Fewer sheets, less scrap, and a layout the operator can actually run: that is what nesting is for.
What nesting is
Nesting arranges your parts on standard sheets so you cut them with as little wasted material as possible. CUTL uses true-shape nesting: parts are placed by their real cut outline, not by a rectangular bounding box, so they tuck into each other's gaps and around concave edges. The result is a sheet-by-sheet cutting layout you can preview, use for material and cost planning, and send to your cutting machine.
You give nesting a sheet size and a spacing between parts. CUTL then works out how many sheets are needed, how the parts sit on each sheet, how much material is wasted, and which usable offcuts remain.
Why it matters
For shop owners and estimators, nesting turns a list of parts into two things you can act on: a realistic material figure for your quote, and a ready layout for the shop floor. Tighter packing means fewer sheets bought and less scrap, which flows straight into extended pricing and your margins.
Where you can run nesting
Nesting is not a single page. It lives next to whatever you are working on. Pick the mode that matches what you have in front of you.
| I want to | Go to | What you click |
|---|---|---|
| Lay out a whole quote's parts | A project, Nesting tab | Calculate Nesting |
| Lay out a day's production | A production Shift, Nesting tab | Calculate Nesting |
| Lay out one production task | A shift task, Nesting tab | Calculate |
| See how many of one part fit a sheet | A project part, Sheet nesting panel | Calculate or Max parts per sheet |
| Price a single uploaded drawing | Quick calculation (draft), Nesting panel | Calculate |
All modes share the same core inputs (sheet width by height and spacing) but differ in what they are for: multi-part layouts estimate and produce whole jobs, single-part layouts show per-sheet yield to drive per-part cost.
Project nesting
Open a project, go to its Nesting tab, and press Calculate Nesting. This lays out all the project's parts together to estimate material and waste for the whole quote. Set Sheet Width (mm), Sheet Height (mm) and Spacing (mm), and optionally turn on Group parts by material so parts sharing a material (and thickness) pack onto the same sheets.
The result shows, per material, a header such as Steel 3 mm (4 sheets, 12% waste), a sheet-by-sheet preview (Sheet X of Y), and a parts list. Re-run any time with Recalculate, and pull the layout out with Download DXF.
Shift nesting (production)
Inside a production Shift, the Nesting tab lays out all the tasks planned for that shift, grouped by material, to produce the cutting layouts the operator runs that day. It works like project nesting (sheet size, spacing, Group parts by material, per-material sheets and waste, sheet previews, Calculate Nesting or Recalculate, and a DXF Download) but it spans every task in the shift rather than one quote. See shifts and production for how tasks reach a shift.
Shift-task nesting
A single production task has its own Nesting tab too. Set Width, Height and Space, then press Calculate to lay out just that task. The result shows the total sheets and the parts per sheet.
Single part in a project (Sheet nesting)
An individual part inside a project has a Sheet nesting panel that fills a sheet with copies of that one part to show how many fit. Set Width, Length and the Minimum distance between parts, then press Calculate. Tick Max parts per sheet to find the largest count that fits a single sheet. CUTL then asks whether to set the project quantity to that number: confirm with Apply and the quantity updates.
Draft nesting (single part, quick calculation)
An uploaded draft (a single part in a detailed quick calculation) has a Nesting panel. It fills a sheet with copies of that one part to show the per-sheet yield, which drives per-part material cost. Set Width, Length, the Space between elements, and a Count (how many copies), then press Calculate. Max parts per sheet finds the maximum that fit one sheet. The result shows the total sheets and the maximum elements per sheet, with a paged Sheet X of Y preview.
Draft nesting is available for DXF-based parts. STEP parts do not have it.
Nesting options
| Option | Where it appears | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Sheet size (width by height, mm) | Every mode | Sets the stock sheet to fill. Pick a saved preset or type custom dimensions. |
| Spacing / gap (mm) | Every mode | Gap kept between neighbouring parts and the sheet edge, covering cut width and handling. |
| Group parts by material | Project, shift | Packs all parts sharing a material onto common sheets for a realistic full-job estimate (project nesting also separates thicknesses). |
| Max parts per sheet | Single-part modes | Finds the most copies that fit one sheet, and can write that count back as the quantity. |
| Count | Draft | How many copies of the part to lay out. |
Sheet size
Every mode takes a sheet width by height in millimetres. Pick a saved sheet-size preset (which fills the dimensions and marks a default) or enter custom values. Presets are managed per material under the material's Sheets tab; common materials come with standard sizes pre-filled, and Add sheet size or Load standard sizes (regional standards) cover the rest. Parts larger than the chosen sheet (allowing for spacing) cannot be nested and are reported, for example "Part 'X' (300x200 mm) does not fit on a 250x150 mm sheet with 5 mm spacing."
Spacing between parts
Spacing (also shown as Space between elements or Minimum distance between parts) is the gap in millimetres kept between neighbouring parts and from the sheet edge. It accounts for the cut width (kerf) and handling, so parts are never placed touching. In the interface a single spacing value covers both the part-to-part gap and the sheet margin; the Integration API lets you set them separately (partSpacingMm and sheetMarginMm).
Group parts by material
In project and shift nesting, Group parts by material packs all parts that share a material onto common sheets instead of nesting each separately (project nesting also separates thicknesses). This gives a realistic full-job material estimate. With it off, each material is laid out on its own sheets.
Max parts per sheet
In the single-part modes (draft, project part), Max parts per sheet finds the largest number of copies of the part that fit on one sheet, and CUTL can write that count back as the project quantity.
Rotation and grain direction
CUTL's engine automatically tries rotating parts to pack them tighter. When a material has a grain (or direction), the allowed rotations are constrained so parts keep the correct orientation relative to the grain. Rotation is handled by the engine: there is no manual rotation-angle control in the interface, though the Integration API exposes rotation modes (NONE, ANY, STEP_90) for integrations that need them.
The engine does not mirror parts by default: mirroring a bent part's flat pattern produces a left-hand part (the bend directions invert), and flipping also matters for brushed, coated or single-sided-film sheet. Integrations can opt in with the API's allowMirror flag when a part is symmetric and the material has no face.
Results and outputs
Layout preview and sheets
Results show the parts placed on each sheet as a preview you can page through (Sheet X of Y), the total number of sheets, and either the waste percentage (multi-part modes) or the parts-per-sheet count (single-part modes). On-screen previews are SVG.
Material usage and waste
Multi-part nesting reports, per material group, how many sheets are used and the waste percentage, for example 4 sheets, 12% waste, so you can judge material efficiency for the whole job before you buy stock.
Offcuts (usable remnants)
Project and shift results (and the draft layout) let you work with offcuts: the usable leftover pieces of a sheet.
A legend labelled Offcuts and each offcut's size (width by height in mm) are shown on the layout.
Exporting the layout
Multi-part nesting layouts export as DXF for your cutting machine, either one sheet at a time or all sheets together as a ZIP. Use Download DXF (or Download, then Export Nesting) and pick an Export format:
- CypCut (optimised for CypCut software)
- RDWorks (Ruida controllers)
- