Rapid Precision Engineering, a leading aerospace component manufacturing and chemical processing subcontract specialist, has recently invested in a small, compact DN Solutions’ DEM 4000 vertical machining centre equipped with a 4th-axis unit from Mills CNC.
The new machine tool investment has, as intended, provided the company with much-needed additional machining capacity enabling it to meet a significant and sustained increase in demand for small, complex and high-precision landing gear components from a number of existing aerospace customers.
Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently supplied Rapid Precision Engineering, a leading aerospace component manufacturing and chemical process subcontract specialist based in Huyton, Liverpool with a new DN Solutions’ vertical machining centre.
The machine, a small and compact Fanuc-controlled DEM 4000, equipped with a 7.5kW/ 8,000rpm spindle, a 20-tool ATC and supplied with a Nikken (7” chuck) CNC202 4th-axis rotary table, was installed at the company’s 15,000sq. ft. facility in July 2026 and, since its arrival, has been put through its paces machining literally thousands of small, high-precision landing gear fasteners (screws) as well as a number of other high-accuracy and high-integrity aerospace components.
Rapid Precision: overview
Rapid Precision was established in 1993 and in its early days started life as a generic precision subcontractor machining and supplying finished components to a diverse range of customers.
In 2003/04, the company made the conscious decision to focus in on the aerospace sector and specialise on machining, treating and supplying high-precision components to a number of UK-based landing gear customers.
To achieve its ambitions and grow the business, Rapid Precision has invested in, and maintains, a well-resourced machine shop and has a number advanced CNC machine tools (i.e., lathes, machining centres and sliding head lathes) at its disposal.
The company has also invested heavily in developing a number of in-house ‘special’ processes and treatments i.e., NDT (Non-Destructive Testing), Painting, Passivation, Cadmium Plating etc.), that have helped Rapid Precision further differentiate itself in the aerospace market and strengthen its position in customers’ supply chains.
Unsurprisingly, operating in such a highly-regulated sector, Rapid Precision has developed robust manufacturing processes and systems and as well as being ISO 9001 and AS9100 accredited, is also NADCAP (Merit) certified.
The company’s transformation, certainly over the last 15-years or so, has been remarkable and impressive, and today aerospace work accounts for over 95% of the company’s annual turnover.
Rapid Precision is committed to continuous improvement and regularly invests in its people, its plant and equipment, and its systems and processes.
As such, the company systematically monitors and reviews the performance of its machine shop to ensure it can achieve and meet the high-quality and fast turnaround demands of its aerospace customers.
New DEM 4000 investment – catalyst
Working in the aerospace sector is challenging and the ability to respond quickly to customers’ changing needs and priorities is of critical importance.
“Earlier in 2026, a couple of our aerospace customers informed us of their intention to significantly ramp up their production requirements.
“We could see, straight away, that such an increase in volumes would put pressure on our existing machining resources – specifically on one of our vertical machining centres with 4th-axis processing capabilities.
“Having crunched the numbers, we made the decision to invest in a new machining centre with a 4th-axis rotary table as a route to improving throughput and avoiding production bottlenecks and potential disruptions to customer delivery schedules.”
Paul Brennan, Owner and Director of Rapid Precision
Rapid Precision and Mills CNC
Since 2001, Rapid Precision has developed close relationships with Mills CNC and, prior to the arrival of the latest DEM 4000, had invested in five new CNC lathes and three new vertical machining centres from the company.
“We have a strong partnership with Mills CNC, and the machines (i.e., Doosan and DN Solutions) they have supplied to us in the past, are reliable and deliver excellent cutting performance, high precision and machining flexibility.
“We acquired our first three (Puma) multi-tasking lathes from Mills in 2001, 2004 and 2007, respectively, and all three are still going strong!
“As a consequence, whenever we are in the market for a new CNC lathe or machining centre we invariably make Mills CNC our first port of call.”
