TSTC student ‘RC drifts’ into precision machining

(HUTTO, Texas) - Garrett Roeder always liked hands-on hobbies. But when he tried machining, he found his passion.

Roeder is in his third semester of Precision Machining Technology at Texas State Technical College's East Williamson County campus in Hutto. He discovered machining in high school in Austin.

"I went to an arts magnet high school with an engineering program," he said. "For my engineering capstone project, I designed parts to make an RC (radio-controlled) car drift correctly."

Drifting RC cars, which simulates the drifting technique seen in full-scale race cars when they skid sideways through turns but with front wheels pointed opposite to the turns, is on Roeder's list of hobbies. It is a hobby that, in some ways, is a family tradition.

"I grew up doing RC because my grandfather did it with my dad as a kid, and my dad did it with us," he said. "My brother put RC down for a while, but I sort of forced him to share the RC hobby again. I'm the only one who drifts the cars, though."

Roeder said he came to TSTC after attending a four-year university for a year but deciding that the program did not support his goals. He is already working in the machine shop at custom manufacturing company Traxis Manufacturing in Austin.

"I was playing ping-pong at a climbing gym when I met the manager of the shop," he said. "I worked there for a summer. And when I came to TSTC, I started working there again."

Someday Roeder wants to merge his RC hobby and his love for machining.

"I want to own a machine shop and make car parts eventually," he said.

In Texas, CNC (computer numerical control) tool programmers earn an average annual salary of $62,160, according to onetonline.org, which forecast the number of such positions to grow 47% in the state from 2020 to 2030.

TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree and a certificate of completion in Precision Machining Technology, as well as a certificate of completion in CNC Machine Operator, at its East Williamson County, Fort Bend County, Harlingen, Marshall, North Texas and Waco locations.

Precision Machining Technology is one of nine programs at TSTC that have money-back guarantees. For more information, visit tstc.edu/mbg.

Applications for the spring semester are being accepted. Spring registration begins October 28.

For more information about TSTC, go to tstc.edu.

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