CLEVELAND, OH—November 6, 2018—Rocklin High School, Rocklin, CA, has received the 2018 Clips & Clamps Industries Educational Institution Award for its outstanding engineering program, dedicated to enhancing the student experience through hands-on educational opportunities. 

Focused on computer-controlled technologies, the school’s shop is a modern, state-of-the-art facility almost completely funded through grants. Rocklin High School (RHS) instructor Dan Frank has secured more than $1.2 million in the last 10 years to build the shop.

RHS has built enduring relationships with many industry partners, including Autodesk, UC Davis (Biological and Agricultural Engineering), Haas Automation, Kennametal, NASA (HUNCH), Titans of CNC, and many local shops. Titans of CNC, best known for its television show and its Titans of CNC Academy, has been the school’s most prominent partner and RHS was the test bed for the academy. Recently, RHS signed a contract to produce flight-ready parts for the International Space Station through the NASA HUNCH program, becoming the third school in California certified by NASA to produce parts.

The RHS Engineering curriculum includes four courses. The first-level course introduces a broad variety of tools and technologies to the students, and they learn to safely use every piece of equipment in the shop and in the design lab. The second course addresses skill development, during which the Titans of CNC Academy is implemented and students build their CAD, CAM and CNC skills. The third course focuses on robotics, during which students design a 120-lb. robot for First Robotics Competition, an international robotics competition. The final course focuses on students designing and developing their own projects, or managing a variety of job-shop-style projects from internal and external customers.

In addition to the four-course sequence, RHS offers other methods for students to engage more deeply with the program. A peer-teaching option is available for students wanting to mentor other students, a teaching assistant course is offered for those interested in facility operations, and a special-projects course is available for students wanting to dig into larger projects (such as go-carts). Each of these options enhance the students’ experience. 

Through the support of industry partners and local machine shops, Rocklin High School has been able to help its students find gainful employment, go to college, or both. Many graduates also have started their own machining companies. 

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 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 the late Estelle Dul support the efforts of the Precision Metalforming Association Educational Foundation.”

PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $137-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 800 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, FABTECH and METALFORM Mexico tradeshows, and MetalForming and 3D Metal Printing magazines.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  More information on PMA’s Awards of Excellence in Metalforming is available at www.pma.org.