Sheet metal
fabrication optimizer
Rectangular blanks, bars and profiles — plus true-shape nesting of irregular parts in the app’s Nesting mode and through the Engine API, for laser, plasma and waterjet.
Start optimizingIn short
CutOptim nests sheet-metal parts for laser, plasma and waterjet: irregular outlines are placed into each other’s pockets, with exclusion zones for defects. Rectangular blanks and bars, tubes and profiles are planned in the same app, and true-shape nesting is also an Engine API endpoint.
Why does sheet-metal cutting waste so much plate?
Plate and sheet are expensive, and irregular parts are wasteful: placing each part by its bounding box throws away the notch-air between shapes, and rectangular blanks and bars still need a layout that mixes sizes. Both cost real money on every job.
How CutOptim cuts the waste
For rectangular blanks and for bars, tubes and profiles, the app optimizes the layout (2D panels and 1D linear). For irregular parts — brackets, gussets, flanges, gaskets — true-shape nesting, in the app’s Nesting mode and on the Engine API, interlocks the real outlines into each other’s pockets, with per-sheet exclusion zones for a defect or a clamp area.
Rectangular + linear in the app
2D plate blanks and 1D bar, tube and profile cutting in one project — optimize what you cut on a shear or saw today.
True-shape nesting
Irregular polygon parts nested into each other’s pockets, in the app’s Nesting mode or over POST /v1/optimize/nest — for laser, plasma and waterjet.
Nest around defects
Per-sheet exclusion zones keep parts off a plate defect, a clamp footprint or a pre-printed area.
How does it work?
- 1
Bring in the outlines
Import the part outlines as SVG or DXF, or enter the shapes by hand, and describe the plates: size, quantity and any exclusion zones.
- 2
Set separation and rotation
Set the clearance for your beam or torch width, and allow rotation in steps or continuously.
- 3
Nest and export
CutOptim nests the parts onto as few plates as it can and reports the plate count, the cut length and the pierces; export the layout as DXF for your CAM.
Common use cases
Real-world scenarios where cutting optimization makes the biggest difference.
Laser-cut brackets and gussets
Irregular brackets, gussets and flanges nested into each other’s pockets on laser-cut plate.
Plasma-cut structural plates
Heavier plate with a wider kerf: the separation covers the torch width, and the cut length and pierce count come with the result.
Rectangular blanks on a shear
Plain rectangular blanks are not a nesting job: the 2D panel mode lays them out with guillotine cuts you can run on a shear or saw.
Bars and profiles to length
1D mode cuts bars, tubes and profiles to length from standard stock bars.
A fabricator nests a representative job of 272 irregular parts onto 3000×1500 mm plate. Placing each part by its bounding box packs loosely; true-shape nesting interlocks the outlines into each other’s concave pockets.
One job, not an average. Measured results across many jobs:Benchmarks
What does CutOptim not do?
- Nesting gives you the layout, the cut length and the pierce count. It is not a CAM system: lead-ins, common-line cutting, micro-joints and toolpaths are added in your machine’s software.
- Rectangular blanks and straight bars stay on the guillotine and linear modes; nesting is for contours that are not rectangles.
- Plates are described by size, quantity and exclusion zones you enter; the engine does not know a real plate beyond them.
True-shape nesting — the Engine API
Nesting irregular sheet-metal parts onto plate is a true-shape problem, and the CutOptim Engine API solves it over HTTP at POST /v1/optimize/nest. Send each part as a polygon outline and the plate sizes as JSON; get back the nested layout, the placement of every part and the plate count — for laser, plasma or waterjet. On a representative 272-part job the nest used 6 plates where the same parts by bounding box need 9.
- ✓True-shape nesting of arbitrary polygons (with holes), not just rectangles.
- ✓Per-sheet exclusion zones nest around a plate defect, a clamp footprint or a pre-printed area.
- ✓The honest metric is plate count on the same parts — 6 vs 9 by bounding box on a representative 272-part job — not a density percentage.
- ✓Deterministic and free to validate: POST /v1/validate/nest checks a job with no key and no quota.
POST /v1/optimize/nest
{
"parts": [
{ "name": "gusset",
"polygon": [[0,0],[400,0],[0,400]],
"qty": 16, "allowedRotations": [0,90,180,270] },
{ "name": "bracket",
"polygon": [[0,0],[350,0],[350,120],[120,120],[120,350],[0,350]],
"qty": 10, "allowedRotations": "continuous" }
],
"stock": [{ "w": 3000, "h": 1500, "qty": 12 }],
"options": { "minSeparation": 2 }
}Frequently asked questions
Is there an API for nesting sheet-metal parts?+
Does the CutOptim app do true-shape nesting?+
How much plate does true-shape nesting save?+
Can it nest around a plate defect or a clamp area?+
Which cutting methods does it suit?+
Related
Optimize your sheet-metal cutting
Rectangular, linear and true-shape nesting in the app; the same nesting engine on the Engine API.
2 free runs without an account, then 3 a month with a free account
▶ Start optimizing