Scoring vs. Engraving in General and with Lightburn

What is "scoring" and can I do it on my laser and with Lightburn? 

YES you can - EVERYONE can!

So, since I (MiMoDesignLaserfiles) have a lot of files made for scoring, I get this question a lot, so I decided to make this little guide to what score is.

If you have a laser, you probably already know how to cut and engrave.

WHAT IS SCORING?

Scoring (also called outlining) is basically cutting, but at such low power, that you won't cut through your material and only leave a mark.

When you score, the laser will therefore react like it's cutting, whis is so much faster than engraving, since your laser will have free movement, instead of moving from side to side and kind of burning into and filling your design.

I USE LIGHTBURN, I DON`T HAVE A SCORE FUNCTION?

Some software, like Glowforge, already has a Score function, but other software like Lightburn doesn´t, so how do you do it?

If you've ever made a material cut testcard, you know that not everything was cut out - Well those pieces are a great start point to find your settings, since you want to lower the power so much, that your laser will fire, but not cut through your material.

I´ll be working on a video and some test cards for you in the following week, to help you get it started, but like everything else, it´s a matter of finding YOUR machines golden settings.

Personally I always score at 20 speed, 11 power on my 80W Co2 from Vevor (similiar to OMTech). If I run faster, my lines will be wobbly and thin. If I lower my power, my laser will not fire. But I'm so happy with the settings written, that those are my machine's godlen settings for scoring.

TIME IS MONEY!

The best designs for scoring, are single line designs, since you'll not have that empty space between your lines (which is perfect if you use scoring for aligning layered items or coloring the finished design though.)

This Santa Tray is a example of a single line scored design of mine.

With my settings, this 14x9" tray take 5:46 minutes to score, where it would take 33:36 minutes to engrave (fill) with 200 speed / 15 power, which mean that I can make 6! scored trays at the same time of 1 engraved version.

BUT I WANT TO ENGRAVE IT AND THE SHAPES ARE OPEN!

Yes, single line designs will give you a error with open shapes in Lightburn, if you try to engrave it. To resolve that issue fast, mark the design that's meant for scoring and make a outline of it. 

In Lightburn, use the Offset Shapes (Alt+O) function - Choose "Both" and delete the Original, which should do the trick.