5 Best Laser Engravers with Rotary Attachments in 2023

With so many different options out there, it can be tricky to be sure of the best laser engraver and rotary attachment combo for you.

You’ll want something with enough 4-axis functionality to cover your projects, without overspending on features you don’t need.

For most users, I’d recommend the xTool D1 Pro + RA2 Rotary Add-on as the top pick for most users due to its power, precision, and superior rotary attachment. It offers professional features in a durable, quality-built device, justifying its higher price.

Alternatively, budget-conscious users might prefer the Ortur Laser Master 2 Pro + Ortur Laser Rotary Roller, or Atomstack A5 Pro + Atomstack R3 Rotary Roller. They’re both user-friendly and offer precise and speedy engraving that represents great value for money.

If you’re looking for a CO2 laser for rotary engraving, I recommend the xTool P2 and RA2 rotary. It’s the best desktop CO2 laser right now in my opinion, with 55W power, 600mm/s engraving speeds, and batch processing features for small businesses.

In this article, I’ll share my hands-on experience with the most popular laser and rotary roller combos. I’ll explain how they work, what you can do with them, and all the important factors you need to consider before making a buying a rotary and laser engraver combo.

The Best Lasers and Rotary Attachments

1. xTool D1 Pro + RA2 Rotary Add-on

• Price: $699 — Available at xTool here
• RA2 rotary: $299 — Available at xTool here
• Work area: 432 x 406 mm
• Laser power: 10W (5W, 20W and 40W also available)

Built with a sturdy metal frame and with high-quality steel parts for the smoothest laser movement, the xTool D1 Pro is one of the best lasers with a rotary add-on for under $1000 total, with mid-range professional features and accuracy in a lower-priced diode laser.

Not only is it a powerful and accurate laser, but xTool also offer one of the best-quality rotary attachments around. Rather than the roller style that Ortur offer, xTool sell a chuck rotary add-on that grips your material better for turning and engraving.

I own both the xTool D1 Pro 20W, and the Ortur LM3, and have hands-on experience with both the YRR 2.0 with the Ortur, and the RA2 Pro rotary with the xTool D1 Pro.

The downside is that the RA2 is more expensive than Ortur’s YRR 2.0 roller by about $200. But, the RA2 Pro rotary is better quality, more versatile, and easier to assemble.

The different tools mean you can engrave glasses by holding the thin neck of the glass, spheres like baubles, mugs, beakers, tumblers and more.

Overall, the xTool D1 Pro is my top picks for a diode laser and rotary.

Other variations available include:

• xTool D1 5W — Available at xTool store here
• xTool D1 20W — Available at xTool store here

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2. Ortur Laser Master 3 + Ortur Laser Rotary Roller

• Price: around $500 — Available at Ortur here / Available on Amazon here
• Ortur Rotary Roller: $129 — Available at Ortur here / Available on Amazon here
• Work Area: 400 x 400 mm
• Laser Power: 10W

Another great option if you’re looking for a laser engraver with rotary attachment is the Ortur Laser Master 3 with the Ortur Laser Rotary Roller. 

You can use this rotary roller with Ortur’s cheaper models like the original Laser Master and Laser Master 2 Pro. But, having tested the Laser Master 2, the Laser Master 2 Pro, and the Laser Master 3, I think the Laser Master 3 is by far the best.

It uses a 0.08×0.15mm light spot, which is smaller than the 0.23×0.23mm that’s standard for many similarly priced machines, resulting in higher accuracy and the ability to easily cut thicker materials. For example, it can cut 3mm plywood and 6mm pine board with no issues whatsoever.

The rotary is the cheapest of my rotaries. The YRR 2.0 roller costs under $100, whereas the RA2 Pro from xTool cost $280, and the Snapmaker rotary cost over $500.

It is more basic, and takes longer to assemble, but if you’re on a budget then it is perfect for you.

It’s also a really secure machine, and one of the safest laser engravers on the market. It has an automatic stop function that kicks in if the machine is knocked, if the transmission fails, or if the motor hasn’t moved for a while, helping keep you, your machine and your workpiece safe.

There’s also an emergency stop button you can use to manually halt working, and the upgraded 24V circuit system means it packs high power into a lower current for increased safety.

Another great thing about the Laser Master 3 is the modular design that makes it really simple to assemble, even if it’s your first time building a laser engraving machine. It took me around 30 minutes to build the laser, and around 45 minutes to assemble the rotary YRR 2.0 roller.

