Occupation Details
Foundry Mold and Coremakers
Make or form wax or sand cores or molds used in the production of metal castings in foundries.
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Interests
Realistic
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values
Relationships
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Salary & Job Outlook
Starting Salary
$32,000.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$39,290.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$48,080.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
45,560
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
53,780
+822 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
5,892
new opportunities yearlyGrowth Rate
0.2%
projected increasePreparation: Experience, Training, and Education
The list below outlines the prior educational experience required to perform in this occupation.
Some Training - Certificate or hands-on training
Experience Requirements
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Requirements
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Training Details
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Transferrable Skills and Experience
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
School Programs
The following lists school programs which are applicable to this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Apprenticeship
Contact your regional representative to learn more about apprenticeships available in your area by visiting Apprenticeship Contacts.
Skills
The list below includes the skills required by workers in this occupation; skills are what allow you to learn more quickly and improve your performance.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Skill level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Knowledge
The list below includes knowledge items, the principles and facts required by this occupation.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Mechanical
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Knowledge level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Work Environment
The list below includes the physical and social factors that influence the nature of work in this occupation.
Hover over or tap each factor to see its description.
Work Styles
Included in the list below are the personal work style characteristics that can affect how well a worker is likely to perform in this occupation.
Achievement/Effort
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Adaptability/Flexibility
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Independence
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Tools & Technology
This list below describes the machines, equipment, tools, software, and information technology that workers in this occupation will use.
Tools
- Abrasive stones
- Allen wrench sets
- Angle plates
- Bench vises
- Buffing machines
- Centrifugal casting machines
- Chain hoists
- Core blowers
- Coremaking machines
- Crane ladles
- Crucible furnaces
- Cupola furnaces
- Desktop computers
- Dial calipers
- Dial indicators
- Die casting machines
- Digital micrometers
- Digital pyrometers
- Electric arc furnaces
- Electric overhead traveling EOT cranes
- Emery cloths
- Flat files
- Foundry ovens
- Foundry sand testing equipment
- Gas-powered generators
- Heat treating furnaces
- Height gauges
- Horizontal milling machines
- Induction furnaces
- Inside diameter outside diameter ID-OD grinders
Technology
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
- Inventory tracking software
- Machine control software
Duties
Duties are job behaviors describing activities that occur on multiple jobs. The generalized and detailed work activities described in the list below apply to this occupation.
- adjust production equipment/machinery setup
- understand technical operating, service or repair manuals
- make independent judgment in assembly procedures
- signal directions or warnings to coworkers
- read production layouts
- read technical drawings
- move or fit heavy objects
- use hand or power tools
- use pneumatic tools
- operate ore refining/foundry equipment/machinery
- operate hoist, winch, or hydraulic boom
- construct molds
- fabricate, assemble, or disassemble manufactured products by hand
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- Sift and pack sand into mold sections, core boxes, and pattern contours, using hand or pneumatic ramming tools.
- Clean and smooth molds, cores, and core boxes, and repair surface imperfections.
- Position cores into lower sections of molds, and reassemble molds for pouring.
- Tend machines that bond cope and drag together to form completed shell molds.
- Cut spouts, runner holes, and sprue holes into molds.
- Form and assemble slab cores around patterns, and position wire in mold sections to reinforce molds, using hand tools and glue.
- Operate ovens or furnaces to bake cores or to melt, skim, and flux metal.
- Move and position workpieces, such as mold sections, patterns, and bottom boards, using cranes, or signal others to move workpieces.
- Position patterns inside mold sections, and clamp sections together.
- Lift upper mold sections from lower sections, and remove molded patterns.
- Sprinkle or spray parting agents onto patterns and mold sections to facilitate removal of patterns from molds.
- Rotate sweep boards around spindles to make symmetrical molds for convex impressions.
- Pour molten metal into molds, manually or with crane ladles.
Learning Resources
More information on this occupation may be found in the links provided below.
Machine setters, operators, and tenders?metal and plastic
Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.
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