Human capital is one of the fundamental building blocks of economic competitiveness. The continued development of human capital is therefore of strategic importance to South African Industry.

The tool making industry provides a unique opportunity for the continued sustainable development of human capital on an expanded skills front. The global competitive development of tools, moulds and dies requires a diverse skills value chain involving highly qualified personal but also lower levels of competencies.

The NTI will act as a catalyst for the renewed focus and development of all elements within the tool making skills value chain.

The summary below gives an overview of the extent of the skills value chain:

Tool Maker

The Tool and Die Maker remains a central skill within the tool making value chain. Tool and Die Makers are highly skilled workers in the manufacturing industry. Most tool and die makers attend a 4 to 5 year apprenticeship/learnership program to achieve the necessary status qulaification. Further experiential training is also required to gain the necessary experience to operate as a Tool Maker. Some of the job functions of a tool and die maker consist of producing jigs, fixtures, form tools, dies, molds, cutting tools, and many other mechanical items used in the manufacturing process.

In modern Tool and Die making techniques the Tool Makers’ most important function is during the assembly, finishing and verification of the tool or die.

Project Manager

Timeous delivery of a quality tool or die within the allowed budget is non-negotiable when competing within the global context. The management of the complete value chain to achieve this requires trained and experienced project managers.

Planning, Scheduling and controlling a project also entails managing project financing and constant interaction with suppliers and customers.

Project Managers are either degreed or diploma’d engineers with at least 3 years experience withing the tool making environment.

Tool Designer

Up to 80% of the cost and success of a tool is determined during the tool design process. The tool designer therefore plays a critical role in the tool development process.

The tool designer can be either a degreed or diploma’d engineer with a major in design. Sufficient experience in a tool and die field, such as injection moulding, blow moulding, press tooling, die casting or any other tooling field is a necessity. Competancy with respect to the effective use of the latest 3D CAD technologies is also a requirement.

The tool designer works in a close relationship with both the Tool Maker as well as the Project manager in the total process of taking the tool to final completion.

CAM/CNC Programmers

3 axis and 5 axis Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) technologies are widely utilised in the tool making process. Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Programming of these machines is another specialisation skill essential to the successful manufacture of tools and dies.

The CNC programmer must be competent in the principles of tool making as CNC programming requires knowledge of programming language, tool materials, cutting operations and process accuracies. Staying abreast with latest CNC technologies is also important.

Milling and Turning Operators

Conventional milling and turning is still a skill required within the modern skills value chain. For the purposes of tool making precision milling and turning is often required. Milling and turning qualifications can be obtained as part of a tool making apprenticeship or as a stand alone apprenticeship.

Wire EDM and Electro sparking operators

Electrical discharge machining (or EDM) is a machining method primarily used for hard metals or those that would be impossible to machine with traditional techniques. One critical limitation, however, is that EDM only works with materials that are electrically conductive. EDM can cut small or odd-shaped angles, intricate contours or cavities in extremely hard steel and exotic metals such as titanium, hastelloy, kovar, inconel and carbide.

The EDM operator must be competent in the principles of tool making as EDM operation also requires CNC programming , a knowledge of tool materials and process accuracies.

Tool Room Managers

The Tool Room Manager has a strong line management function to co-ordinate tool room activities. A competent manager will ensure that all resources, human and infrastructure, are optimally and efficiently utilised. This contributes to work quality and short turn-around times.

The Tool Room Manager will himself be a trained and experienced Tool Maker. He works closely with the Project Manager to ensure tight control on project progress.

Good Tool Room Managers have strong leadership skills, have good organizational skills and must have adequate tool making experience.

Metallurgists

Tool making challenges often require the use of special materials and material heat treatment techniques. Metallurgists with knowledge and experience in tool making have become an essential competency in the tool making skills value chain.

Metrologists

Metrology is the science of measument, measurement techniques and measurement nalysis.

In tool and die making dimension tolerances and accuracies are measured in micrometers (microns). Sophisticated methods and equipment are used to validate and verify manufactured component dimensions to design data.

Metrology is a specialization field that contributes directly to successful tool and product development. Tool Makers, Tool Designers and Metrologists work in a close relationship to accomplish geometrical accuracies required in quality tool making.

Engineering Analysts

Simulation of the material conversion process through computer aided simulation tools have become common place in the tool making process. The analysis of material behaviour from a molten state through the solidifying process with the accompanying effect on final product integrity is an important input toward tool design. Also the behaviour of metals when being deformed through a pressing process can be simulated beforehand and results are used to optimize press tool design.

