What do screw machine operators do?
Screw machine operators pretty much stand around and watch a large machine produce round parts in high quantities. A screw machine is a very specialized type of mechanical lathe, designed for high volume production, that is driven by cams and gears rather than a CNC control. Though nowdays, there are screw machines that have replaced the camming with a control, but these are still very expensive. Note that despite the name, screw machines do not often produce screws. There’s better ways to do that now, namely thread rolling machines and cold headers that produce more bolts and screws in a given time, and they’re stronger than what a screw machine can produce. The name stuck, though. The operator is not responsible for setting the machine up, making the cams, or any other part of high level machine operation. The operator’s responsibility is to babysit the machines. They make sure all the tools are cutting the dimensions that are called for, and adjust the machine to keep the tools runn
