Foundry Molding/Coremaking Operator
Robotics vendors FANUC and ABB both sell named, productized robot lines built specifically for foundry work — FANUC's FoundryPro series and ABB's IRB 7600/6620 models — and this research found one named, real commercial deployment: a Russian foundry supplying castings to a European automaker uses an Artimpianti/ABB robotic system to pour metal and remove finished castings from molds.
We have not ingested real-world usage data for this occupation yet. We show a band only where genuine data exists, rather than estimate one.
What a foundry molding/coremaking operator actually does
Foundry molding and coremaking operators set up and run the machines that turn molten metal or heated plastic into cast parts. The daily work includes setting up, operating, or tending molding, coremaking, and casting machines, turning valves and dials to regulate pressure, temperature, and speed to match the specific alloy or resin being poured that day.
Operators read blueprints, specifications, and work orders to determine the correct setups and temperatures before a run starts, then measure and visually inspect finished products for surface and dimensional defects — porosity, cracks, warping — to confirm each casting conforms to spec.
A significant part of the job is simply observing the continuous operation of automatic machines, catching the early signs of a problem — an inconsistent pour, a mold not releasing cleanly — before it turns into a run of scrap parts. This O*NET occupation code bundles both metal and plastic foundry work under one classification, and the underlying skills — reading a mold, judging a pour, catching a defect by eye — carry across both materials.
Why it reads this way
Robotics vendors FANUC and ABB both sell named, productized robot lines built specifically for foundry work — FANUC's FoundryPro series and ABB's IRB 7600/6620 models — and this research found one named, real commercial deployment: a Russian foundry supplying castings to a European automaker uses an Artimpianti/ABB robotic system to pour metal and remove finished castings from molds.
That's a genuine deployment, not vendor vaporware — but it's a single documented case automating specific hot, dangerous sub-tasks (pouring, casting removal), with no scale or headcount data attached, and no evidence found of fleet-scale, multi-site commercial deployment comparable to what's changed other trades. The broader molding, coremaking, and inspection tasks that make up most of this occupation's task list remain human-performed. No government license applies to this occupation.
Note on the growth figure below: two O*NET-family sources point to gradual decline while one third-party state labor-market aggregator showed slight growth for this code — the decline read is used here since it's independently corroborated twice.
Skills this role draws on
We don't yet have task-by-task time-share data for this occupation, so we can't show which specific tasks carry the exposure score above. This is the real skill set instead.
Typical salary range (USD)
$34,170–$61,600
Average: $44,350/yr
Range source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (51-4072.00), 2025 release
Average source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (51-4072.00), 2025 release, accessed via O*NET OnLine / My Next Move — direct bls.gov access returned HTTP 403 during research
Related careers
Head-to-head comparisons
Foundry Molding/Coremaking Operator scores 89/100 (Safe band). FANUC and ABB both sell named robot lines for foundry work, and one real commercial deployment was confirmed — a Russian foundry supplying a European automaker uses an ABB robotic system to pour metal and remove castings — but it's a single documented case automating specific hot, dangerous sub-tasks, with no evidence of fleet-scale multi-site deployment. The broader molding, coremaking, and defect-inspection tasks that make up most of this occupation's task list remain human-performed. No government license applies to this occupation.
This is a researched judgment (checklist v1.2), not a statistical measurement — it sits alongside, not instead of, the structural exposure signal above. Next scheduled review: 2027-02-11.
Data sources & methodology
Salary data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (51-4072.00), 2025 release. Min/max figures represent the 10th–90th percentile annual wage range across the United States. Average figure sourced separately: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (51-4072.00), 2025 release, accessed via O*NET OnLine / My Next Move — direct bls.gov access returned HTTP 403 during research.
Automation Risk Score: Based on O*NET occupational analysis (51-4072.00) evaluating task complexity, physical requirements, social intelligence, and environmental variability. Methodology based on research from Frey & Osborne (Oxford, 2017).
Growth projections: Decline of 1% or lower (2024-2034) — two O*NET-family sources indicate decline while one third-party state aggregator showed slight growth; decline is used here as the corroborated read, based on BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.