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Toolmaker

What is toolmaking?
What does a toolmaker do?
What work is carried out by a toolmaker?
Is toolmaking a good career choice?
What employment and career opportunities are available in toolmaking?
What skills must a toolmaker develop?
What training and qualifications are available for toolmakers?
What if I need more information?
What competencies do I require for this skill?

What is toolmaking?

Toolmaking is a specialist metals and engineering skill area in which tradespeople called toolmakers work. Toolmakers are highly skilled in their craft.
Overseas, toolmakers are described as "engineers" or metal working technicians.

What does a toolmaker do?

The traditional trade classification of "toolmaker" does not accurately describe the role of the toolmaker in the manufacturing industry. Contrary to what the name suggests, toolmakers do not make "tools" such as hammers, chisels or screwdrivers. Instead, toolmakers make the precision industrial tooling (tools) used by engineering production workers (process workers) and/or industrial robots, to mass-produce consumer goods in factories.

These could include:-

Transportation items such as motor cars, trucks, motor bikes, skate boards and bikes.
Domestic appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, hi-fi units, video cameras, lawn mowers, swimming pool filters and food processors. Other domestic equipment such as wheelie bins, kitchen and garden furniture.
Tele-communications goods such as home computers, modems, printers and scanners, televisions, portable radios and mobile telephones.
Food containers such as glass or plastic bottles, steel or aluminium food and drink cans, plastic and foam drinking cups, and storage containers such as â€œTupperwareâ€?.
Clothing items such as shoes, and the equipment used to manufacture cloth and finished garments. Any other item that is mass-produced in a factory.

Before a consumer can purchase any mass-produced item in a shop (such as those listed above), the item must first be manufactured in a factory. Before any mass-produced item can be manufactured in a factory, precision mass production tooling must be made for the factory by a toolmaker working in a toolroom. The toolmaker and the toolmaking industry are therefore the critical link between the idea of the designer/engineer, and the mass production facility.

Without the precision tooling manufactured by the toolmaker, the factory would be unable to mass-produce anything economically. Instead, consumer goods would have to be made individually by hand without automation. This would make the goods very expensive to buy, as everything including spare and replacement parts would need to be custom made individually.

What work is carried out by a toolmaker?

The range and type of tooling produced for the manufacturing industry by toolmakers is as vast and varied as the manufacturing industry itself. Tooling is purpose built by the toolmaker to the manufacturerâ€™s specification. The toolmaker may work from engineering tooling drawings, engineering component drawings, models or samples as supplied. The tooling may be designed by a production, industrial or mechanical engineer, or by the toolmaker him/herself. Tooling is usually designed and built to mass produce thousands (or even millions) of identical components. Because a range of operations are required to produce components to the desired shape and size, each operation will typically require separate tooling to be manufactured by the toolmaker.

Further operations, such as assembly and packaging, may be carried-out in process, or in other parts of the factory (or other factories) by production workers or robots using assembly and packaging tooling made by the toolmaker. As a result, something as complex as a motor car may require toolmakers to manufacture tens of thousands of individual pieces of precision mass production tooling to enable the complete saleable consumer item to be manufactured by the factory.

Examples of the scope of tooling that may be manufactured by a toolmaker for use in factories by production workers (or industrial robots) to mass produce identical components include the manufacture of precision:-

Press tools (metal stamping and forming dies) used to cut, bend and shape sheet metal components from flat material. The components produced in factories using press tools could range in size from car roof panels or bonnets, to clockwork gears in mechanical watches and timepieces. Mass produced components could take as little as a few seconds or even split seconds to produce (depending on their size and production requirements).
Plastic injection moulds used to mould molten plastic into shapes such as car tail light lenses, hair dryer cases, wheelie bins, plastic gears, hearing aid cases, electric kettle bodies, plastic combs, plastic bottle caps, plastic syringes, vacuum cleaner components, food storage containers (for example, Tupperware), computer keyboard keys, and plastic childrenâ€™s toys.
Plastic blow moulding dies used to mould plastic bottles.
Plastic extrusion dies used to extrude long continuous plastic shapes of uniform cross section such as tubing, guttering and pipes, refrigerator door seals, plastic coated wire, house siding/weatherboards, plastic food wrap and plastic carry bags.
Metal extrusion dies used to extrude long continuous metal shapes of uniform cross section such as copper, brass, or aluminium tubing, aluminium guttering, brass or copper wire, rod and bar, and steel beams, rods and angle irons.
Impact extrusion dies used to impact extrude aluminium drink cans, and steel engine valves, axles, buildersâ€™ nails and high tensile strength bolts. Forging dies used by industrial blacksmiths to drop or hammer forge engine crankshafts, axles, engine connecting rods, turbine blades, and small hand tools such as spanners, axe heads, hammer heads, and shears.
Metal die-casting dies used to mould molten metals such as lead, zinc, aluminium, copper and brass into shapes such as fishing sinkers, electric motor end frames, engine pistons, and carburettor components.
Production jigs and fixtures to enable components to be safely and accurately held and aligned in place on a production line, to allow follow-on production operations such as machining, welding, painting, assembly and/or packaging to be undertaken on the component.
Special purpose work holding devices such as robotic arm end effectors (grippers and holders) for use on industrial robots. Measuring and inspection gauges to enable semi skilled factory workers to test and/or check mass produced components for conformance to engineering requirements and specification, often to very high levels of dimensional and/or form accuracy.

