What Rapid Prototyping & Engineering does

Rapid Prototyping & Engineering, Inc. is a privately held precision machining and engineering services company founded in 1991 in Indianapolis, Indiana, currently headquartered at 1424 Commerce Parkway, Franklin, Indiana. Originally built to serve Indianapolis professional racing teams, the company has progressively broadened into automotive/transportation, aerospace, medical device manufacturing, university and cryogenic research, vintage car restoration, and — most recently in 2025 — the defense sector. It employs more than 25 team members, including degreed mechanical and applications engineers alongside skilled manufacturing personnel, and operates out of a 28,000+ sq ft facility after a 10,000 sq ft expansion in 2024.

The company's technical core is a broad in-house machining and inspection capability set: CNC vertical and horizontal milling (up to 63" x 54" x 32"), 5-axis machining (20" x 27" x 17"), full mill/turn CNC turning, waterjet cutting, wire EDM, gear and spline hobbing, fabrication (TIG/MIG/plasma welding), and full CNC coordinate measuring machines for quality inspection. Services span the full product life cycle from concept capture, design and engineering, design-for-manufacturing, and concurrent engineering through prototype and low-volume production of castings, billet components, fabricated parts, and custom fixturing and tooling.

Commercially, the company operates a project-based, custom-quoting business model — no public pricing — selling primarily through direct B2B engagement to enterprise customers across seven verticals. Materials expertise spans aluminum, magnesium, iron castings, titanium, super alloys, and heavy metals tailored to end-use requirements. The 2025 capital plan deploys $880,000 into new high-precision equipment dedicated to a defense sector customer, supported by a five-year Franklin City Council tax abatement (Resolution 2025-10) and CMMC Level 1 cybersecurity certification, with two new production positions added at $27/hour. GTM is direct enterprise field sales with no resellers or distributors; the customer base is entirely domestic (United States).

Name

Rapid Prototyping & Engineering

Legal name

Rapid Prototyping & Engineering, Inc.

Website

https://rpemachining.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rapid Prototyping & Engineering, Inc., founded in 1991 and based in Franklin, Indiana, is a precision CNC machining and engineering services company. It serves automotive, aerospace, racing, medical, research, and defense customers across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Machining Services

NAICS

Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing (33351)

SIC

Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Products (3490), Machine Tools, Metal Cutting Types (3541)

akta.pro primary industry

Engineering Prototype Builds (Form/Fit/Function) (IMAAAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Prototype Jigs, Fixtures & Assembly Aids (Additive) (IMAAAFAE), CNC Machine Tools (Turning, Milling, Machining Centers) (IMAHADAA)

Keywords

• Precision machining services
• CNC machining
• Prototype manufacturing
• Engineered components
• Custom fabrication

Headquarters

HQ city

Franklin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Machined Components Manufacturing: Custom machining and fabrication services producing precision components based on customer specifications. Revenue generated through project-based manufacturing of castings, billet components, fixturing, and tooling solutions.
2. Engineering and Design Services: Design and engineering support services including concept development, concurrent engineering, design for manufacturing, and turning customer ideas into functional components or assemblies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Rapid Prototyping & Engineering provides custom precision machining and fabrication services, including 5-axis CNC machining, CNC turning, waterjet cutting, wire EDM, welding, and gear/spline hobbing, producing machined castings, billet components, fabricated components, and fixturing/tooling solutions. The company also offers integrated design and engineering services — concept development, concurrent engineering, and design for manufacturing — to translate customer requirements into functional components from prototype through low-volume production.