Such simulations are executed by Engineering Analysts with both a proper understanding of the process being analysed as well as a thorough understanding of the underlying programming and numerical principles used in the simulation software.

Good results from a thorough conducted simulation is invaluable during the tool development process.

Cost Estimators

A major challenge in tool and die development is the estimation of costs, for quotation purposes, before the tool design has been finalized. Cost Estimators have to address this challenge by relying on their experience in the tool making industry as well as relying on the input of tool makers and tool designers.

Heat Treatment Operators

In tool making the technique of heat treatment is almost always used to modify the mechanical hardness of tool metals. This process is normally one of the last activities that takes place before a tool is completed. It is also a very sophisticated and sensitive process. A mistake at this stage impacts on timely completion of the tool. Heat treatment operators therefore have a great responsibility in making sure that the process is executed successfully.

Polishers

Polishing is the process of creating a smooth and shiny surface by using rubbing or a chemical action.

Tool surfaces that define product surface finish are normally polished. Accurate and intricate tool interfaces often also require polishing for proper tool functionality.

Tool polishing is a skill that requires hand skills as well as a knowledge and ability to utilise the available machining and chemical technologies to achieve the required result. Overseas, similar initiatives have been implemented successfully in Portugal, Spain, Canada, China and Taiwan.

Van Dyk attributes the depleted skills base and the general lack of capital expenditure on equipment in the local TDMM industry to the decline of South Africa’s armaments and nuclear industries since the late 1980s.

With the decline of these industries, training and investment in TDMM stagnated, and South Africa’s international competitiveness in the sector dwindled.

Three years ago, a think tank was established to counter the negative effects of the shrinking TDMM industry. Known as the South African Tooling Industry Support Initiative (Satisi), the think tank comprised, among other stakeholders, the Automotive Industry Development Centre, the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Reserach (CSIR) and TDMM companies in the industry.

The NTI was established when Tasa took ownership of the intiative, as started by Satisi, in August last year to facilitate the execution of the intervention.

In the last year, the NTI has been cooperating with a range of industry members, national government stakeholders – including the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – the Department of Education, the Department of Labour (DoL), the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the national Treasury, the Merseta, social partners (including organised labour, youth, women and previously disadvantaged South Africans), the Tasa Industry Council of Advisers (to include Naamsa, Nacaam, Seifsa and PFSA) and the Tooling Academic Technology Advisory Forum (to include academic universities, technical universities, further education and training colleges, other tertiary education institutions and the CSIR to finalise business plans for programmes in its five focus areas.

Business plans for the interventions in the five focus areas are being developed through the DTI’s Sector-Specific Assistance Scheme (SSAS).

This programme involves planning the intervention’s resource requirements around the skills and technologies required to revitalise South Africa’s TDMM industry into a world-class producer and service provider. Van Dyk says that the business plans will be presented to the DTI and Nedlac for evaluation and approval in March.

It is expected that the execution of the NTI’s business plans in the five focus areas will start in May and will consist of three phases.

The first phase will comprise short-term interventions, which will be implemented between 2006 and 2008, at an estimated cost of R190-million.

The second phase entails medium-term interventions up to 2010, at which time R2-billion would have been spent.

The third phase will run until 2014, at which time, Van Dyk says, it is conservatively estimated that R5-billion would have been spent.

Government – including stakeholders such as the national Treasury, the DTI, the DoL and the DST – will contribute substantially to the funding required to deliver the NTI’s objectives.

Assisting the revival of the TDMM industry is one of the four main programmes under the DTI’s formal Customised-Sector Programme (CSP) for the capital goods and allied equipment sector.

The DTI CSP for capital goods and allied equipment sector programme, which supports the NTI, is called Intsimbi. Van Dyk says that the industry’s financial contribution to the initiative focuses on industry recapitalisation, black economic empowerment structuring and SMME development, and the development of mechanisms such as accelerated depreciation, Motor Industry Development Programme-type interventions, and funding partnerships with institutions such as the Industrial Development Corporation. The NTI will also engage funding from strategic partners in the international community by way of grant funding, countertrade funding and private business funding.

Van Dyk says that the NTI’s national and regional delivery structure is based on mobilising, aligning and capacity-building with stakeholders in the TDMM industry, to set up effective governance structures to execute the programmes.