{{Short description|Skilled trade}} A '''moldmaker''' ('''mouldmaker''' in English-speaking countries other than the US) or '''molder''' (moulder) is a skilled tradesperson who fabricates ''molds'' (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, where molds are used to cast products from metals such as aluminium and cast iron.
== Injection molding == The term moldmaker may also refer to workers employed in fabricating dies and metal moulds for use in injection molding and die-casting, such as in the plastics, rubber or ceramics industries, in which case it is sometimes regarded as a branch of the trade of 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) * Tool and die maker
== References == {{Reflist}}
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Category:Metalworking occupations
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