# Moldmaker

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Moldmaker
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Moldmaker.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldmaker
> Source revision: 1309626933
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Skilled trade}}
A '''moldmaker''' ('''mouldmaker''' in English-speaking countries other than the US) or '''molder''' (moulder) is a skilled [tradesperson](/source/tradesperson) who fabricates [''molds''](/source/molding_(process)) (or ''moulds'') for use in casting metal products.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.makeit.net.au/01_start_out_job.php?sector=Cast%20Metals&job=Moulder%20/%20Coremaker&jobarea=Fabrication |title=Moulder/Coremaker |date=2007 |work=Make It! |publisher=Manufacturing Skills Australia |access-date=2023-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904113556/http://www.makeit.net.au/01_start_out_job.php?sector=Cast%20Metals&job=Moulder%20/%20Coremaker&jobarea=Fabrication |archive-date=2007-09-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

Moldmakers are generally employed in [foundries](/source/foundries), where molds are used to [cast](/source/Casting_(metalworking)) products from metals such as [aluminium](/source/aluminium) and [cast iron](/source/cast_iron).

== Injection molding ==
The term moldmaker may also refer to workers employed in fabricating dies and metal moulds for use in [injection molding](/source/injection_molding) and [die-casting](/source/Die_(manufacturing)), such as in the [plastics](/source/plastics), rubber or [ceramics](/source/ceramics) industries, in which case it is sometimes regarded as a branch of the trade of [toolmaker](/source/toolmaker).<ref>{{Citation |last=Bryce |first=Douglas M. |title=Plastic injection molding: material selection and product design fundamentals |page=145 |publisher=SME |year=1997 |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zY-REaKzPGUC&pg=PA145 | isbn=978-0-87263-488-6}}.</ref> The process of manufacturing molds is often highly automated.

Although many of the machining processes involved in mold making use computer-controlled equipment for the manufacturing of molds (particularly plastic and rubber injection and transfer), moldmaking remains a highly skilled trade, requiring expertise in manual machining, CNC machining, CNC wire EDM, CNC Ram EDM, surface grinding, hand polishing and more. Because of the skill and intense labor involved, a lot of mold making in the US has been outsourced to low-wage countries.{{cn|date=December 2023}} The majority of plastic and rubber parts are made using injection or transfer molds, requiring a mold to be manufactured by a moldmaker.

== See also ==
* [Molding (process)](/source/Molding_(process))
* [Tool and die maker](/source/Tool_and_die_maker)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Metalworking navbox|castopen}}

Category:Metalworking occupations

{{job-stub}}
{{Metalworking-stub}}

[de:Werkzeugmacher](/source/de%3AWerkzeugmacher)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Moldmaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldmaker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldmaker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.