What is tool and die making? What do tool and die makers do?
Are you interested in becoming a tool and die maker, or do you just want to learn new skills to use in your home-based machine shop?
What is the difference between a machinist and a tool and die maker?
A Tool and die maker usually describes a machinist who is not only responsible for making parts, but who also has been trained for several years on blueprint reading, measurement techniques, general machining practices, math, and assembly.
A nice shot of the two halves of a plastic injection mold.
Tool and Die making usually falls into one of four categories: mold making, die making, fixture making, and specialty machine building.
Of these four disciplines, most would agree that mold making is usually the most difficult and demanding. The main reason for this is that molds are constructed with "draft" (i.e. angled walls) to ensure that the parts can be released when the mold is opened. Working on intricate cavities for molds means the mold maker - or tool maker - must know how to check his work using unconventional methods since nothing is straight. The ability to think in "3-D" is vital as the mold maker must be able to visualize not only two halves of the mold coming together, but that every detail is built "backwards" so that it looks "forwards" when the part is ejected from the mold.
A simple but practical example of this is the lettering or engraving done on a mold. Our best friend used to be a simple "egg" full of "Silly Putty" that we could press onto our work to see how the finished part would look.
Building complex cavities and cores to produce an injection mold is just part of the work of a top rate mold maker. He oversees the general construction of the mold, keeping tabs on and answering questions from the various machinists and apprentices who might be fabricating different parts of the mold. Inevitably, small mistakes are made due to the process of molds being "one time" projects and the mold maker oversees any revisions or repairs that must be done and adjusts his work accordingly.
After several weeks of creative but somewhat stressful mold building, the time arrives when the cavities, cores, and mold base have been completely machined and polished.
Now, the sins of the past several weeks shall be revealed upon assembly.
A mold maker fitting an injection mold in a spotting press. Here, he has flipped the upper half over and is applying "blueing" to check the fit before he closes it again. This is a specially-made "spotting press" used by mod makers to fit up molds before shipment.
The mold maker now begins the process of the final assembly and fit up of the mold. This includes assemblingthe mold frame, installing the water fittings, wiring the injection system, fitting up any "side" actions such as hydraulic or mechanical slides that will form shapes in the side of the part, assembling and testing the ejection system, and then, the final challenge: fitting the parting line.
A flat part is simple to fit up. But a contoured parting line can take several days sometimes to complete. This process involves painting one side of the mold blue, and forcing it onto the other side to ensure that "blue" is transferred equally from one side of the parting line to the other. Any gaps in the blue indicate where plastic will be forced out, meaning "flash" and a jagged edge on the finished part. The mold maker uses a variety of hand tools including files, disc sanders, and dental grinders to remove any high spots until he is satisfied that the mold will shut and seal properly during production.
If he is lucky, there are a few "flat" spots on the parting line where he can monitor his progress by closing themold and checking the gap left by using feeler gauges. If he is not so lucky, he has toresort to using something called "Plastigage" and measure how wide the wax is after he closes and opens the mold.
In the end, the biggest difference between mold makers and/or tool and die makers vs. machinists is the training and experience, as well as leadership skills, that give him the necessaryskills to not only operate many types of equipment but to also lead others as well as train the next group of apprentices that are following in his footsteps.
It took me seven years to achieve "top rate," which included my four-year apprenticeship. That was in 1985, and with overtime and bonuses, I was making around $65,000 a year as a 25 year-old tool and die maker.
That is around $139,000 today. (I use this site for my calculations - cool, but depressing at the same time!!)
In the end, those days are gone forever. But there was a day when a talented toolmaker could feed a family of four with no problem at all. I know, as I did it easily and still had enough cash to own my own home and a nice boat. When I look around at all of the shops - and toolmakers - that are gone now, I have to say it hurts my heart.
It used to be that "smart" kids chose tool and die making as a profession. Forget it now...everyone wants to go to college. Not a bad thing in itself, but not everyone is cut out for college. Someone still has to actually "build" the stuff they create with their software.
I think that the free world might be surprised to know someday in the not-so-distant future that we have no one left who can actually build anything for us. As so much work is being farmed off to China and Mexico - which is just great because they are so cheap - eventually, their economies will catch up to ours.
We're about 10 years away from the last truly trained tool and die makers retiring for good. Part machinists, part mathematicians, part managers, and part craftsmen...they are the guys who you go to when it has to be RIGHT. And, they're going to be gone for good.
I still say that these guys were the backbone of American manufacturing, and machines can't replace them. They haven't yet - they're just all working for 10 bucks a week in China.
I have to laugh when I hear Barack Obama whining about the fact that "green" companies are failing because China flooded the market with cheap solar panels.
No sh*t...really? China flooded my business with cheap molds starting about 12 years ago. No government money for me...my local congressional idiot did a six-month study that concluded that I needed to "export" more. Thanks for that.
