Patternmaking Overview
What is Patternmaking?
The pattern shop is usually the starting point for the production of tooling for a wide variety of industries such as foundries, vacuum forming, plastic injection, fibreglass and concrete products. Patterns are manufactured in timber, plastic or metal, depending on the application.
A patternmaker obtains their qualification through a four year apprenticeship, which includes formal learning periods at TAFE and the remainder of the indenture in a pattern shop under the tutelage of a mentor tradesman. As their knowledge and skills increase, they are able to produce more technical patterns.
A pattern is first an idea, which becomes a sketch or technical drawing. Using a wide variety of hand tools and machinery a dimensionally accurate pattern or tool is produced.
The modern patternmaker's workshop is equipped with lathes, sanding disks, band saws and modern technology like CNC and 3D printers. Gone are the leather fillets of yesteryear, with a wide variety of resins, heat resistant fillers and other new products, combined with computer tools like CAD and email, today's patternmaker is at home "on the bench" or behind a computer.
