I watch CNC videos all the time on on youtube (example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwItHS_2zck). Most of them can cut 1/2’’ in what seems to me 4 or 5 passes while my machine would take 10+. I have the Dewalt 611 router and i dont know if i am just overly cautious but the deepest i have went has been .07 with a 120 ipm feed rate on MDF. Is our machine capable of something like this or can anyone give me an idea what i need to do so i can.
The X-Carve is a great machine for the price, but it does not have the strength or rigidity to make deep cuts. If you tried a deep cut in one pass it would most likely miss steps either due to the belt slipping or the motors just not having enough power to push the tool. If it did not miss steps then the deflection of the tool would be pretty severe which would result in a terrible cut.
Every machine is different so you can determine the limits of your machine for DOC and feedrates but in general a good rule of thumb is that your DOC should not be greater than half the diameter of your tool.
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I have been experimenting with this,
maybe not entrely on purpose.
My XC will cut 1.5mm-2mm at 1500mm/min consistently with a 1/4"bit.
At 2mm it develops chatter depending on the angle of the cut.
I have seen it do 6mm at 1500mm/min with a 1/4" bit.
in a straight line, would have been ok.
not on a straight line, it was getting creep up the bit, and chattering like crazy.
it beat the heck out of the machine:
I ended up having to go back, redo all of the belts, and all of the ecentric nuts after that little adventure.
probably not advised for normal use.
Let hope my math is right but that would put you at .059-.079 dop @ ~60 ipm. What type of bit are you using? That just seems rather slow to me but i have never used a 1/4’’ bit. For that last cut i did at .07@120 ipm (1.7mm @ ~3000mm) with the dewalt set at 3 with a 2 flute fishtail from the inventables store with absolutely no chatter.
I would have to say its the under powered stepper motors! The stepper motors that come with the XCARVE are 2.8A. Unlike what Xylotex sells which is a 4.0A, but thats just my theory! I have been debating upgrading the motors and driver just to test my theory…maybe sometime in the near future.
No these steppers break my belts when the gantry is stopped by any obstruction!
Im not saying the belts are any better. the belts are undersized as well! Why do you think so many people are upgrading the belts to either larger belts, chain drive or lead screw, lol! The Belts are probably the biggest problem with the XCARVE. The second biggest problem is the Arduino/Grbl controller. I will agree that the motors arent that big of a problem, you jut cant take as deep of cuts and slower feed speeds! But when you get into deeper cuts they will cause an issue. trust me I have gone through many upgrades on my XCARVE to where the only original thing on the XCARVE is the Framing and table! I have upgraded the Controller, Motors and converted to lead screws!!
From my understanding the cut depth per pass is depending on chip load and bit size.
Also the rigidity of the machine.
The spindle also makes a difference.
The stepper motors just need to have the power to move the spindle where you want it to cut. They should not have to force a cut.
But then again what do I know. I am just a novice at this CNC stuff. 
I have had good success with the stock X-Carve.