Explore by Career/Production
Foundry Mold and Coremakers
Make or form wax or sand cores or molds used in the production of metal castings in foundries.
- Median pay
- $45,700
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -25.9%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Time Management
- Speaking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Operation and Control
What they do
- Clean and smooth molds, cores, and core boxes, and repair surface imperfections.
- Sift and pack sand into mold sections, core boxes, and pattern contours, using hand or pneumatic ramming tools.
- Position patterns inside mold sections, and clamp sections together.
- Position cores into lower sections of molds, and reassemble molds for pouring.
- Sprinkle or spray parting agents onto patterns and mold sections to facilitate removal of patterns from molds.
- Form and assemble slab cores around patterns, and position wire in mold sections to reinforce molds, using hand tools and glue.
- Move and position workpieces, such as mold sections, patterns, and bottom boards, using cranes, or signal others to move workpieces.
- Lift upper mold sections from lower sections, and remove molded patterns.
- Cut spouts, runner holes, and sprue holes into molds.
- Tend machines that bond cope and drag together to form completed shell molds.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.