Is it possible to score with an unfocused beam and keep it centered on the line?

Honestly, I really don’t like to use scores for my projects because the line is too thin. I found a way to make the lines wider by unfocusing, but then the scoreline is not exactly where it is supposed to be. In most cases, the difference isn’t much, but if my score lines are near an edge or centered in something obvious, you can most definitely see that the lines have crept to one side or the other.
Why would an unfocused beam not be centered on its path?

When I think of focus I think of a microscope or camera. The focus doesn’t change what I’m pointing at, it just changes where the focal point is between me and the target.

Has anyone else had this problem or know away around it?

Thanx in advance.
Shae.

[Theory follows]
Depending on the complexity of your path, your speed might matter. Sometimes the GF seems to lose steps or have slippage at higher speeds. What settings are you using? Try doing the job again at lower power and < 150 speed and see if you get better results.

This has yet to be proven, and GF seems to be avoiding taking a stance on my P&S thread.

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How much are you defocusing by? I usually find that about 0.1 inch (above, not below) is about as wide as I can get it to defocus without significantly impacting placement.

Just a suggestion though, since scoring is generally so much quicker than an engrave over large areas, you can get nice sharp results by running 3 separate scores…two at draft settings on either side of your center line, by the width of the kerf on the defocused engrave, and one (or more for darkening) center one defocused. Takes a little bit of testing and tweaking to determine the settings and spacing, but it translates well to anything that thickness, so once you figure out the spacing, you can use it on everything.

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You mean because the photo view is off due to “material thickness” in the defocus?

In theory, defocusing shouldn’t affect placement at all, the path is the path, and the beam will just appear wider at the base. I just don’t see how defocusing would change where the beam lands.

If you set material height correctly, then change the focus height in the operation, it shouldn’t impact the camera view. Also, if you really want to be sure, use a jig and then defocus, the placement will be rock solid.

Going slower seems to have fixed my issue.

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