Redsail Clone needs help with chuck style Rotary (rdworks v8.01.24)

[Pieter Swart]

Good morning Folks,

The help from this forum and its users have been absolutely invaluable. I appreciate every morsel that comes from it!

I have another question, I did google and come up with some answers however I am not sure how to apply it to my situation.


Being relatively handy ( still dumb as dog Sh++),While the machine was in the off position ( unplugged ), I hooked up my rotary to the nifty little plug under my table. Had to lower the table enough to fit the rotary, of course.

Turned the machine on... now according to all logic and the write-ups and instructions, the rotary should work...

Nothing... so I start to trouble shoot and trace wires...

Turns out, that airplane plug runs to another plug which is not connected to the y-axis controller...

Off goes the machine...

Unplug the y-axis wiring and replace with the wiring for the Rotary and follow the procedure.

Now the rotary spins! YES! but too fast...

so I fiddle with the new software ( 8.01.24 ) and I finally come across the turn on rotary... Yes.

Still spinning to fast.



Aside from the math of C= 2x Pie blah blah...

I need to set a stepper parameter...

Here is the question. in RDWorks... what is the parameter for a chuck style rotary?

how do I figure that and where do I put the result?


If I have to I will uninstall the version 24 and go back to the 19, if this needs to happen

[Jeff Body]

Under the user tab all the way toward the bottom.

With the rotary plugged in and the laser on and connected.

Go to the user tab and hit "Read" This will Read the laser config from it's controller. Now you want to turn on the rotary (Drop down to "YES") and click Write. This will tell the laser the rotary is plugged in.

Now to config the rotary -

Measure the object and put in the circumference (Or diameter, I don't remember which it asks for) and don't forget to click "Write" it to the laser.

From here it's trial and error with the circle pulse. Make a 25mmx25mm box and cut it onto the object.

Adjust the circle pulse until you get a 25mmx25mm box on the object. I normally cut a piece of paper into a 25mmx25mm square so I can wrap it around the object and use that as a gauge.

Once you nail the circle pulse you're set. When you want to use the rotary you turn in ON in the software by "Writing" ON under the user tap and adjusting the circumference.


Just remember you have to READ and WRITE to the laser's controller to make any changes.

[Doug Fisher]

If you have the classic ebay chuck rotary sold for the ebay red and black laser, very likely 15,000 = the number to put in the “circle pulse” setting in RDWorks. Other rotaries will require different numbers (see below).

Remember that you have to change the diameter every time you put in a new item to scan with a different diameter (and then "write" that new data up to the laser). Also, when you are done rotary scanning you have to change the rotary setting off and again re-write the file up to the laser.

Here is how the calculation was done:

Rotary's stepper motor’s gear = 24 teeth
Chuck’s gear = 72 teeth
Setting on found on the microstepper controller = 5000
72/24=3
3*5,000=15,000
15,000 = the number to put in the “circle pulse” setting in RDWorks

[Pieter Swart]

Thank you Guys!

I really appreciate your guidance! ( this is one of those things not covered in the extensive in-depth eBay manual...lol)

Now its off to play and learn!

Thanks again!

[John Lifer]

One other tidbit, under the rotary section is a button called test.

Once rotary is plugged in, machine on, and you've turned on rotary in this menu, click on test, change value to 5 from the default 50 and the rotary will so down when you frame it or adjust position with y axis buttons it doesn't throw your workpiec off.. if you turn machin3 off, you must reset test again. Software doesn't save (at least thru version .19>