How to Engrave Text on a CNC Machine: A Step-by-Step Guide
Engraving text is the most common job on an engraving machine and the one with the most ways to go subtly wrong. This is the whole sequence, from the letters on screen to a program the machine will run, with the decisions that matter at each step.
The steps are the same whatever CNC engraving software you use. The screenshots show CamDRAW, a CAM plugin that runs inside CorelDRAW, because that is where the drawing already exists in this example.
1. Set the text and convert it to curves
Type the text, choose the font, set the size and spacing. Then convert it to curves.
This matters for two reasons. Text stored as a font reference depends on the font being present wherever the file goes next, and CAM operations work on curves rather than on live text objects. Converting also lets you fix the spacing on individual letters, which you will want on anything with capitals next to punctuation.
Choose the font with the tool in mind. Thin, high-contrast typefaces engrave badly at small sizes because the hairlines fall below the width of the graver. A plain grotesque at 4 mm cap height reads; an elegant serif at the same size fills in.
2. Choose the tool, and work out the line width
Gravers are conical. That means the width of the cut depends on how deep you go: the deeper the tip sits, the wider the line at the surface.
So the tool and the depth together decide what the lettering looks like. Store the graver in the tool library with its diameter and angle, along with feed rates and spindle speed, and the rest of the job follows from it instead of being guessed.
3. Decide between outline and filled engraving
Two operations, two different results.
Outline engraving traces the letterform. You get a fine line following the shape of each character. This is the standard for nameplates, panels and small text.
Filled engraving clears the inside of each letter so it reads as a solid shape. Use it for larger text, for paint fill, and anywhere the lettering has to be visible from a distance.
The mistake to avoid is applying a pocket operation to text and calling it engraving. Filled engraving handles letters with counters and islands correctly, so the middle of an O stays.
4. Set engraving height and passes, not cutting depth
This is the step that separates engraving from milling.
A milling operation takes a total depth and a stepdown. An engraving operation takes a constant engraving height, often a negative preload value if the machine has a depth regulator, plus the number of passes. There is no depth of cut, because the depth is set by the tool touching the surface rather than by a Z target.
One pass is normal. Two or three on hard material, or when you want a deeper mark for paint fill.
5. Deal with the surface before you cut it
If the material is not perfectly flat, and it usually is not, a constant Z produces a variable engraving. There are two ways round it.
A depth regulator rides the surface mechanically, and the software simply outputs a constant height and lets the machine track. Or you probe: place a measurement grid over the part, measure a set of points, and let the height map correct Z as the program runs. Grid density, safety height between points and probing feed rate are all set here.
Probing is the better option on soft or finished surfaces where a floating nose would leave a mark.
6. Check the curve precision for the size of the text
Every CAM program turns curves into short straight segments. The segment length is the curve precision, and it has to suit the size of the lettering.
On a large plaque a coarse setting is invisible and keeps the program small. On 4 mm text the same setting shows up as flats on every round stroke. Set it per operation so fine text gets a short segment length without slowing everything else down.
7. Preview before the machine moves
Generate the program and look at it in 3D before you clamp anything expensive. What you are checking for: the toolpath sitting on the letterforms rather than offset to one side, the order of operations, and any contour that is being run twice.
Doubled lines usually mean duplicate curves in the artwork, stacked exactly on top of each other. They are invisible on screen and common in traced logos, so it is worth running a duplicate search before generating.
8. Generate and run
Output the program in the format your controller expects and check that the postprocessor matches your machine. Engraving machines are a long-tailed market, and the difference between GRBL, Mach3, an EdingCNC controller and a twenty-year-old rotary engraver is not cosmetic.
If you are engraving something round, a ring or a tumbler, this is where rotary axis output comes in, with angular coordinates or unwinding depending on what your control understands.
Doing it inside CorelDRAW
Everything above works in any CNC engraving software. What changes with a plugin is where the steps happen: the lettering, the operations and the machine settings all live in one document.
CamDRAW stores operations, tools, zero points and cutting data inside the CorelDRAW file. Save the plate, reopen it in three months with a different name on it, change the text, regenerate. Steps two to eight do not have to be repeated, which on a shop that runs variations of the same plate is most of the work.
It does not do raster engraving. Photographs and greyscale images are laser software territory.
Try it on a plate you have already made. Start the free trial, or look at the supported machines first if you run an older engraver. There are also step-by-step tutorials.
Frequently asked questions
How do I engrave text on a CNC machine?
Set the text and convert it to curves, choose a conical graver and store its angle, pick outline or filled engraving, set a constant engraving height and a pass count rather than a cutting depth, deal with surface flatness by probing or a depth regulator, and preview in 3D before running.
Should I use outline or filled engraving for text?
Outline for small text and nameplates, where a fine traced line is what you want. Filled for larger lettering and anything that will be paint filled, because the letters read as solid shapes.
What font works best for CNC text engraving?
Something with even stroke weight and open counters. Avoid high-contrast serifs and hairline strokes at small sizes, because the thin parts fall below the width of the graver and fill in.
How deep should CNC text engraving be?
Deep enough to read, and no deeper. With a conical graver the depth also sets the line width, so choose the width you want the lettering to have and work back. Consistency across the part matters more than the exact number.
