Machining

Overview
Program Outcomes
Program Entry Information

Overview

If you’re interested in working with your hands to turn designs into the parts and products that make the world work, then a career in machining could be for you. Bellingham Technical College’s Machining program will give you training for top jobs in aerospace, manufacturing, fabricating, and CNC custom shops. You’ll be prepared to work right away as a machinist; with experience you can advance to journey-level machining, tool programming, CNC operating, or engineering.

Bellingham Technical College’s labs will train you for your career with high-tech machining equipment. In your classes, you’ll learn how to use machine tools such as lathes, drill presses, and milling machines, in addition to blueprint reading, basic CNC programming and machine processes. Employers who hire graduates from BTC’s Machining program include aircraft, boat, and automobile manufacturers, industrial machinery firms, and machine shops.

Program Outcomes

Demonstrate competency in their ability to operate machine shop equipment: lathes, mills, grinders, and drills
Demonstrate competency in their ability to read and interpret blueprints per industry standards
Successfully demonstrate their ability to process and plan a piece part through the lab until completion
Demonstrate competency in CNC machine tool operation and programming
Demonstrate competency in CAM design and manufacturing

Program Entry Information

Program Start

This program typically admits students once a year in the Fall quarter.

Testing Requirements

These requirements are for the AAS degree and are lower than those for the AAS-T degree. Please see the AAS-T Entry Page for AAS-T requirements.

ACCUPLACER Arithmetic score of 50 or a C grade in MATH 090 or ABE 050 .
ACCUPLACER Reading Comprehension score of 71 or a C grade in RDG 085 , and ACCUPLACER Sentence Skills score of 71 or a C grade in ENGL 092 .

Degree and Certificate Requirements

Precision Machining AAS Degree and Certificate completion requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater. AAS-T Degree requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater and minimum grade of C/2.0 for all academic courses.

Programs

Associate of Applied Science

Machining, AAS

Associate of Applied Science - Transfer

Machining, AAS-T

Certificate