed, based on degree of hardness required and properties of stock to be treated.
• Determines 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.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Conditions are very hot (above 90 F) or very cold (under 32 F)
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves walking or running more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
• Judging how far away an object is, or which of several objects is closer or farther away
• Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Exerting oneself physically over long periods of time without getting out of breath
• Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Overtime work
• Rotating shift work