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William D. Ford Career-Technical Center Wins Educational Institution Award |
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 Students and faculty of the William D. Ford Career-Technical Center receive the 2009 Clips & Clamps Industries Educational Institution Award from Bill Gaskin and Kathy Aznavorian.Students learn basic machining, computer-aided machining (CAM) and computer numerical control (CNC) in an applications-based environment. The course outline includes shop safety, metalworking theory, benchwork/MATs, print reading, GD&T, inspection, CNC, saws, drills, power tools, mills, lathes, advanced milling/turning, grinding, employment skills/work habits, maintenance and setup. Michigan standards adopted from the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) are taught in the course. Emphasis also is placed on running industrial-sized machining centers and production of parts and components. Design and production of prototypes for students’ own inventions are encouraged. The skills practiced on a daily basis help students market themselves for employability in the metalforming industry. William D. Ford Career-Technical Center students showcased their talents during the Innovative Vehicle Design (IVD) competition at the SAE Convergence 2008 Transportation Electronics Conference in Detroit. The students designed and fabricated the HydroVolt, a fuel cell/plug-in hybrid vehicle, which featured steer-by-wire, a data acquisition system, computerized driver information system and a 200W fuel cell that recharged the batteries to power the electric motor. It also featured custom T-bucket styling, bringing retro design together with advanced engineering. The HydroVolt team won first place awards in Innovation, Engineering and Fabrication, as well as in the category of Professional’s Pick, where engineers and executives who attended the conference interviewed the students, reviewed the vehicles and voted for their favorite. The relationship between the school and the metalforming industry is thriving due to a strong advisory committee comprised of local businesses that offer students internships, co-op and employment opportunities. The Career-Technical Center has an 80 percent placement rate for students enrolled in the CAM program. Students working in the metalforming industry often are hired as co-op students during their high school years. Employees in the “Career-Technical Center High School to Work” program are well prepared to enter the workplace through job shadowing time, orientations, presentations, classroom/lab time and field trips related to manufacturing. Students who complete 500 hours of class/lab receive a Certificate of Completion with Outstanding Achievement when they achieve applicable competencies. The Educational Institution Award is one of eight Awards of Excellence in Metalforming presented annually by the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA). It recognizes a public or private educational institution that provides outstanding training and education services to companies in the metalforming industry. The award, which includes a $1,500 cash prize, is sponsored by Clips & Clamps Industries, Plymouth, MI, and funded by the Dul Foundation. “Clips & Clamps Industries and Fox Hills Golf & Banquet Center through the Dul Foundation and the families of Michael and Kathleen Aznavorian, Douglas and Sandy Mily and Estelle Dul support the efforts of the Precision Metalforming Association Educational Foundation.” PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $91-billion metalforming industry of North America—the industry that creates precision metal products using stamping, fabricating, spinning, slide forming and roll forming technologies, and other value-added processes. Its nearly 1,100 member companies also include suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry. PMA leads innovative member companies toward superior competitiveness and profitability through advocacy, networking, statistics, the PMA Educational Foundation, METALFORM tradeshows and MetalForming magazine. EDITOR’S NOTE: More information on PMA’s Awards of Excellence in Metalforming is available at www.pma.org. |
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