Engraving Issues When Intricately Detailed Art is Used

I am having issues finding the proper settings for a carve/engraving. The shallower I set the carve the longer it takes. On the other side, when I set it deeper, I end up with multiple depths of carving. I’m new to the CNC world as you can probably see. I am attempting to engrave sheet music onto maple plywood. I’ve tried everything I can dream up, messing with speeds, depths and V bits (30-60-90 degree). Depending on what i use, the carve time is anywhere from 3.5 hrs to 15 hrs. The 90 degree bit is pointless as it makes the thing blurry. The 60 degree is almost there but still not what i would like to see. The 30 degree gets there but will take forever. Is there anything I can do? Has anyone done something like this? What are the best settings?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

A laser :wink:

That kind of detail require a fine angle bit => long carve time.
The settings will depend a lot on the variables of your wood, bit and machine - I would simply do a small scale test run with various RPM/feed settings and see what gave the better results.

Thanks for your help. I’ve got it running now on the 5th attempt. Will see how it turns out. What bit would you recommend? We’ve actually been looking into one of the lasers that attach to the spindle housing. Not sure we’re quite ready for that addition yet as my brain is already swimming… :grimacing: