Foundry workers are involved in making metal castings for a variety of items including automobile, aircraft and other machine parts, agricultural tools, electrical components, train wheels and ship propellers. They are employed in metal casting facilities referred to as foundries.
To create a metal casting, you place a pattern, an exact model of the finished metal casting, in a moulding box and then pack or press sand around the pattern. You remove the pattern from the mould and then pour molten metal into the mould to produce a metal casting.
If you are a manual mould maker, you make the sand moulds by hand. As a machine mould maker, you set up, adjust and operate various machines that shape sand moulds. The molten metal is hand ladled into the mould or it is poured by a machine.
Cores are placed inside the moulds to form the hollow spaces in the finished metal castings. You can make the cores by packing sand, coated with a binder, into coreboxes. The cores are then sometimes coated with protective materials and baked. You can also make the cores on a machine, by setting up, adjusting and operating various pieces of equipment during the process.
Die casters operate machines that use permanent metal moulds in order to make a large number of castings. In this job, you select and melt the metals, set up the dies used to create the castings, pour the molten metal, and produce a casting.
Other related positions include melters who operate furnaces that melt the metal used in the casting process; chippers and grinders who finish castings by removing excess metal with pneumatic hammers and power abrasive wheels; and furnace operators who control the furnaces in which casting are heated to harden them or otherwise improve their physical properties.
There is some mobility between jobs in this occupational group. Mobility between employers, however, is limited. Many collective agreements or company policies require new employees to start at entry level positions so transfers from another company are not encouraged. With experience and the right skills, you can advance into positions such as castings inspector, department supervisor, technical advisor, cost estimator, designer or plant supervisor. Most foundry workers belong to unions, and are paid an hourly wage.
You will enjoy this job if you prefer working with machinery and tools. Employers look for steady, alert workers who are team players and who follow instructions. An inquisitive mind that enables you to learn on the job is a definite asset. The best foundry workers are dedicate workers.
This is a large field with many opportunities for training and advancement. For example, die- casting is a little more skilled and little cleaner than other metal-casting positions.
The work is hard and foundries can be noisy, dirty places. They are often hot, especially near the melting units. Manufacturers are eliminating, however, many of these discomforts with improved ventilation systems and air conditioning.
The injury rate is higher in foundries than in other manufacturing industries, but improved safety practices are making jobs in this area safer. Generally, coremaking and moulding are the least dangerous jobs, while melting and finishing have the highest accident rates. Safety plays an essential role in foundry work. If you keep your mind on safety, you should not have an accident.
To be a foundry worker, you need to be in good health with average physical strength, good eye- hand coordination and some manual dexterity. Avoid this work if you have respiratory, heart or back problems.
* The American Foundrymen's Society
505 State Street
Des Plaines,
IL, USA 60016
Tel. (708) 824-0181