Paul Brennan, Owner and Director of Rapid Precision
One of the machines Mills supplied to Rapid Precision in the recent past (2021) was a DNM 4500 vertical machining centre equipped with a Nikken 4th-axis rotary table.
This machine, with its 8,000rpm spindle, 30-tool ATC and 1000mm x 450mm worktable has added another string to the company’s bow enabling it to machine complex, high-precision parts in a single setup.
“The DNM 4500 has helped us improve our productivity and process efficiencies. The machine’s 4th-axis unit enables workpieces to be rotated precisely, ensuring exact positioning and repeatability, and reduces the need for repositioning and re-clamping operations.”
Paul Brennan, Owner and Director of Rapid Precision
New DEM 4000 investment – decision
Prior to making its investment decision, Rapid Precision did its homework and carefully assessed its immediate and future machining needs and requirements. This process determined that it would not duplicate its previous DNM 4500 investment but, instead, would opt for the smaller DEM 4000 machining centre with a Nikken 4th-axis unit.
“We needed the 4th-axis capability but didn’t need a machine with such a big table.
“Because we had previously invested in a new DEM 4000 from Mills CNC in 2020, we already liked, and were well aware of, the machine’s capabilities.
“By investing in a second DEM 4000 and equipping it with a 4th-axis unit, we were confident that programs and processes that we had developed for machining small parts on the DNM 4500 could be transferred over and used on the DEM 4000.
“This solution would not only provide us with additional machining capabilities but would also help free-up capacity on the DNM 4500 – a real win:win situation.”
Paul Brennan, Owner and Director of Rapid Precision
The company approached Mills CNC in May 2026 with its requirements and, following discussions with sales and technical staff, placed the order for a new DEM 4000 equipped with the Nikken table shortly afterwards.
New DEM 4000 in action
Since being installed in July 2026, the new DEM 4000 has been in constant use machining a range of small, complex and high-precision parts.
A significant percentage of these parts are aerospace (landing gear) screws/fasteners which are machined to high accuracy in relatively high volumes.
“We previously machined the screws on one of our older manual milling machines. This was achievable when the volumes required were relatively low but when the quantities required went from 3000-off to 15,000-off, we knew we had to think outside the box and develop a new approach.
“This increase in demand was one of the main catalysts driving the new DEM 4000 machine tool investment.”
Paul Brennan, Owner and Director of Rapid Precision
Machining aerospace screws
The aerospace screws machined and processed by Rapid Precision involve the re-machining, modification, treatment and testing of ‘bought in’ alloy steel screws.
Machining and processing operations performed can include a) machining the existing threads down and re-threading the OD, b) modifying the head, c) drilling small high precision wire locking holes through each screw’s head, d) Cadmium Plating, e) Non-Destructive Testing (NDT).
Machining operations involve the use of customised, multi-part fixtures that are clamped securely into the 4th-axis unit allowing small batches of screws to be machined to completion in a single setup.
“This is a far more efficient and faster process than what we had before.”
Paul Brennan, Owner and Director of Rapid Precision
When not machining the aerospace screws, the new DEM 4000 has been called into action to machine other landing gear parts using its 4th-axis capabilities and, by clamping parts directly onto the machine’s remaining worktable space (i.e., the area not taken up by the 4th-axis unit), a number of small components, previously machined on the company’s CNC and/or manual machines, have been processed to completion using the DEM 4000’s 3-axis capabilities.
Summary
Rapid Precision is an innovative and vertically-integrated company that regularly upgrades and improves its in-house machining capacity and capabilities.
The recent increase in demand for high-precision machined components from a number of its aerospace customers resulted in the company investing in a new compact machining centre with a rotary table.
With flexibility being the name of the game, the investment has not only helped the company free-up machining capacity on its existing DNM 4500 machine but has also resulted in Rapid Precision increasing its in-house processing capabilities per se.
In just a few weeks, the DEM 4000 has proved its worth and has improved Rapid Precision’s productivity and process efficiencies, as well as helping the company reduce backlogs and side-step potential production bottlenecks.