Can I use the rotary axis as an indexer to machine flats, a square or a hexagon?

What the software does and does not do

A rotary job is a wrapping job. The flat toolpath is rolled around the cylinder, and one linear axis is swapped for rotation. The official documentation is direct about the limit: the software does not support 4-axis machining. The tool always stays above the rotation axis and cannot shift sideways in the wrapped direction.

That means there is no built-in indexing mode. There is no toolpath that says "turn to this angle, hold, then machine a flat face with normal XY moves".

Option 1: model the faceted shape and wrap it (Aspire)

The official guide builds a hexagonal column this way:

1. Create the rotary job with Z zero on the cylinder axis. The cross-section must fit inside the blank (a 6 inch blank allows a 3 inch radius).
2. Draw the cross-section with Draw Polygon.
3. Run the Vector Unwrapper on it, then use Two Rail Sweep with the rails it creates.
4. In Material Setup make sure Gap Inside Model reads 0. Otherwise the diameter is wrong and the corners come out rounded.
5. Cut with 3D Roughing and 3D Finishing toolpaths.

The flats are produced by a ball nose following the surface while the part turns, so expect a finish-pass surface, not a milled face.

Option 2: index by hand, one flat job per face (shop workaround, not a documented software workflow)

Treat each face as an ordinary single-sided job. Rotate the blank to the angle with your controller's own move command for the rotary axis, run the flat file, rotate again, and repeat. The software does not write the rotation for you, and each face file is saved with your normal non-wrapping post-processor. Z zero for those files must match how each flat job was set up.

Pro tips

• Imported models have the same limit. If the rotation axis sits outside the model, the tool meets the surface at the wrong angle and can collide with stock. Keep the red axis line inside the model when orienting.
• Concave cross-sections only work if a straight line from the center crosses the outline once.
• For a twisted or changing cross-section, see the entries on the Vector Unwrapper and on advanced rotary modeling.