What does a drill press operator do?

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What is a Drill Press Operator?

A drill press operator is someone who sets up, operates, or tends drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces. There’s no end to the possible products drill press operators can help create. From trampoline supports to automotive parts to shelving units, the operator pre-drills the holes that later receive bolts, rods, or other components when the product is constructed.

What does a Drill Press Operator do?

A drill press operator is someone who sets up, operates, or tends drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces.

Various skills and duties of a drill press operator:

  • Study machining instructions, job orders, or blueprints to determine tooling requirements
  • Verify machined work to specifications, using calipers, micrometers, or gauges
  • Change worn cutting tools
  • Sharpen cutting tools, using bench grinders
  • Operate tracing attachments to duplicate contours from templates or models
  • Select and set cutting speeds, feed rates, depths of cuts, and cutting tools
  • Move machine controls to feed tools into workpiece, and engage automatic feed
  • Observe drilling or boring machine operations to detect any problems
  • Lift workpiece manually or with hoist; position and secure it on machine table in drilling jig or holding fixture
  • Position and secure workpieces on tables, using bolts, jigs, clamps, shims, or other holding devices
  • Direct flow of coolants or cutting oil over cutting areas
  • Establish zero reference points on workpieces
  • Fasten parts with nuts, bolts, or screws, using power tools or hand tools
  • Verify that workpiece reference lines are parallel to the axis of table rotation, using dial indicators mounted in spindles
  • Operate single- or multiple-spindle drill presses to bore holes so that machining operations can be performed on metal or plastic workpieces
  • Lay out reference lines and machining locations on work, using layout tools

Are you suited to be a drill press operator?

Drill press operators have distinct personalities. They tend to be realistic individuals, which means they’re independent, stable, persistent, genuine, practical, and thrifty. They like tasks that are tactile, physical, athletic, or mechanical. Some of them are also investigative, meaning they’re intellectual, introspective, and inquisitive.

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What is the workplace of a Drill Press Operator like?

A drill press operator may work in hot/cold conditions, and may also be exposed to loud noise from nearby machinery. The majority of work will be done in a factory like setting; care must be taken to follow safety guidelines. The operator may be required to lift up to fifty pounds or more, and normal job duties may require some bending, sitting, standing/stooping for certain periods of time.

Drill Press Operators are also known as:
CNC Drilling Operator Drill Operator Radial Drill Operator Drill Setup Operator