To all that have the Rotary module, is it worth the price? What have you made with it? I am thinking of using the rotary module to laser etch some water bottles for my family, but the price is kind of steep just to engrave a dozen bottles.
I’m currently using the SM2.0 a350.
Wow, that’s awesome, do you manually rotate it when it laser etches the bottle? I’m assuming the rotation is needed to ensure focal length is consistent.
No.
I am adding this sentence so there are at least 20 characters.
If you are interested in learning the basics of 4th axis cnc CAM its worth it. It works well with fusion 360 and the skill set directly translates to bigger machines if you are interested in getting into that in the future.
If CAM doesn’t interest you and you mainly want to mark round projects, I would look into 3d printing a vinyl cutter mod for your machine or buying a standalone unit. Then you can mark all kinds of things and it’s not as permanent or expensive. 
Definitely not worth it just for laser.
You can get just as good results with some of the designs like @brent113 shared.
For cnc it is expensive, but it’s not like there’s an alternative out there that’s any cheaper.
Biggest drawback is you’re forced to use Luban, or pay for Fusion 360 as 4th axis is no longer supported with the free version.
-S
I actually use Vectric Aspire for my CNC, and they have a rotary module for the software as well. I’ve dabbled with fusion 360, and to me it isn’t as intuitive as “Aspire”. Funny you mentioned a vinyl cutter, I too have a Gerber vinyl plotter, but think the laser etch is more permanent on the water bottles.
If someone is wondering if the Rotary Module is worth the price, I doubt they’re going to want to shell out more than they spent on their SM for Aspire. $2k is a bit steep.
And it’s pc only.
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I particularly like @smhoover 's answer and it describes my setup/situation. My lab/shop space is very limited, so I’m willing to trade-off cost and capability for pouring more functionality into the SM2.0 A350. The rotary module is expensive, but it does let me get into 4th axis CAM and the build quality is high. The workspeeds can be painfully slow but I’ve been impressed with the results. Hard and soft woods work just fine, sculpture block works great. I haven’t tried teflon on the rotary module, but I have CNC’d flat pieces on the SM2 (so I’d expect it’d work well). For most of the things I’ve done, Luban has worked fine and Luban has been getting better over time. I haven’t tried the toolpath generation in FreeCAD with the 4th axis, but that’s where I’ll turn to if Luban falls short.
If I only wanted to laser etch tubular things, I’d probably DIY my own module (or use the DIY module posted in this thread).
This Aspire software “sounds” like it has a lot of good things I would use
Do you have this software? I am curious about the nesting features - are you able to define borders on the sheet and part and assign rotation degrees?
Does it have a slicer for 3d printing? i see the term slicer on there but may be something else.
Is it nicer than fusion360 for modeling?
Yes, it has all those features, and is well worth the price, IF you actually own standalone CNC machines, otherwise it’s overkill for just the Snapmaker.
It does state “Slicer” but that is not what they are referring to. When they say Slicer, it means it has the ability to cut 3D models into parts to make CNC 2.5D Reliefs. You can also use the 3D model without slicing it and use it for rotary.
No, Aspire’s modeling tools are specifically intended for CNC, it is not a proper CAD for modeling, but as far as CNC goes, it is far more capable than fusion will ever be and Aspire’s CAD is far more capable… for CNC. Fusion does not have the CAD capability Aspire does for CNC. Also Aspire has laser, I don’t think fusion does but I could be wrong.
Source: I own Vectric Aspire.