Tool and Die Maker National Occupational Analysis (NOA) 2014
The Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) recognizes this National Occupational Analysis as the national standard for the occupation of Tool and Die Maker.
2014 – Occupational Analyses Series
Disponible en français sous le titre : Outilleur-ajusteur/outilleuse-ajusteuse
NOC: 7232
Designation Year: 1992
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General Information
Scope
“Tool and die maker” is this trade’s official Red Seal occupational title approved by the CCDA. This analysis covers tasks performed by tool and die makers whose occupational title has been identified by some provinces and territories of Canada under the following names:
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NL |
NS |
PE |
NB |
QC |
ON |
MB |
SK |
AB |
BC |
NT |
YT |
NU |
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Die Maker |
x | ||||||||||||
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Mouldmaking Machinist |
x | ||||||||||||
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Tool and Die Maker |
x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||||
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Tool Maker |
x |
Tool and die makers design, create, repair and test prototypes and production tools such as dies, cutting tools, jigs, fixtures, gauges, and specialty tools using various metals, alloys and plastics. In some jurisdictions, they also build and repair moulds. They produce tooling used to manufacture and stamp out parts and they supply tooling and dies for all manufacturing sectors such as domestic consumer goods, transportation industry, medical, electronics, automotive and aerospace. They lay out, set up, machine, fit and finish metal components. They design and make items to meet exacting standards in dimensions, strength and hardness.
Tool and die makers use machining tools such as lathes, mills, saws, grinders, drills, computer numerical control (CNC) machines and Electrical Discharge Machines (EDM). They also use hand tools and measuring equipment to ensure accuracy and close tolerances. They work from sketches, drawings, computer-aided designs (CAD), specifications and their own concepts to calculate dimensions, tolerances and types of fit. They must be knowledgeable about the properties of metal and non-metallic materials such as plastic, rubber and composite materials.
Tool and die makers usually work indoors in tool rooms and machine shops in industry sectors where manufacturing and research is done. These may include industries that specialize in hardware and tooling, machinery equipment, motor vehicle parts, aerospace, research and development, transportation, high tech equipment or medical equipment.
Some tool and die makers may specialize in design, prototyping, automation equipment fabrication, tool and cutter making, heat treating, test equipment, gauge making, jig and fixture making, die making, mould making, assembly, inspection and programming.
Safety is important at all times. There are risks of injury working with moving machine parts, flying chips, sharp edges and extreme heat from heated materials. Tool and die makers may also be lifting and moving heavy components. Precautions are required while working with manufacturing chemicals, airborne irritants, toxic lubricants and cleaners.
Some attributes for people entering this trade are: communication skills, mechanical aptitude, attention to details, hand-eye coordination, manual dexterity, ability to work independently and in teams, logical reasoning ability, advanced knowledge of mathematics and applied science, creativity, resourcefulness, above average spatial ability and ability to plan and think sequentially. The work often requires considerable physical activity and stamina as tool and die makers spend long periods of time on their feet. Tool and die makers may work with other professionals such as machinists, mould makers, industrial mechanics (millwrights), designers, programmers and engineers.
Experienced tool and die makers may become business owners, managers or instructors. With additional training, they may transfer their skills to design and engineering responsibilities. Their skills are also transferable to related occupations such as machinist, mould maker, pattern maker, industrial mechanic (millwright) and CNC programmer.
Occupational Observations
The tool and die maker trade is changing rapidly throughout the various industries in Canada and worldwide. Technology is quickly changing the basic trade. Advances in CNC, robotics, laser, exotic materials, 3D printing and composites will continue to impact the trade in future years. Knowledge and skill levels continue to increase in this trade. The tool and die maker must be adaptable to technological changes.
Experienced tool and die makers are becoming more accountable and responsible for steps or operations they were not involved in previously. For example, tool and die makers are often project leaders and have the responsibility and authority for the different steps that lead to the final product. Therefore, there is an increased need to develop team working skills. Due to those new responsibilities, tool and die makers are engaged in the early stages of project development involving clients, engineers, and marketing teams.
Alternately, there are also instances of specialization in certain areas of the trade. This may affect the mobility of individual tool and die makers.
Essential Skills Summary
Essential skills are needed for work, learning and life. They provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enable people to evolve with their jobs and adapt to workplace change.
Through extensive research, the Government of Canada and other national and international agencies have identified and validated nine essential skills. These skills are used in nearly every occupation and throughout daily life in different ways.
A series of CCDA-endorsed tools have been developed to support apprentices in their training and to be better prepared for a career in the trades. The tools can be used independently or with the assistance of a tradesperson, trainer, employer, teacher or mentor to:
- understand how essential skills are used in the trades;
- learn about individual essential skills strengths and areas for improvement; and
- improve essential skills and increase success in an apprenticeship program.
The tools are available online or for order at: www.hrsdc.gc.ca/essentialskills.
The essential skills profile for the tool and die maker trade indicates that the most important essential skills are document use, numeracy and thinking skills.
The application of these skills may be described throughout this document within the competency statements which support each subtask of the trade. The following are summaries of the requirements in each of the essential skills, taken from the essential skills profile. A link to the complete essential skills profile can be found at www.red-seal.ca.
