Engraved tumblers are one of the most popular products for diode laser sellers. The laser removes the powder coat and reveals bright stainless steel underneath. It looks premium and personalizes easily.

What you need

Powder-coated stainless tumblers. Plain colours from blank suppliers are easiest.
A rotary attachment that fits your machine.
A riser kit on many open-frame machines, so the rotary and tumbler fit under the laser.
Safety glasses: steel reflects once the coating is gone.
Isopropyl alcohol or a cleaning spray.

Steps

Set up the rotary. Follow your machine’s instructions, then enable rotary mode in the software and enter the object diameter.
Level the tumbler. Tapered tumblers sit at an angle. Raise the narrow end so the engraving surface is level.
Focus on the top of the tumbler where the design will go.
Frame to check the design wraps where you expect.
Engrave. Keep the design within a band that stays flat to the laser, because the surface curves away at the edges and goes out of focus.
Clean the residue with alcohol. Some coatings leave a light haze that wipes off.

Settings

Coating removal needs high power and a fine line interval. See tumbler settings, for example on the xTool D1 Pro or Creality Falcon 2. Run a test on the bottom of a spare tumbler first, as coatings vary by supplier.

Common problems

Design stretched or squashed: the diameter in rotary settings is wrong.
Faint edges: design too tall for the curve; reduce height or focus at the centre.
Coating not fully removed: add a second pass rather than slowing down a lot.