Coremakers


Overview

Coremakers

Introduction

Coremakers and related workers in the foundry industry prepare cores that are used in making metal castings. In the founding process, molten metal is poured into a mold that contains a solid central core, usually made of sand or a sand mixture. The metal cools and solidifies. When the core is removed, the desired cavity or shape remains in the metal in place of the core. Cores are made in various sizes and shapes depending upon the desired size and shape of the final casting. There are about 11,780 foundry mold and coremakers employ...

Quick Facts


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Median Salary

$44,300

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Employment Prospects

Poor

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Minimum Education Level

High School Diploma|Apprenticeship


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Experience

On-the-job training and apprenticeships provide necessary experie


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Skills

Math|Mechanical/Manual Dexterity|Organizational


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Personality Traits

Athletic|Technical|Hands On

Earnings

Salaries are influenced by the workers experience, the size of the employer, and the location of the foundry. Apprentices generally start with a lower pay rate than a skilled coremaker, with incremental raises as they become proficient in different skills. Most coremakers belong to unions, so their work hours, overtime pay, health insurance plans, and other fringe benefits are established by co...

Work Environment

Foundry workers, including coremakers, sometimes face unpleasant or potentially dangerous conditions on the job. Newer foundries have improved working conditions, but foundries are traditionally noisy, hot, and smoky. Many foundry operations produce irritating fumes. Concrete floors may make the coremakers job hard on the feet. Coremakers have the lowest injury rates among foundry workers, but ...

Outlook

During recent years, more and more of the work involved in coremaking and foundry mold making is being done by machines. As work in foundries becomes increasingly automated, the average productivity of each worker is greater. Thus, while the production of many kinds of cast metal items has been rising, an increased demand for cores will probably not result in an increased demand for coremakers....