Manufacturing & ProductionISCO 7222
Tool and die maker
Tool and die makers operate a variety of equipment and machinery designed to create metal tools and dies, which are both needed in several areas of manufacturing, and produce these tools in all steps of the production process. They design the tools and dies, then cut and shape them to size and finish them by manually operated machine tools, power tools, hand tools, or programming and tending CNC tool and die making machines.
Check yourself in a minute: tool and die maker
Rate 5 of the 22 essential skills of this occupation (European ESCO data). No account needed.
prepare pieces for joining
maintain edged hand tools
join metals
troubleshoot
perform product testing
European Skills Framework
Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.
Essential (22)
mechanical toolsmechanical toolsVarious type of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.types of metaltypes of metalQualities, specifications, applications and reactions to different fabricating processes of various types of metal, such as steel, aluminium, brass, copper and others.diesdiesThe qualities and applications of various kinds of dies, the different components of a die (such as the die block, punch plate, pierce punch and others) and the types of die used in specialised manufa...quality standardsquality standardsThe national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.machine toolsmachine toolsThe offered machine tools and products, their functionalities, properties and legal and regulatory requirements.prepare pieces for joiningprepare pieces for joiningPrepare metal or other material workpieces for joining processes by cleaning the workpieces, checking their measurements with the technical plan and marking on the pieces where they'll be joined.maintain edged hand toolsmaintain edged hand toolsIdentify and repair defects in a hand tool handle or shaft. Ensure the tool is in safe working condition. Identify defective and dull cutting edges in tools and use appropriate equipment to sharpen th...join metalsjoin metalsJoin together pieces of metal using soldering and welding materials.troubleshoottroubleshootIdentify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.perform product testingperform product testingTest processed workpieces or products for basic faults.perform test runperform test runPerform tests putting a system, machine, tool or other equipment through a series of actions under actual operating conditions in order to assess its reliability and suitability to realise its tasks, ...wear appropriate protective gearwear appropriate protective gearWear relevant and necessary protective gear, such as protective goggles or other eye protection, hard hats, safety gloves.read standard blueprintsread standard blueprintsRead and comprehend standard blueprints, machine, and process drawings.ensure equipment availabilityensure equipment availabilityEnsure that the necessary equipment is provided, ready and available for use before start of procedures.adjust cut sizesadjust cut sizesAdjust cut sizes and depths of cutting tools. Adjust heights of worktables and machine-arms.apply precision metalworking techniquesapply precision metalworking techniquesComply with precision standards specific to an organisation or product in metalworking, involved in processes such as engraving, precise cutting, welding.consult technical resourcesconsult technical resourcesRead and interpret technical resources such as digital or paper drawings and adjustment data in order to properly set up a machine or working tool, or to assemble mechanical equipment.cut metal productscut metal productsOperate cutting and measuring instruments in order to cut/shape pieces of metal into given dimensions.smooth burred surfacessmooth burred surfacesInspect and smooth burred surfaces of steel and metal parts.operate metal polishing equipmentoperate metal polishing equipmentOperate equipment designed to buff and polish metal workpieces, such as diamond solutions, silicon-made polishing pads, or working wheels with a leather polishing strop, and others.operate grinding hand toolsoperate grinding hand toolsOperate a variety of hand tools designed for grinding production materials, such as angle grinders, die grinders, grindstones, bench grinders, and others.operate file for deburringoperate file for deburringOperate various sizes and types of files used for removing burrs from and smoothening the edges of a workpiece.
