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A Snapshot of the Tooling and Machining Industry

 

 

What is the tooling and machining industry?

The tooling and machining industry is critical to our country’s economic health, as it makes possible the existence of virtually every other manufacturing industry.  Tooling is, in its simplest sense, the beginning of production.  We design and manufacture special tools, dies, jigs, fixtures, gages, molds, special machines, and precision machined parts for companies who manufacture large quantities of parts in such vital industries as defense, automotive, aerospace, appliance, environmental, construction equipment, nuclear, and many more.  Everything that is manufactured starts with a tool made by our industry.

 

How do we do it?

We use machine tools to cut or form material, usually metal, to precise shapes and dimensions.  The industry is the most technologically advanced of all small manufacturing activities in that we use computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tools and other computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) techniques.

 

 

What careers do we offer?

  • Tool maker

  • Die maker

  • Mold maker

  • Model maker

  • Special machine builder

  • Machinist

  • CNC programmer

  • Engineer

  • Quality control

  • Project manager

  • Business owner


What skills do our highly-skilled employees possess and what do they do?

  • Above average math and spatial comprehension skills

  • Read and interpret blue prints

  • Lay out metal stock, set up and run machine tools to cut, shape, or form metal tools according to specifications

  • Write computer programs to direct machine tools

  • Test and inspect products at various stages of production

  • Compile and evaluate statistical data to determine and maintain quality

 

Demographics of the industry

  • Vast majority of companies are small with fewer than 20 employees; national average is 27 employees; many of the companies are family owned

  • 14,000 companies in the U.S., 835 companies in the Miami Valley, 600 of which are contract tooling and machining companies

  • 400,000 employees nationally; 26,000 metalworking employees in the Miami Valley

  • Annual sales of $40 billion nationally; $2.2 billion in the Miami Valley

  • Entry-level tool makers can average $25,000 a year during a four-year training program; experienced tool makers’ earnings range from $35,000 to $60,000 annually

  • Average work week in the industry is between 50 to 55 hours

 
 
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