True-shape nesting
The 2D, 1D and Wood modes cut rectangles with a guillotine (edge-to-edge) saw. Many jobs are not rectangles: a steel bracket, a triangular gusset, a plastic gasket, a plywood profile with a cut-out. Packing those by their bounding box throws away the empty air inside each shape. Nesting mode packs parts by their real outline — arbitrary polygons interlock into each other’s concave pockets — so that air is reclaimed. It is the mode for laser, plasma and waterjet cutting.
It runs a different engine from the rectangular modes (a geometric collision engine, not the guillotine packer), so the 2D/1D/Wood plans are unchanged.
The honest metric for nesting is sheet count on the same parts, not a fill percentage. A rectangular packer counts each part’s bounding box as solid and reads a higher density for a worse result — on a representative 272-part job the true-shape nest used 6 sheets where the same parts by bounding box need 9.
Getting started
In 2D mode, switch to the Nesting sub-tab (next to Panel). Nesting is a sub-mode of 2D — the top bar has two tabs, 2D and 1D, and each reveals its own sub-tabs (2D → Panel / Nesting, 1D → Linear / Wood).
- 1
Add your parts
Click Import SVG/DXF and pick your outline files, or click Demo to load a sample job. Each imported outline becomes a part; a file with several outlines adds several parts, and concentric outlines become holes. You don't need a CAD file for simple shapes — add a rectangle, circle, ellipse, triangle, regular polygon, L-shape, or a fully custom polygon (enter its x,y points), or paste a list of rectangles from Excel / import a CSV (name, width, height, qty), just like the 2D panel-cutting table. On each stock sheet you can add one or more exclusion zones (a region kept clear of parts — a defect, knot or clamp footprint) with an editable X/Y/W/H.
- 2
Add stock sheets
Add one or more sheet sizes (name, width × height × quantity) — type them or paste from Excel. On any sheet you can add an Exclusion zone — a region the engine keeps every part off, for a defect, a knot or a clamp area.
- 3
Set the options
Give each part a rotation rule (Free, 90°, or None) and, if needed, a minimum separation for the kerf or beam width. Then press Run.
- 4
Read and export the nest
The results read like the 2D panel-cutting results: a yield/density summary, a 'how it was optimized' box, one diagram per sheet, a placement list and a material-requirements table. Use Downloads for SVG, DXF, PDF, Excel or CSV. Signed in, you can Save the nest as a project like any other cut.
Parts are polygons, not rectangles
A nesting part is an outline: a closed polygon of [x, y] points, optionally with interior holes. That is why parts have no width/height fields — the shape is the part. The importer builds these outlines for you:
| Feature | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| DXF | file | LWPOLYLINE and POLYLINE outlines (arcs from bulges), plus LINE / ARC / CIRCLE / ELLIPSE segments chained into closed loops. The drawing's $INSUNITS is read for the unit. |
| SVG | file | path (with béziers and elliptical arcs flattened), polygon, polyline, rect, circle and ellipse. Concentric outlines become holes. |
| Demo | button | Loads a sample job — four brackets and four gussets on one sheet with a corner exclusion zone — so you can see the whole flow without a file. |
Curves (arcs, béziers) are flattened to line segments at a fixed tolerance, so the same file always imports to the same part — a nest of imported outlines is reproducible.
Exclusion zones
A real sheet is not always perfect. On any stock row, Exclusion zone marks a region the engine treats as a no-go area — every part is kept clear of it. Use it for a board defect, a knot, a clamp footprint, or a pre-printed area. The zones are drawn on the layout so you can see what the nest worked around. This is a capability the rectangular modes have no way to express.
The result
The viewer shows each sheet with every placed part in its own colour, and the summary reports:
- Sheets — how many stock sheets the nest used.
- Density — the placed polygon area over the used sheet area. This is the honest fill; the concave pockets inside irregular parts count as empty.
- Placed — how many part copies were placed out of the total requested. Anything that did not fit is listed.
Do not read density as a 2D-panel yield. They are not comparable — a bounding-box packer counts the notch-air inside a shape as used, so its “yield” reads higher for a worse layout. To compare two nesting results, compare sheet count on the same parts.
Exports
Nesting mode exports the achieved layout in the formats a workshop and a CAM tool need. All are under Downloads:
- SVG — a self-contained drawing of the nest (one titled band per sheet, parts as filled polygons, exclusion zones hatched).
- DXF — an R12 drawing with the outlines on STOCK / PARTS / HOLES / ZONES layers, ready for a laser/plasma/waterjet CAM tool.
- PDF — a printable report: the layout drawn to scale per sheet, plus a placement list (part, sheet, x, y, rotation, material).
- Excel — a workbook with an Overview sheet (sheets, density, placed) and a Placement sheet.
The layout is deterministic: the same parts and sheets always produce the same nest, so a quote or a cut program built from a nest can be reproduced exactly for a repeat order.
For developers
The same true-shape engine is available over HTTP on the Engine API at POST /v1/optimize/nest, so an ERP, a CAD/CAM tool or a quoting system can nest without a browser. See the Engine API reference for the request and response shape.