AEP Precision Engineering Ltd, a leading precision engineering specialist and the CNC machining subsidiary of parent company,
Smith Metal Fabrications, has recently invested in a new DN Solutions’ vertical machining centre, supplied by Leamington Spa-based
Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland.
The fourth-generation DNM 5700 is one of Mills CNC’s most popular and best-selling three-axis machining centres and was installed in AEP’s machine shop facility in Newhaven, East Sussex in May 2024. The latest addition, supplied with a fourth-axis unit to increase its versatility and to help realise its full productivity potential, was positioned adjacent to the company’s first DNM 5700 machine tool investment – a second-generation three-axis model acquired in 2020.
Together, these machines provide the company with an impressive and highly-flexible CNC milling resource, capable of meeting its immediate and future machining requirements. Since being installed, the new DNM 5700 has been producing a wide range of complex, high-precision components for a growing number of customers – a significant proportion being customers of parent company, Smith Metal Fabrications. Parts processed on the DNM 5700 are predominantly machined in low volumes, from prototypes and one- and two-offs through to small batch series, in a variety of materials including mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium, brass, bronze, copper and engineering plastics.
A specific job, one of many machined on the new DNM 5700 to date, involved the machining of 20 decorative metal rosettes for a pair of replacement doors for Trafalgar House, London, and was a part of a larger refurbishment project. The rosettes, a number of which were missing or were damaged, were originally made back in the 1800s from bronze castings but, using AEP Precision Engineering’s reverse engineering skills and expertise, and its 3-D scanning technologies, the company was able to manufacture a series of cost-effective replacement rosettes machined on the new DNM 5700 from solid aluminium billets.
These rosettes, following machining and powder coating, not only looked the part, but also provide a good illustration of the quality of components and the in-house skills provided by AEP and its parent company Smith Metal Fabrications.
Design for ManufactureAEP Precision Engineering operates as a traditional precision engineering manufacturer, providing its customers with high-quality, competitively-priced and ‘right-first-time’ turned or milled components. These customers operate in and across a number of sectors, including architectural metalwork, water/waste water treatment, medical, marine, automotive, production machines and processing equipment. Also, as Smith Metal Fabrications’ dedicated machine shop, AEP provides reliable, high-quality CNC machining services, as well as proven reverse engineering solutions and Design for Manufacture (DfM) consultancy, to its parent company.
Smith Metal Fabrications, established in 1974, is a leading fabrications’ turnkey specialist focused on providing bespoke, best-in-class and single source solutions to a wide range of customers, across many sectors, including construction and structural steel, architectural metalwork, and architectural landscaping, as well as swimming pools, water parks, leisure parks and spas.
David Mayers, Smith Metal Fabrications’ director, said: “We run a high-quality manufacturing company and our machine shop, and the machines we have at our disposal, are integral to our success. To improve our productivity, process efficiencies and overall competitiveness, we need machine tools that are fast, accurate and flexible because on one day they can be machining high-precision components made from hard and difficult-to-machine materials and, on the next, machining parts from aluminium alloys or engineering plastics.”
AEP Precision Engineering, established in 1984, is a company committed to continuous improvement and regularly invests in its people, in its plant and equipment, and in its systems and processes. To this end, the company monitors and evaluates the performance of its machine shop to identify and address actual and potential bottlenecks and pinch-points within its machining operations and processes.