shark cnc pro leveling assistance

[Shelby40]

I am not sure where to post this.

I have a shark cnc pro. I am cutting mostly all words, fonts, etc.
When cutting deeper fonts like Verdana Bold or Impact its great, the problem is when cutting smaller fonts.

For example when cutting a font like times new roman, some of the letters dont get cut all the way. This only happens on the far right or left of the board. The middle always cuts great no matter what font is used. I started to think the problem was the base plate was not level. I was correct, and I have since replaced the base plate and was assured this would work.

After some tests runs, same problem, small fonts or linework does not get cut at same depth on the left and right of the board, where the middle of the board gets cut fine. Also like before, bigger deeper fonts like verdana bold cut great and even all the way across.

I must be doing something wrong or do not have my table leveled right, can someone please assist and point me in the direction as I don't know what I have done wrong. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help!

Thank you!

[ger21]

You need to surface the table flat using the machine. Put the biggest router bit you have, and take a small amount off the surface. You may need to add a spoilboard and surface that, as I'm not sure what the table is made of on the Shark.

[FredJ608]

Is your engraving stock the same thickness all over? I've found that a very slight taper from one side or one corner to another can cause engraving problems with fonts that have variable thickness letter-strokes. I had to cut 140 nameplates in walnut with Palatino font, using a 60-degree V-bit. Even 1/64" difference in thickness could cause problems. I finally measured all blanks with a micrometer and rejected those with more than 0.010" variation. Then things came out OK, not perfect unless the thickness was uniform, but OK from a visual point of view.
Next, do you distort the blank when you clamp it to the worktable? Again, it won't take much pressure to cause the top surface not to be flat if your blank can flex against the worktable. Good luck.....