Reading
Tool and die makers use reading skills to comprehend instructions and safety warnings on product and equipment labels. They also have to read reference material, product descriptions, work instructions on work orders and job files, policies and procedures applicable to the work they carry out and operating, safety and equipment manuals. Tool and die makers also need to read about new trends, technological developments, tooling practices and procedures in industry, trade and safety publications.
Document Use
Tool and die makers need strong document use skills to locate data in charts and tables such as material composition sheets, specification tables and conversion tables. They also locate and complete information on tracking and quality control forms. Tool and die makers take data from and interpret a variety of graphs and graphical displays, and they locate dimensions and other features on complex shop drawings to fabricate parts and assemble production tools. Tool and die makers also require document use skills to examine perspective views and assembly drawings to understand and visualize the location, orientation and function of complex components and sub-assemblies.
Writing
Tool and die makers write comments in daily logbooks to create records and inform supervisors and co-workers. They may write e-mails and memos to customers, supervisors, engineers and technicians to provide and request information. Tool and die makers also write a variety of reports such as quality assurance and equipment repair logs. They also prepare estimating and work planning sheets.
Numeracy
Tool and die makers need advanced numeracy skills. They require skills to establish timelines, set sequence of operations, calculate the time required to complete each sub-assembly and determine project progress against timelines. Tool and die makers use measurement and calculation skills to take a variety of measurements to ensure conformance to specifications. These skills are also required to analyze the geometry of fabricated parts, to verify dimensions, distances and angles of design features, and to calculate cutting parameters such as speeds and feeds. Several trigonometric functions and mathematical formulas are used frequently in the day-to-day work of tool and die makers. Some calculations include speeds and feeds, and tolerance stack-up on machine parts and geometric interrelationships between parts features.
Tool and die makers also use data analysis skills to compare instrument readings such as temperature, pressure and size to interpret fabrication process data and to analyze performance data for production tool sets under controlled and simulated conditions.
Finally, numerical estimation skills are used to estimate how much stock tool and die makers require to make components for production tools, to estimate the initial machine and equipment settings for testing production tool sets and producing prototypes, and to estimate the time required to complete jobs.
Oral Communication
Tool and die makers need good oral communication skills to communicate with supervisors and co-workers to coordinate tasks, in order to carry out activities correctly, safely and efficiently. They offer suggestions and advice on design features, materials and tooling procedures to improve quality and production efficiency. They also discuss design modifications with engineers and request technical information from them. They may give instructions, provide directions and offer explanations to apprentices and helpers.
Thinking Skills
Tool and die makers need strong thinking skills. Their problem solving skills are required when they discover that specifications are incorrect or need modifications, when they encounter problems with fabrication processes and when they find that malfunctioning equipment makes further fabrication impossible. The problem solving skills are then used to work with engineers, quality control personnel and co-workers to identify failures and corrective action requirements.
Tool and die makers also use decision making skills to decide the sequence of operations such as assembly sequence and the machining sequence of parts, and to select the types of materials, supplies, tools, tooling paths and machines to use.
Critical thinking skills are also required to evaluate the quality and acceptability of fabricated production tools to assess the suitability of specified materials and to evaluate the feasibility and technical soundness of production tool designs from both fabrication and quality perspectives.
Tool and die makers need job task planning and organizing skills as they are responsible for setting the sequence of tasks for the projects they are assigned.
Working with Others
Tool and die makers work as team members with engineers, quality control personnel and co-workers when designing production tools, and diagnosing and resolving faults in equipment, production tools and other products. They may work with technical experts to coordinate fabrication and assembly of parts and machines.
Computer Use
Tool and die makers use databases to enter and retrieve information about current and past fabrication jobs. They also need computer skills when working with CAD, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and data transfer to CNC machine-tool controls.
Continuous Learning
Tool and die maker employers may offer training for skills development, new equipment, and health and safety training. However, much of their learning occurs day-to-day through the challenges and problems that arise during the course of each project and from discussions with more senior tool and die makers and other co-workers. They also read reference material to increase their trade knowledge, and industry publications to stay current on trends and new technologies.
Acknowledgements
The CCDA and ESDC wish to express sincere appreciation for the contribution of the many tradespersons, industrial establishments, professional associations, labour organizations, provincial and territorial government departments and agencies, and all others who contributed to this publication.
Special acknowledgement is extended to the following representatives from the trade who attended a national workshop to develop the previous edition of this NOA in 2010.
- Mark Boudreau - New Brunswick
- Jean A. Bourque - Nova Scotia
- Wayne Harris - Prince Edward Island
- Peter Herrmann - Alberta
- Harold Homuth - Manitoba
- Randy Last - Ontario
- Dan Lawson - Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)
- Jean-Guy Ménard - Québec
- Steve Myronyk - International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
- Brian R. Naylor - Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA)
- Uwe zum Hingst - British Columbia
This 2014 edition of the NOA was reviewed, updated and validated by industry representatives from across Canada to ensure that it continues to represent the skills and knowledge required in this trade. The coordinating, facilitating and processing of this analysis were undertaken by employees of the NOA development team of the Trades and Apprenticeship Division of ESDC. The host jurisdiction of Ontario also participated in the development of this NOA.
Comments or questions about this publication may be forwarded to:
Trades and Apprenticeship Division
Labour Market Integration Directorate
Employment and Social Development Canada
140 Promenade du Portage, Phase IV, 5th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0J9
Email: redseal-sceaurouge@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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