Tool and Die Maker Apprentice Training

From metal processing and grinding to forging and manufacturing, the Tool and Die Maker Apprentice Training curriculum offers a complete introduction for the professional tool and die maker.

Beginning with a systematic review of pre-technical skills in safety, drawings, and measurements, the curriculum takes students, step by step, through the fundamentals of tool grinding, metallurgy, and the manufacturing process.

Like many Penn Foster apprentice programs, this Machinist/Machinist Apprentice has been developed to meet Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT) standards. Be sure to offer your employees on-the-job training opportunities to supplement the skills learned here. Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

Read working drawings.

Identify different types of cutting tools.

Explain the function of forming dies.

Select the proper machine tool for a job.

Explain how to recognize steel alloys.

Explain the use of a fixture.

Explain the function of forging dies.

Describe a layout procedure.

Discuss the hardening and tempering of steels.

Explain the various uses of a jig.

Discuss the use of drill bushings.

Explain how to lay out a casting.

Describe various press operations.

Career Advice on How to Become a Tool and Die Maker

Tool and die makers are among the most skilled of all tradesmen. The typical tool and die maker builds other tools that are then used in the manufacturing process. The tools which a tool and die maker creates are used to form metal into different shapes, whether this is done through cutting or bending. 

A die is a metal form that is used to shape metal, but tool and die makers also make molds as well. These molds can be used to produce parts made of almost any material, ranging from plastic to even composite materials. Due to the nature of the work, tool and die makers frequently work with engineers and need to have a detailed knowledge of machine operation, as well as an ability to read blueprints.

Career Facts:

Those engaged in career planning realize that tool and die makers often have several years of classroom training, usually at least four years. This training is in addition to their apprenticeships and additional course work often at technical schools. Tool and die makers with a college degree can also venture into engineering or tool design. The numbers for this skilled position are expected to decline.

Career Opportunities and Job Outlook-Fair:

While this occupation may be very skilled, there is an expected decrease in their numbers. In 2006, there were 101,000 tool and die makers. As of 2016, that number is expected to contract considerably to 91,000. This is a significant ten-percent reduction.  

On the plus side, however, because of the vital nature of their work for industry at large, the tool and die maker is more protected from layoffs than many other workers involved in manufacturing. However, the overall picture is complicated, as there are not enough projected skilled tool and die workers to meet the demand. The job search for those looking for a career in tool and die should be a fruitful one.

A Day in The Life:

Tool and die makers are highly skilled, and, as a result, are often able to bypass some of the more dangerous jobs in manufacturing. Traditionally, their skill sets are sought after by the manufacturing industry. Increasingly, they are using computers in their work. Tool and die makers need to know how to work with engineers and read blueprints. This is vital to their job, for without the ability to read blueprints, tool and die makers can simply not build the machines necessary.

Tool and die makers spend most of their day literally building machines or tools and dies from the ground up. The end result is a serious contribution to the manufacturing process.

Average Salary:

Despite the very high level of skill that the job requires, tool and die makers do not enjoy a pay that is reflective of their overall skill. On average a tool and die maker earns about $21 per hour, with the top ten-percent of earners seeing about $32 per hour.

$40k - $67k

Career Training and Qualifications:

Several years of technical training and apprenticeship is quite common for this career’s training. Additional training at technical schools and community colleges is likewise common. Due to the skill level involved, constant on the job training is also the norm.

Cold Saw

Portable saws

These saws were primarily designed for sheet metal roofers in the building industry. Cold saws, as opposed to abrasive saws, are used so that protective coating is not damaged. They also have a heavy duty aluminium catcher which is useful for capturing the swarf.

They can cut up to 6mm (0.24in) thick mild steel. They use cermet tipped blades.

Blades

Cold saw blades are circular metal cutting saw blades categorized into two types: solid HSS or tungsten carbide-tipped (TCT). Both types of blades are resharpenable and may be used many times before being discarded. Cold saw blades are used to cut metal using a relatively slow rotational speed, usually less than 5000 surface feet per minute (SFM) (25m/s), and a high chip load per tooth, usually between .001" - .003" (0.025 - 0.08mm) per tooth. These blades are driven by a high power motor and high-torque gear reduction unit or an AC vector drive. During the cutting process, the metal is released in a shearing action by the teeth as the blade turns and the feed mechanism moves the blade forward. They are called "cold saw blades" because they transfer all the energy and heat created during the cutting process to the chip. This enables the blade and the work material to remain cold.

