The production of the tools, dies, and special guiding and holding devices used by machining workers to mass produce metal parts is the work of tool-and-die makers.
Toolmakers produce and repair jigs and fixtures (devices that hold metal while it is stamped, shaved, or drilled). They also make gauges and other measuring devices for use on machinery-making precision metal parts.
Diemakers construct and repair metal forms (called dies) for use on machinery that stamps out or forges metal parts. They also make metal molds for die-casting and for molding plastics.
Tool-and-die makers usually receive training in the full range of skills needed to perform either job. They are required to have a broader knowledge of machining operations, mathematics, and blueprint reading than workers in related fields. They use a variety of hand and machining tools as well as precision measuring instruments.
Most tool-and-die makers work in plants that produce manufacturing, construction, and farm machinery. Others work in automobile, aircraft, and other transportation equipment industries; small tool-and-die shops; and electrical machinery and fabricated metal industries.
Places of Employment and Working Conditions
Tool-and-die makers work throughout the United States, but job opportunities are best in large industrialized areas. Most work in the Midwest and Northeast, where many metalworking industries are.
Working conditions are those of a factory and can be quite noisy. Tool-and-die makers come into direct contact with grease and oil in the course of their work and may be subject to injuries to hands and eyes caused by flying metal particles. These workers are usually required to wear special protective eyeglasses and to avoid loose clothing that could catch on machinery.
Qualifications, Education, and Training
Anyone interested in tool-and-die making should have mechanical ability, finger dexterity, and an aptitude for precision work.
High school or vocational school courses should include machine shop classes, mathematics, and physics, if possible.
Some tool-and-die makers learn their skills in vocational schools or through on-the-job training, but the best training is usually obtained in a formal apprenticeship program. Some companies have separate apprenticeship programs for toolmaking and diemaking.
An apprenticeship program combines practical shop training in all phases of tool-and-die making with classroom instruction in mathematics, shop theory, mechanical drawing, tool designing, and blueprint reading. After completion of an apprenticeship, several years of additional experience are usually necessary to qualify for the more difficult tool-and-die projects.
Some experienced machinists become tool-and-die makers without completing a formal tool-and-die apprenticeship. After years of experience and some additional classroom training, skilled machinists and machine tool operators can develop the skills necessary to qualify them as tool-and-die makers.
Potential and Advancement
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for tool and diemakers will grow by 6% between 2014 and 2024, indicating average growth and good job opportunities for workers in this field.
Tool-and-die makers can advance to supervisory positions and, because of their broad knowledge, can change jobs within the machining occupations more easily than less-skilled workers. Some become tool designers; others open their own tool-and-die shops.
Income
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the median wage for tool and diemakers in 2015 was $42,110.
Additional Sources of Information
- The National Machine Tool Builders
- The National Tooling and Machining Association
Related Jobs
A related job is machinist.
