The National Tooling and Machining Association

Organized in 1943, the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) is the national representative of the custom precision manufacturing industry in the United States. The mission of the NTMA is to help its members achieve success in an ever increasing global economy through advocacy, advice, networking, information, programs, and services. Its nearly 2,000 members design and manufacture special tools, dies, jigs, fixtures, gages, special machines, and precision machined parts – generating sales in excess of $40 billion a year. Many of these members are small, privately owned and operated businesses.

Tooling is, essentially, the means of production. It is custom-designed and made to manufacture specific products, often in quantity. The products produced by this tooling must be made to desired levels of uniformity, accuracy, interchangeability, and quality.

Machining involves the use of a wide variety of machine tools – ranging in size from small automatic lathes for miniature parts to enormous boring mills – to cut or form material (most often metal) to precise shapes and dimensions. The industry is perhaps the most technologically-advanced of all small manufacturers and enjoys widespread use of computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) machines, computer-aided design (CAD), and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) techniques.

The tooling and machining industry is critical to the country’s economic health as it impacts nearly every other manufacturing industry. The industry supplies the necessary precision tooling and machining for such vital industries as defense, automotive, aerospace, transportation, nuclear, and many more. In fact, nearly every manufacturer interacts with the contract tooling and machining industry.

Learn more about the NTMA
Read a white paper on aerospace tooling