Tool education

In the tool education, you learn to make the forms and tools that industry uses to produce all sorts of things — from plastic items to metal parts. You design, program, and machine with great precision, often to thousandths of a millimeter. When you are a trained toolmaker, you are the expert behind the tools that make mass production possible.

§What do you do in everyday life?

A typical day is about calculating and designing how a tool should be built drawing it in 3D on the computer and programming the machines that machine the part. You turn mill and grind until the parts fit perfectly and you assemble the finished tool. It is a trade that combines computer, machines and precision mechanics.

• 01You learn to design and draw tools and molds in 3D.
• 02You learn to program CNC machines and processing equipment.
• 03You learn to turn, mill, and grind with high precision.
• 04You learn materials science about metals and plastics.
• 05You learn to measure and check that parts meet dimensions.
• 06You learn to assemble and test the finished tool.

§How do you get started?

You start with a basic course at a vocational college and then find an apprenticeship at an industrial or toolmaking company, where you earn a wage during training. The programme alternates between school periods and practical training, so you try out what you learn on real production tasks. You can specialise in moulding or stamping tools.

§The way forward

As fully trained tool maker you can work in the metal and plastics industry domestically and abroad. With experience you can specialise in design or CNC programming take responsibility in production or build further with a higher technical education for example towards production technologist or machine engineer.

“You don't make the product — you make the tool that all other products are made with.”