Is toolmaking a good career choice?

Yes. Toolmaking is generally a very satisfying career with scope for advancement within the employerâ€™s company. Alternatively, some toolmakers elect to start their own toolmaking business rather than work for someone else. In either case, the toolmaker has the satisfaction of being responsible for the planning and manufacture of precision tooling often worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A major part of a toolmakerâ€™s job satisfaction is being able to watch an idea evolve into a piece of precision engineering equipment worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. This transformation occurs due to the application of the toolmakerâ€™s skills and knowledge to machine and assemble each component to produce the complete item of tooling.

Although a large item of tooling may require weeks or months to manufacture, at the end of each day there is tangible evidence of their efforts for that day. Lack of opportunity to see and touch what has been achieved or made at the end of the day is often reported by workers in other professions as the reason for reduced job satisfaction. Because no two pieces of tooling are identical, toolmaking does not become boring or repetitious, which adds to job satisfaction.

What employment and career opportunities are available in toolmaking?

Due to the high level of skills which toolmakers possess, there is usually more employment opportunities for skilled toolmakers, than there are toolmakers seeking work. This is especially true when the manufacturing industry is buoyant. Successful toolmakers are invariably paid above-award wages throughout the industry. Many toolrooms also work regular overtime when workloads require it.

Throughout the toolmakerâ€™s career, he/she would typically have several career opportunities available to them including:-

â€œremaining on the toolsâ€?, that is, working in the toolroom workshop manufacturing tooling. With increasing experience and qualifications, these toolmakers would typically progress up the salary scale beyond the trade levels into the technician level salary ranges.
"transferring from the toolroom workshop" to the tooling design section of the toolroom or factory, to concentrate on the design of tooling. This again would be considered a technician level occupation. The toolmaker may then progress onto a production or industrial engineering qualification using the toolmaking qualification and experience for advanced standing toward the engineering qualification concentrating on selling tooling that meets the needs of customers both in Australia and, increasingly overseas.

What skills must a toolmaker develop?

A toolmaker must develop both good analytical and hands-on practical skills. These skills are very transportable to other industrial applications and situations. Skills which a toolmaker would normally use at work would include the ability to:-

Work to very tight machining and manufacturing tolerances â€“ a toolmaker may at times be expected to manufacture and assemble tooling components made from materials (such as harden steel) using specialised machines, to within size variations of only a few hundredths or a few thousands of a millimetre. (that is, about Â¼ to 1/25th the thickness of a human hair)
Operate very expensive machine tools (often state of the art/high tech) to manufacture tooling components. To enable toolmakers to work to the exactness of size expected of them, toolrooms are usually equipped with a range of metal cutting machine tools which are either manually operated (conventionally controlled), or programmed using a computer (CNC controlled). Conventional and CNC machine tools are typically programmed and operated by both toolmakers and apprentices/trainees alike. A typical toolroom CNC machine tool could cost from $50,000 to $400,000. A large toolroom may contain millions of dollars worth of machine tools.
Develop and/or interpret two-dimensional engineering drawings of tooling components, then plan and cost-effectively carry out the manufacture of those components using the equipment and time available. This requires the need for setting priorities, developing schedules and procedures, and developing a three dimensional mental picture of the finished component before it is manufactured.
Work alone, or in small teams, with minimal or no supervision. Analyse faults in existing or newly developed/manufactured tooling, then rectify those faults so the tooling can be used by the factory to cost effectively mass produce consumer items to specification, ready for sale.

What training and qualifications are available for toolmakers?

Depending on their level of training and experience, a toolmaker may be considered to be either a tradesperson at Certificate III qualification level, or engineering technician up to Certificate IV Diploma level of qualification. Training is gained by way of a traditional style of 4-year apprenticeship under the New Apprenticeship Scheme or via a Traineeship.

Whilst you are an apprentice (4 year term) your wages are usually set as a percentage of the qualified trades person level.

As a guide, in: -

1. First year	42%
2. Second year	55%
3. Third year	75%
4. Fourth year	88%

When you have finished your base trade training, your classification will be at tradesperson level, With over award payments you could expect to earn much more then the basic rate and you can also apply for a higher grading when you get more qualifications.

Both options provide paid employment while skills are being learned. Employers would normally seek job applicants who have at least completed the School Certificate. Job seekers who have undertaken the Higher School Certificate are often highly regarded, and so may be given advanced standing/exemptions in their studies at TAFE. In New South Wales, the employer provides training on-the-job, with further training undertaken at institutions such as TAFE NSW - Sydney Institute. Ultimo is the only TAFE College that offers toolmaking specific training at all skills levels.

What if I need more information?

For further advice related to Toolmaking as a career you could contact:-

Engineering Skills Centre at Sydney Institute, Ultimo (TAFE NSW)
Manufacturing & Engineering Division, TAFE NSW
ACTU (Australian Council Of Trade Unions)