Universal, Epilog, or Trotec Rotary Device

[Grant Carson]

I work for a wholesale company in the gift industry. Our company has a Trotec Speedy 300 for an "all-around" laser. We do not currently have the rotary device for it. I don't have any complaints with this machine so far. We're looking at possibly purchasing another laser to handle all of our cylindrical products. The main products we're wanting to do right now are glass vases and drinkware. This laser would be dedicated to cylinderical products (always using the rotary device). I'm not trying to start a Chevy vs. Ford debate. I'm fairly familiar with the differences in the lasers themselves, but I didn't know if there were any major differences with the rotary devices. I'm hoping the members that have experience with the "big three" rotary devices can chime in with some pros and cons of each brand, or even their favorites. Thank you in advance

[Dennis Heskett]

We have both the Epilog and Trotec rotary devices. In my opinion only, the Trotec is much easier to use. It also does not experience slipping of the items. It is very heavy! I have never used a Universal so someone else will need to cover that.

Good Luck

[Gary Hair]

I have one with my Speedy 400 and had one on my GCC Explorer - the Trotec is way more substantial and better built but then again we are talking about a $18k machine vs a $40k machine. I really like the angle adjustment on the Trotec and how easy the software is to setup and run on it as well.

[Grant Carson]

Dennis and Gary, thank you both very much for the replies. I have read that the Trotec rotary devices are very well built. I'm glad you guys can back that up with experience.

[Steve Clarkson]

I literally cringe every time I plug in my Epilog rotary...…….

[Howard Garner]

With the Universal Rotary you "jam" the item between two cones. With this set up you can do a second pass with no problems.
There is not enough clearance to do cups, the handle gets in the way.
No experience with the other brands

Howard Garner
VL350

[donald bugansky]

I have the rotary device for the Trotec and I second the comments as it is built like a tank and is clearly worth every penny. If you orient the cup/glass piece properly, the handle does not get in the way.

It takes some getting used to how the graphic is laid out in Corel and what Trotec interprets ... but after a few tries ... you get it pretty fast.

[Bob Davis - Sturgis SD]

We’ve got the Trotec rotary. It spent the first two years in the crate because it looked kind of intimidating, then one day we were forced to use it and it only took watching one two minute video to get the hang of it. Now we can’t live without it and use it about a third of the time. We put a shelf right next to our laser for the rotary, it’s kinda heavy.

Bob

[Scott Shepherd]

We used our Universal for all rotary work because we didn't have the Trotec rotary. Then we got a Rotary for our Trotec last year. There are a couple of differences that are pretty major. The Universal has a physical clamp that you have to clamp and unclamp to hold the item. The Trotec has a spring loaded tailstock, so you clamp it in place, then you can easily change items because you don't have to unclamp and reclamp the new part. It takes about 3 seconds to remove and reload a new item. On the job front, the Universal is a little more complicated to line up with features. The Trotec makes that very easy because of the way the software works. It takes some getting used to but once you do, it's really easy. For instance, if you have something like a Yeti and you want to engrave relative to the logo, you can place your graphic where you want it and then move the red dot pointer until it lines up with a feature in the cup, like the Y in Yeti. Then when you replace the next cup, you just put it in and rotate the cup with your hand until it hit the corner of the Y and let it clamp the cup in there, hit start and it'll run it correctly. It makes alignment to features extremely easy.

[Mike Null]

I've only used the Trotec but it makes me a lot of money. Also dead on accurate repeatable.

[Trey Tull]

I have the universal rotary and I ended up making a bigger headstock and tailstock cone. The headstock cone it comes with is too small for a 30oz cup. The tailstock cone is also too small for the yeti lowball. Outside of that, I really like it. It’s dead nuts accurate on the second pass.

On my last laser, it had the epiloge style rotary and I could never get the 2nd pass to line up correctly. I would steer clear of that type.

[Grant Carson]

Again, thank you all very much for the feedback. Since we're already familiar with Trotec, it sounds like that would be our best option for adding a second machine with a rotary.

[Gary Hair]

Again, thank you all very much for the feedback. Since we're already familiar with Trotec, it sounds like that would be our best option for adding a second machine with a rotary.

I don't think anyone has ever regretted buying a second (or first) Trotec!

[Neville Stewart]

Another great feature besides being able to angle the part is to elevate the cones so large items can be rotated. Beer cooler in foreground.
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[Ian Stewart-Koster]

Universal rotary here. We made some adapters, and use golf balls and tennis balls to help hold what doesn't fit in the cones.
Once you learn the software, it's straightforward. You have to set up the plate in Corel as equal height to the circumference of the item being rotated.