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Price range: $110.00 through $720.00
The Vortex Rotary Axis is a plug-and-play system to enable rotary axis capability on your LongMill or AltMill CNC. Designed in-house, it’s a compact and precise add-on that directly integrates with gSender, our machine interface software.
This product will ship in its own carton, separate from the LongMill and AltMill.
⚠️ Please scroll down and read the Description below to ensure you purchase the correct system for your CNC.
The Vortex Rotary Axis is an exciting plug-and-play rotary axis system for the AltMill and LongMill.
***Please read the following carefully to ensure compatibility with your machine and controller.***
Each system comes with:
| Weight | 19.4 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 33 × 6 × 5 in |
| Variation | 30" Rail with Open Loop, 48" Rail with Open Loop, 30" Rail with Close Loop, 48" Rail with Close Loop, Upgrade to Close Loop |
Please review the compatibility chart in the product Description, and ensure you purchase the correct Vortex variation for your AltMill or LongMill, or any other CNC machine.
What is the difference between the 48″ and the 30″ versions?
These numbers describe the track length for the rotary axis. Customers should purchase the size that matches the working width of their LongMill.
What is the cutting volume?
| Configuration | Max Stock Diameter | Max Stock Length |
| 30” Rail Kit | 101.6mm / 4” | 558.8mm / 22” |
| 48” Rail Kit | 1016mm / 40” |
Note that cutting volume will also depend on your table setup and you may have to modify your table setup to accommodate large pieces of material.
Which machines is the Rotary Axis compatible with?
The Vortex Rotary Axis is designed to be compatible with the AltMill and all versions of the LongMill, with the exception of the LongMill MK1 12×12, due to the track width (however it can be modified to work). Please refer to the chart in the product Description for more info about compatibility. Although users may be able to integrate the Vortex Rotary Axis into other hobby CNC machines, we will only guarantee compatibility and support for AltMill and LongMill users at this time. For more information about machine clearance, CAD models will be published in the future in our resources.
How is the Rotary Axis driven?
In the current configuration, the Vortex uses the X-axis and Z-axis to move along the rotational axis of the material, with the Y-axis drivers disconnected and reconnected to the Vortex Rotary Axis motor to provide rotational movement. This means that in this configuration, the system is not a full 4-axis machine, but more of a 2-axis + rotary system. Each kit will come with a switch to toggle 3-axis and rotary-axis modes.
Can I do simultaneous 4th axis machining with the Vortex?
In the future, we are planning to provide full simultaneous 4th-axis motion through the SuperLongBoard.
Does the Rotary Axis come with software?
We’ve implemented gSender to integrate the ability to control, set up, and home the Vortex Rotary Axis. Users will need to use or purchase CAM software that supports rotary carving. We recommend VCarve Desktop or VCarve Pro, as this is the software that we primarily use and do testing on.
This product comes with our standard 60-day warranty. Learn more.
Just like all our products, the Vortex Rotary Axis comes with high-quality tutorials, support, and resources to make it easy to install, learn, and use your rotary axis.
Check out these videos to learn more.
| 5 star | 65% | |
| 4 star | 17% | |
| 3 star | 10% | |
| 2 star | 2% | |
| 1 star | 4% |
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Karen Jeanson (verified owner) –
Works well but due to the limited height of the Z the diameter on top of the bed it is limited. Will need to be pulling the bed off if I get future larger projects. I would be interested in purchasing the taller gantry plates and gussets as used on the 4X8 machine to help solve this issue.
Stephen Singh (verified owner) –
I use this mostly for indexing. Its great.
Kimsey Pollard (verified owner) –
need to make a list of all the settings that need to be changed/or confirmed when switching to and from rotary
Alex Hough (verified owner) –
The Vortex was fairly easy to setup following the online videos. The setup was broken up into several videos for that you had to watch in succession to put the latest model together, but they ultimately the videos had all the information available that you’ll need. I was able to run the setup operations within GSender once I had the hardware put together, and it works great.
I haven’t gotten to use this as much as I would have liked too since I’m going to need to purchase fusion 360 extensions or VCarve to start making my own designs, but I’ll eventually get around to it.
Stephen Coffee (verified owner) –
Excited to use!
Marc H. (verified owner) –
I have assembled the vortex but as of yet have not used it. The quality lock to be top notch and was easy to assemble. Look forward to learning to design in true 3d. I wanted to say I have the altmill 4×4 and that machine is simply amazing so I look forward to this in combination.
Wayne W. (verified owner) –
I have used the vortex rotary and love it if you are thinking about getting one I highly recommend it. It is great
Carman Tufts (verified owner) –
The assembly process was very easy and straightforward. I was still enjoying making signs,cribbage boards and 3D projects but was very interested in trying rotary projects. I’m currently working on a chessman set that is going very well so far. I’m 70 years old and have hundreds of hours making projects that keep me busy. The Longmill has worked perfectly and the backlash on all axis is still 0. I think the spring loaded nuts are working great and when worn would be very inexpensive and easy to replace. The MK 2.5 I purchased less than a year ago made retirement very rewarding. Thanks everyone at Sienci Labs