Optional (32) — show
cutting technologiescutting technologiesThe variety of cutting technologies, such as software or mechanics, guiding cutting processes through lasering, sawing, milling etc.metal joining technologiesmetal joining technologiesThe various technologies used for the joining and assembling of fabricated metal workpieces.quality and cycle time optimisationquality and cycle time optimisationThe most optimal rotation or cycle time and over-all quality of a tool or a machine's processes.ferrous metal processingferrous metal processingVarious processing methods on iron and iron-containing alloys such as steel, stainless steel and pig iron.metal forming technologiesmetal forming technologiesThe variety of technologies and techniques, such as forging, pressing, stamping, rolling and others, used for the forming processes of metal product manufacturing.characteristics of precious metalscharacteristics of precious metalsVariations of precious metals according to density, corrossion resistance, electrical conductivity, light reflectivity and quality.deburring processesdeburring processesThe various types of processes removing burrs from fabricated workpieces, such as grinding, media blasting, sanding, mass-finishing, spindle finishing, electrochemical deburring, abrasive flow machini...forging processesforging processesThe various processes in the metalforming practices of forging, such as swaging, open-die forging, automatic hot forging, cogging, impression-die forging, roll forging, upsetting, press forging, and o...CAD softwareCAD softwareThe computer-aided design (CAD) software for creating, modifying, analysing or optimising a design.imitation jewelleryimitation jewelleryThe materials and processes used to create imitation jewellery, and how to manipulate the materials.types of metal manufacturing processestypes of metal manufacturing processesMetal processes linked to the different types of metal, such as casting processes, heat treatment processes, repair processes and other metal manufacturing processes.manufacturing of toolsmanufacturing of toolsThe manufacture of knives and cutting blades for machines or for mechanical appliances, hand tools such as pliers, screwdrivers etc. The manufacture of non-power-driven agricultural hand tools, saws a...solve technical problemssolve technical problemsIdentify technical problems when operating devices and using digital environments, and solve them (from trouble-shooting to solving more complex problems).supply machine with appropriate toolssupply machine with appropriate toolsSupply the machine with the necessary tools and items for a particular production purpose. Monitor the stock and replenish when needed.monitor gaugemonitor gaugeOversee the data presented by a gauge concerning the measurement of pressure, temperature, thickness of a material, and others.record production data for quality controlrecord production data for quality controlKeep records of the machine's faults, interventions and irregularities for quality control.remove inadequate workpiecesremove inadequate workpiecesEvaluate which deficient processed workpieces do not meet the set-up standard and should be removed and sort the waste according to regulations.remove processed workpieceremove processed workpieceRemove individual workpieces after processing, from the manufacturing machine or the machine tool. In case of a conveyor belt this involves quick, continuous movement.tend deburring machinetend deburring machineTend a metalworking machine designed to remove excessive edges from a workpiece by applying deburring, abrasive machine processes, monitor and operate it according to regulations.operate precision measuring equipmentoperate precision measuring equipmentMeasure the size of a processed part when checking and marking it to check if it is up to standard by use of two and three dimensional precision measuring equipment such as a caliper, a micrometer, an...monitor moving workpiece in a machinemonitor moving workpiece in a machineMonitor the processing of a workpiece in motion, such as a piece of metal or wood moved linearly over a static manufacturing machine.use CAM softwareuse CAM softwareUse computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) programmes to control machinery and machine tools in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimisation as part of the manufacturing processes of workpieces.monitor automated machinesmonitor automated machinesContinuously check up on the automated machine's set-up and execution or make regular control rounds. If necessary, record and interpret data on the operating conditions of installations and equipment...perform machine maintenanceperform machine maintenancePerform regular maintenance, possibly including corrections and alterations, on a machine or machine tool to ensure it remains in a proper productive state.supply machinesupply machineEnsure the machine is fed the necessary and adequate materials and control the placement or automatic feed and retrieval of work pieces in the machines or machine tools on the production line.ensure correct metal temperatureensure correct metal temperatureEnsure the necessary, usually constant, temperature of processed metal workpieces during metal fabrication processes.program a CNC controllerprogram a CNC controllerSet up the desired product design in the CNC controller of the CNC machine for product manufacturing.keep records of work progresskeep records of work progressMaintain records of the progress of the work including time, defects, malfunctions, etc.remove scale from metal workpieceremove scale from metal workpieceRemove the accumulated scale, or metal 'flakes', on the surface of the metal workpiece caused by oxidation after removal from the furnace by spraying it with an oil-based liquid that will cause it to ...set up the controller of a machineset up the controller of a machineSet up and give commands to a machine by dispatching the appropriate data and input into the (computer) controller corresponding with the desired processed product.apply polishing lubricantsapply polishing lubricantsApply the appropriate lubricant matching the kind of metal of the processed metal workpiece during polishing processes, such as was or kerosene.adjust temperature gaugesadjust temperature gaugesOperate temperature gauges to maintain food and drink items at appropriate temperatures.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a tool and die maker do?
Tool and die makers operate a variety of equipment and machinery designed to create metal tools and dies, which are both needed in several areas of manufacturing, and produce these tools in all steps of the production process. They design the tools and dies, then cut and shape them to size and finish them by manually operated machine tools, power tools, hand tools, or programming and tending CNC tool and die making machines.
What skills does a tool and die maker need?
A tool and die maker needs 22 essential skills, including mechanical tools, types of metal, dies, quality standards, machine tools.
Will AI replace tool and die maker jobs?
The AI disruption score for tool and die maker is 51/100 (moderate risk). Skills most exposed to automation: record production data for quality control, remove processed workpiece, monitor gauge. Most resilient: operate file for deburring, maintain edged hand tools, forging processes.
AI Replacement Risk
51/ 100
Moderate Risk
Low riskHigh risk
Quick Facts
ISCO GroupMetal, machinery and related trades workers
Essential Skills22
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