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xTool F1 – best portable laser engraver with rotary attachment 

• Price: Check latest price at xTool here / At Amazon here
• RA2 Rotary Attachment – Check latest Price at xTool here / At Amazon here
• Working area size: 115x115mm
• Laser power: 10W & 2W
• Laser type: diode and infrared 
• Weight: 4.6kg
• Engravable materials: wood, acrylic, leather, rubber, card, plastic, glass, stone, ceramic metals

Weighing just 4.6kg and with a compact 115x115mm working area, the xTool F1 is a light and portable alternative to heavy desktop engravers. 

Despite its small size, it engraves at speeds of up to 4,000 mm/s, so you can create custom projects at trade shows in just seconds.

One of the highlights is its versatility: it has both a 10W diode laser alongside a 2W infrared module. 

This lets you engrave virtually any material, from wood, acrylic, glass, and leather with the diode laser, to slate and metal with the infrared one.

The rotary module for this laser is the RA2 Pro, which costs $287 and is also compatible with my other xTool lasers like the P2, S1, and D1 Pro. It’s an impressive bit of kit, supporting objects from 0-100mm in diameter.

In fact, xTool claims it’s the world’s first 4-in-1 laser rotary attachment, as it boasts roller, chuck, sphere, and ring rotary modules, so you can use it on everything from glasses to Christmas baubles and jewelry.

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3. Atomstack A5 Pro + Atomstack R3 Rotary Roller

• Atomstack A5 price: $339 — Available on Amazon here
• Atomstack R3 Roller: $139 — Available on Amazon here
• Work Area: 410 x 400 mm
• Laser Power: 5W-5.5W

Atomstack A5 Pro

The Atomstack A5 Pro is a popular laser engraver that can be upgraded to 4th axis functionality with the Atomstack R3 Rotary Laser Roller.

This machine is one of the best out there in terms of value for money. For starters, it’s really well built with an all-metal structure and anodized coating, so it’s extremely sturdy, robust, and durable, offering precise engraving and long tool life.

The fixed focus laser means you don’t need to manually adjust it, improving consistency by reducing human error. It uses an ultra-fine compression laser, which allows you to accurately carve a variety of materials, including stainless steel and ceramic.

The Atomstack A5 Pro is also a very safe machine that’s ideal for hobbyists, with a protective cover that filters 97% of the UV light, meaning you don’t need to wear goggles while engraving.

Atomstack R3 Rotary Laser Roller

The Atomstack R3 Rotary Laser Roller is similarly impressive and is really simple to use, as it comes pre-installed so you can get started right away after unpacking.

There are eight angle adjustment options and you can choose from a wide range of engraving diameter sizes, from 4mm to 100mm, so it’s a really versatile attachment suitable for a wide variety of different projects. 

It’s also very well made, with a closed design in which the motor is not exposed, so it’s safe even for beginners to use. The all-metal structure makes it very stable and durable, while the coaxial design means there’s no need to adjust the belt, improving accuracy.

Another benefit of going for this laser engraver with rotary attachment is the large 410x400mm working area, which provides plenty of room for working with larger cylindrical objects.

The Atomstack R3 rotary attachment is also somewhat of a universal laser engraver rotary attachment as it can be used with machines from several other manufacturers. These include popular laser engravers such as:

• Neje Master 2
• Two Trees TT-5.5S

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4. Snapmaker 2.0 A350T + Snapmaker 2.0 Rotary Laser Engraver Bundle 

• Price: from $1,849 — Available at Snapmaker store here / Available on Amazon here
• Rotary module add-on: $649 — Available at Snapmaker store here / Available on Amazon here
• Work Area: 320 × 350 × 330 mm
• Laser Power: 1.6W

Snapmaker 2.0 A250 or A350

The Snapmaker 2.0 with its rotary bundle package is more expensive than other optoins like the xTool or Ortur, but it’s fantastic laser engraver with rotary attachment that offers very high engraving quality.

This machine is one of the most unique on the market, as it’s in fact a 3-in-1 3D printer, CNC router, and laser engraver.

I personally own the Snapmaker 2.0 A350 and the 4-axis rotary module, and I found it very easy to use. The autofocus feature automatically selects the optimal laser height, and the camera capture automatically takes a photo of your workpiece and uploads it to Snapmaker Luban so you can inspect where your design will go.

Snapmaker 4-Axis Rotary Module

The Snapmaker rotary module is one of the best I’ve owned. It has a 100:1 speed reducer that converts the power to a lower output speed, allowing the 3-jaw chuck to rotate with a  0.1° minimum angle. This means you can work on uneven surfaces with better accuracy.

It offers very fast rotary sculpting, thanks to the precise 360° continuous rotation with a maximum angular speed of 45° per second. You can easily adjust the rotation precision control between 0.2, 1, and 5° on the touchscreen control panel. 

The rotary laser engraver module applies to both the CNC carving and laser engraving functions of the Snapmaker 2.0, so you can easily work on 3D projects using both methods within a single tool.

