Foundry Workers

Nature of work

Foundry workers make foundry moulds and cores by hand or machine, cast molten metal, and run furnaces in the foundry industry. They work for metal foundries and foundry departments of metal products manufacturing companies.

Job duties

Manual mouldmakers:

• Make and repair sand moulds using patterns, moulding boxes, sand and hand tools following bench, floor or pit moulding methods.
• Use ovens to dry moulds.
• May pour molten metal into moulds to produce metal castings.

Manual coremakers:

• Make cores for use inside moulds to form holes or void spaces in castings using core boxes, sand, hammer and wire or other reinforcing material.
• Coat cores with protective materials and bake cores in oven.

Machine mouldmakers and coremakers:

• Set up, adjust and use various mouldmaking and coremaking machines to make sand and ceramics moulds and cores.

Metal casters:

• Set up and use various casting machines to cast ferrous and non-ferrous metal products.
• Hand ladle and pour molten metal into moulds to produce castings.

Foundry furnace operators:

• Run furnaces used to melt metals for moulding and casting.

Sample job titles

• bench moulder
• casting machine operator
• ceramic mouldmaker
• die-casting machine operator
• foundry worker
• furnace operator
• machine coremaker
• manual moulder
• melter
• metal caster
• pit moulder
• sand coremaker
• sand moulder

Skills

• You should be responsible, alert, and in good physical health. Coordination, agility, and a mechanical ability are important. You must be accurate and pay attention to detail. You must also be able to take direction and carry out instructions given by a supervisor.

Job requirements

• High school may be necessary.
• On-the-job training is provided.
• Up to two years of on-the-job training are necessary for manual mouldmakers.
• Several months of on-the-job training are needed for other workers in this unit group.

Other considerations

• Shiftwork is common in these jobs. There is some movement between workers in this group. Movement to supervisory positions is possible with experience.

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