15 minutes
We used a laser cutter to engrave the text and lines from the SVG file (only red lines and blue text need to be engraved). You could use the X-Carve with a 1/32 upcut end mill to engrave text, but I like more the burned finish of the laser cutter which doesn’t require extra color after cutting.
50 minutes
If you use a laser cutter, there’s a “+” mark on the bottom left of the work. That’s your (0, 0) for X-Carve job. When aligning the X-Carve, place your bit at the center of that +, so your engraved text and your pockets are where they should be.
To hold down the MDF to the X-Carve, we added in the laser cutter pattern 5 circular marks (5mm and 8mm). These are there so you can drill 5 5mm holes in the MDF at those exact locations and use M5 screws to hold down the material. This is a lot easier and more robust than placing clamps everywhere.
Since we are cutting through all the way, place some waste flat material underneath your work.
If you use this method, make sure you set your safety clearance to a number higher than the size of your screw head. In our case, we used hex socket head cap screws which where 6mm tall, so we set the clearance to 7mm. Alternatively, just don’t place the 5th screw in the middle, all other four screws are outside the carving area.