Rotary

Job Editor ▸ Tools flyout ▸ Rotary · any machine with a rotary attachment

What it does

The Rotary panel opens a dock on the left of the Job Editor so you can set up a tumbler or mug and watch it in 3D at the same time — your artwork wrapped around the cup, updating as you edit. It is the one place for rotary work: turn rotary on, choose the attachment and the object's size, and, for a tapered mug, see the artwork corrected the way it will actually engrave.

Because it is a dock and not a separate screen, the cup stays on-screen while you move and size your art — you never lose the picture of what lands on the object.

The controls

• Rotary Mode — the switch that turns rotary on for this job. Off, the panel just shows the switch. On, it burns with the rotary attachment's compensation applied.
• Profile — which rotary attachment you are using (rim-drive or 3-jaw chuck). Manage the list from Manage rotary profiles, which opens the Machines screen.
• Bottom Ø — the diameter at the driven (bottom) end of the object, where the roller or chuck grips. This is the number the rotary uses to work out how far the surface moves per turn.
• Top Ø — the diameter at the other end. Set it different from Bottom Ø for a tapered mug: the 3D cup goes cone-shaped and the artwork is pre-distorted so a straight logo reads straight on the slanted wall. Leave it equal (or press Straight) for a plain cylinder.
• Straight — resets the taper: sets the top diameter back to the bottom so the cup is a plain cylinder again.

The 3D cup

The cup shows the same wrap ALPS sends the machine — the artwork positioned and, on a taper, corrected exactly as it will engrave. Drag to rotate the view. It is a preview of what the software sends, not a photograph of a finished burn: no rotary job has been measured against a captured file yet, so treat the wrap orientation as a sensible assumption rather than a guarantee.

Where to go next

• Manage rotary profiles — add or edit rotary attachments (Machines ▸ Rotary).
• Tumbler wizard — a guided flow that starts a new tumbler job from scratch (page sized to the object), rather than fitting rotary onto the job you already have open.