Making panels, carving text

I’m new here and just got my new Shapeoko 4XL up ad running. I started last year with a cheap 4030 Sainsmart and I liked it so much that I decided to get a real CNC. What I am making is simple stuff like panels for flight simulation"


The cuts are simple but I am looking for some suggestions for the lines and text. It is just a 3 mm acrilyc that I have painted and with a Vbit I carve the text and lines. Anyone that has done this before and give me some suggestions of what bit to use and lettertype that works on the Shapeoko?

I will start to experiment with different bits and settings but maybe someone has done this before… The text on the buttons (3D printed) was done with a laser cutter by someone else, it might be a bit too small for the Shapeoko to carve…

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What angle V endmill are you using?

Regular or Advanced V carving?

I haven’t done this on the Shapeoko, stuff like this was made on a small cheap SainSmart cnc. I used a 1/8" 30 degrees V-bit. I haven’t tried anything like this on my Shapeoko yet so I don’t have a clue what settings to use…

Hi @Jaap,

Whichever settings were working for you on the SainSmart CNC + associated tool, will work as is on the Shapeoko as a starting point (because the cutting edge of the tool does not care which machine moves it around :smiley: ), but the difference will be that you will then be able to cut faster/deeper with the Shapeoko of course, and the precision will also likely be better.

There are many threads on the forum about cutting acrylic (tl;dr: use single flute cutters and feed fast), and a few on v-carving acrylic, here’s one where we discussed settings:

With a 1/8" 30° vbit you will need to dial down the depth and feedrate (again, what you were using with your previous CNC should be a safe starting point)

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These (picture below) were the settings I have used with my old (and first) cheap SainSmart cnc. I’m gonna try the same thing on my new Shapeoko this week, curious about the results…

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It’s a matter of trial and (lots of) error for me, what I do is keep notes of all my screw-ups (excuse me my language), settings, results etc. etc. This is the best way to learn for me. Also watching youtube videos from other Carbide Create users…