It only takes a few minutes and four screws to change from the laser to the CNC toolhead, for example. And as well as using the laser with the rotary, you can also use the CNC cutter to cut accurate 3D pieces such as these that I made:

Snapmaker’s Luban CAD and CAM software is well suited to 4-axis functionality, with 4-axis linkage support that allows each axis to move simultaneously for full control.

There are two different versions of the Snapmaker 2.0 – the price we’ve quoted is for the A350 which offers the largest build volume of 320x350x300mm. You can save around $300 by going for the smaller A250 with a build volume of 230x250x235mm. You can read my full in-depth review by clicking the Snapmaker 2.0 with 4-axis rotary module review.

5. xTool P2 + RA2 Pro Rotary – Best CO2 Laser Rotary Combo

• Price: Check price at xTool here
• Rotary: RA2 rotary available here for $279
• Working area: 600 x 308 mm
• Laser type: CO2
• Power: 55W

If you have the budget, the xTool P2 CO2 laser paired with the RA2 Pro rotary attachment is one of the best combos you can get.

You’ll need the riser base attachment too, as by default the xTool P2 has 2.5” max height, with the riser base increasing this to 8.5”, as well as allowing for long material sheets to be passed through the machine.

I personally bought the xTool P2 as well as the riser base and automatic conveyor feeder attachments (I already had the rotary from my xTool D1 Pro, and xTool F1). I think it’s the best desktop CO2 laser on the market right now, and is ideal for powerful rotary engraving on glasses, metal flasks and beakers, and much more.

The 55W xTool P2 is more powerful than other desktop CO2 lasers like the Glowforge Pro (which can’t rotary engrave), OMTech Polar, and Gweike Cloud Pro, and it’s also the fastest at 600mm/s max engraving speeds.

While the build volume doesn’t matter too much if you’re only etching smaller objects like glasses, mugs, tumblers, bottles, and flashlights, the 24” x 12” working area is still great for any larger project cutting or engraving.

Beyond cylindrical engraving, the dual 16MP cameras have depth sensing capabilities, and so if you have curved surfaces, such as a wooden spoon, or a bowl, you can engrave on these without a rotary at all!

For example, I tested this on a couple of wooden spoons I had. The xTool P2’s cameras scanned the surface, created a 3D mesh, and then laser engraved the design based on the different heights in the curved spoon so the design was not distorted.

This is an absolute game-changer for me and the projects I want to sell. It’s amazing! Here’s how the spoon tests I tried came out:

For more info on how this works, here’s a video I made on this:

Overall, the xTool P2 and RA2 rotary accessory is the best laser rotary combo if you have the $4,000+ for this. But, if not, the xTool D1 Pro is great as a diode rotary laser kit that I also have (the RA2 works on the D1 Pro, xTool F1, and P2).

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What is a Laser Engraver with Rotary Attachment?

A standard hobbyist laser engraver comes with 3 axes – the X, Y, and Z axes. These enable the laser to move left-to-right, front-to-back, and up-and-down, respectively. This is fine if you’re working on flat 2D pieces of material — such as wall decorations or signs — but if you want to work in 3D with 360-degree functionality, you need a 4th axis.

You can engrave in 4 axes by adding a rotary roller attachment to your machine. This adds a rotational movement around the Y-axis, meaning it essentially operates in the same way as a CNC lathe. The 4th axis means you can laser engrave tumblers, glasses, mugs, bottles, vases, and other cylinder items, vastly increasing the range of projects you can work on.

The best rotary rollers are adjustable, so you can quickly and easily engrave differently sized objects at different angles. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a small business owner, the right module can be a valuable addition to your laser engraving setup.

Buying a Rotary Attachment Module for your Laser Engraver

So, how do you go about finding the right laser engraver with rotary attachment for you?

Firstly, it’s important to know that while there are laser engravers that come complete with 4 axis functionality, these are generally more expensive, professional machines. Most budget laser engravers come with 3 axes as standard and are compatible with 4th axis rotary attachments that are sold separately.

Some manufacturers have rotary attachments designed specifically to fit their own machines. However, many rotary rollers are compatible with a variety of machines from different manufacturers, so there’s no reason you can’t mix and match so long as you do your research.

So, firstly you need to find a high-quality laser engraver, considering the usual aspects like laser quality and spot size, safety features, engraving speed, durability, usability, working area, and so on. 

In terms of the rotary laser engraver module, you should look at factors like the number of angle adjustments, the diameter adjustment options, and durability. You should also consider how easy it is to set up and use, especially if you’re a beginner, as while the best laser engraver rotary attachments come preassembled, others don’t.