Video Tutorials for getting started with Laser Rotary Engraving: Steps per rotation and more!

Welcome to our collection of useful video tutorials for laser engraving using a laser rotary attachment.

One of the first things you will need to do is to set up your steps per rotation.  This setting determines how many steps or pulses the motor needs to rotate the object 360 degrees. It’s crucial for ensuring that your engravings are not squished or stretched. The exact value depends on your laser machine’s setup and can be found by checking your stepper driver’s DIP switch settings​​. To dial in the settings even further, you will need to perform the 100mm Test. Getting these settings right will enable you to engrave precisely what you see in your design software and will also help you master full wraps. Here is a step by step guide:

Next, you will want to understand user origin and avoid the dreaded Y-SLOP Over error that plagues so many rotary engravers. This error occurs when the Y-axis of the laser machine reaches its maximum or minimum coordinate limit, causing the machine to stop and display an error. This error can have different names on different machines and is common when using a rotary attachment, as the machine doesn’t account for the infinite rotation of the object and tries to move beyond the physical limits of the laser bed. It is also called SLOP error, limit error, and simply SLOP. To fix it, move the Y-axis to a position closer to 0mm using the control panel’s arrow keys. Reset the starting position by pressing the “Origin” button. Here is our video explaining how to do this in LightBurn.

Next, you will want to achieve mastery and tackle your first full wrap design. A Full wrap is a popular style of engraving on a tumbler where the design wraps around the whole circumference of the tumbler. This could be a repeating pattern or not. They can be tricky to get perfect or “seamless” but are highly desired by customers. A high-end rotary is recommended for full wraps where you cannot see the seam. Here is a step by step video:

We hope you found these video tutorials useful on your laser engraving journey! Reach out to us with any questions using the help button on this page.