Product overview

Rapid Prototyping & Engineering operates as a precision machining and engineering services company with over 40 years of experience. The company offers an integrated portfolio combining Design & Engineering Services with comprehensive manufacturing capabilities including CNC machining (milling, turning, 5-axis), specialty processes (waterjet cutting, wire EDM, gear hobbing), fabrication, and quality inspection. Products include machined castings, billet components, fabricated components, and fixturing/tooling solutions. The company primarily serves automotive/transportation, professional racing, aerospace, medical, vintage car restoration, and university/research sectors, providing solutions from concept through finished component.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Machined Castings Precision machined castings in aluminum, magnesium, iron, titanium, super alloys, and heavy metals for industrial applications in automotive, racing, aerospace, and other sectors.
• Billet Components Custom billet components machined from solid metal stock for high-performance applications in automotive, racing, and aerospace sectors.
• Fabricated Components Custom fabricated components including welding, TIG, MIG, and plasma cutting services for various industrial requirements.
• Fixturing & Tooling Solutions Custom fixturing and tooling designed and manufactured to support production operations and quality manufacturing processes.
• Design & Engineering Services Mechanical engineering services including concept design, concurrent engineering, voice-of-customer integration, and design for manufacturing to translate customer requirements into functional components.
• CNC Machining Services Advanced CNC machining including vertical milling (63" x 54" x 32"), horizontal milling (31.5" x 31.5" x 31.5"), 5-axis machining (20" x 27" x 17"), and CNC turning with full mill/turn capabilities.
• Specialty Machining Services Specialty machining including waterjet cutting for various materials and thicknesses, wire EDM for intricate precision cuts, and gear/spline hobbing for high-performance mechanical assemblies.
• Inspection & Quality Services Quality inspection services using full CNC coordinate measuring machines (CMM) to ensure components meet highest accuracy and consistency standards.
• Rapid Prototyping

Quantifiable outcome

• 40+ years of industry experience serving customers across multiple sectors
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fictiv: Fictiv is a digital manufacturing platform that provides instant quoting and order management for custom mechanical parts, including CNC machining — competing directly for the same engineer-driven, prototype-and-low-volume business RPE serves.
• Star Rapid: Star Rapid is a China-based rapid prototyping and low-volume manufacturing company offering CNC machining, sheet metal, and injection molding — comparable service portfolio and customer use cases (prototypes, aerospace, automotive components) to RPE.
• Hubs (formerly 3D Hubs): Hubs is a global on-demand manufacturing platform offering CNC machining, injection molding, and 3D printing services, directly competing for the prototype and low-volume production work that anchors RPE's business.
• Protolabs: Protolabs is the largest digital manufacturer of custom prototypes and low-volume production parts in CNC machining, injection molding, and sheet metal — directly competing with RPE for prototype machined components and serving overlapping automotive, aerospace, and medical customers.
• Xometry: Xometry operates an on-demand manufacturing marketplace aggregating thousands of CNC and fabrication shops, serving the same SMB and enterprise buyers of custom machined parts that RPE targets — including aerospace and defense customers.
• Owens Industries: Owens Industries is a US precision CNC machining and grinding job shop serving aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial markets — closely comparable in capability stack (multi-axis machining, tight tolerances) and customer mix to RPE.
• Plethora: Plethora is a San Francisco-based rapid manufacturing company specializing in CNC machining and on-demand fabrication services — directly competing for prototype and production machining customers across aerospace, robotics, and medical.

Broad incumbents

• MW Industries (MW Precision): MW Industries is a broader engineered components manufacturer with precision machining and springs capabilities serving aerospace, defense, and industrial — comparable in the precision-machined components category but at much greater scale than RPE.
• TPI Composites: TPI Composites is a larger, established manufacturer serving the wind energy and aerospace markets with composite and precision components — comparable as a tier-1 contract manufacturer that RPE could supply into or compete against for similar engineering-driven programs.
• Stratasys: Stratasys is a leading global 3D printing and additive manufacturing systems provider; while not a direct CNC machining peer, it is broadly comparable as a rapid-prototyping industry incumbent whose solutions sometimes substitute for traditional CNC prototype work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rapid-prototyping-and-engineering-inc.

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rapid Prototyping & Engineering