Turn an STL or STEP into simultaneous 4-axis rotary G-code — without an expensive CAM subscription. A from-scratch CAM program for hobby machinists with a rotary (4th) axis, running grblHAL · GRBL · LinuxCNC. Free Community Edition for Windows.
Lay a model in the chuck and get continuous simultaneous X+C+Z roughing and finishing toolpaths, wrapped rotary engraving, and flat 2D engraving — with a 3D backplot and a material-removal simulation so you can verify the program before you ever cut.
⚠️ EXPERIMENTAL — read this before you cut. RotatoCAM only writes a G-code file; it does not run your machine, and its output is only a suggestion you must verify. CNC mills, lasers and plasma cutters are dangerous. You alone are responsible for inspecting every program, air-cutting first, and operating safely. Provided AS-IS, with no warranty.
- Free Community Edition — grab the portable Windows zip from Releases (unzip and run, no install, no admin rights), or from https://rotatocam.com/
- RotatoCAM Pro — all strategies + conversational (no-CAD) programming + a built-in 4-axis G-code viewer (RotatoVIEW): https://rotatocam.com/
New to rotary CAM? A quick How-To (load → pick a strategy → Generate → Simulate → Export) lives at https://rotatocam.com/#how-to and in the app under Help → Getting started. Bundled example projects (fluted columns, a camshaft, engraving) open from Help → Open example projects….
- Simultaneous 4-axis rotary surfacing — spiral finishing + radial roughing straight from an STL or STEP solid, around the C axis
- Wrapped rotary engraving — system-font text or DXF/SVG wrapped onto a round bar with a real V-bit profile
- Flat 2D engraving — multi-line text and drawings on a plane
- STL & STEP/STP import — load meshes or CAD solids directly (solids are tessellated and scaled to mm)
- Verify before iron — 3D backplot, a feed/units check, and a deviation-colored material-removal simulator with a machining-time estimate
- Posts: grblHAL, GRBL (3018 / 3040), LinuxCNC · mm / inch output
- Portable — Python and every dependency bundled; nothing to install
| Community Edition — Free | Pro — $49 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free forever | Pay once per major version (no subscription) |
| Strategies | 4-axis finish (spiral) · 4-axis rough (radial) · flat 2D engrave · wrap engrave | Everything in CE, plus raster + axial/flow finishing, helical roughing, 3+1 indexed surfacing, pencil cleanup, V-carve, the full conversational suite, adaptive roughing, and laser/plasma 2D cutting |
| Safety + setup workflow, backplot, simulation | ✓ | ✓ |
The free edition is genuinely useful on its own — take a rotary part from model to verified G-code. Pro unlocks the deep toolbox: https://rotatocam.com/
64-bit Windows 10/11 · 4-core CPU · 8 GB RAM · a GPU with OpenGL 3.2+ (integrated is fine) · ~2 GB disk.
RotatoCAM Community Edition is free to download and use (closed-source freeware). The full terms are shown in the app under Help → About and ship with the download.
Website · downloads · Pro: https://rotatocam.com/ · Contact: therealrevjmoney@gmail.com Built in Myrtle Beach by Rev. J. Money.