Classification

The first type of cold saw blade, solid HSS, may be made from either M2 tool steel or M35 tool steel, alloyed with additional cobalt. Solid HSS saw blades are heat treated and hardened to 64/65 HRC for ferrous cutting applications and 58/60 HRC for non-ferrous cutting applications. This high hardness gives the cutting edges of the teeth a high resistance to heat and wear. However, this increased hardness also makes the blades brittle and not very resistant to shock. In order to produce a high quality HSS cold saw blade, you must start with very flat and properly tensioned raw material. The blades must be press quenched after hardening to prevent them from being warped. The term HSS doesn't necessarily mean what it implies. These blades are usually never run at surface speeds higher than 350 SFM. Solid HSS cold saw blades may be used for cutting many different shapes and types of metal including: tubes, extrusions, structural sections, billets, bars, ingots, castings, forgings etc. These blades may also be coated with special wear resistant coatings such as titanium nitride (TiN) or titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN).

The second type of cold saw blade, tungsten carbide-tipped (TCT), are made with an alloy steel body and tungsten carbide inserts brazed to the tips of the teeth. These tips are ground on all surfaces to create tangential and radial clearance and provide the proper cutting and clearance angles on the teeth. The alloy body is generally made from a wear resistant material such as a chrome vanadium steel, heat treated to 38/42 HRC. The tungsten carbide tips are capable of operating at much higher temperatures than solid HSS, therefore, TCT saw blades are usually run at much higher surface speeds. This allows carbide-tipped blades to cut at faster rates and still maintain an acceptable chip load per tooth. These blades are commonly used for cutting non-ferrous alloys, but have gained significant popularity for ferrous metal cutting applications in the last 10 years. The tungsten carbide inserts are extremely hard (98 HRC) and capable of very long wear life. However, they are less resistant to shock than solid HSS cold saw blades. Any vibration during the cutting process may severely damage the teeth. These cold saw blades need to be driven by a backlash free gear box and a constant feed mechanism like a ball-screw feed.

Future

The popularity of cold saw blades is increasing due to the technological advancements in cold saw machines. They are the sawing method of choice when high production requirements are needed. They consistently produce the lowest cost per cut among all sawing methods: hot sawing, friction sawing, bandsawing and hacksawing.

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Metalworking

Tools

Cutting machines

Water jet cutter Band saw Cold saw Laser Miter saw Plasma

Cutting tools

Broach Burr Chisel Counterbore Countersink End mill File Guillotine shear Hand scraper Milling cutter Nibbler Reamer Throatless shear Tipped tool Tool bit

Forming tools

Brake Die English Wheel Flypress Hydraulic press Machine press Punch press Stamping press

Hand tools

Clamp Combination square Drift pin File card Hacksaw Hammer Hand scraper Machinist square Magnetic base Needlegun scaler Pipe and tube bender Pliers Punch Saw piercing Scriber Tap and die Tongs Vise Workbench Wrench

Machine tooling

Angle plate Chuck Collet Jig Fixture Indexing head Lathe center Machine taper Magnetic base Mandrel Rotary table Wiggler

Measuring instruments

Bore gauge Caliper Comparator Dial indicator Engineer's blue Feeler Center gauge and fishtail gauge Gauge block Gauge Go-NoGo Machinist square Marking blue Marking gauge Marking out Micrometer Radius gauge Scale Sine bar Spirit level Straightedge Surface plate Tape measure Thread pitch Height gauge Vernier scale Wiggler

Smithing tools

Anvil Forge Fuller Hardy hole Hardy tools Pritchel Slack tub Steam hammer Swage block Trip hammer

Casting Fabrication Forming Jewellery Machining Metallurgy Smithing Tools & Terminology Welding.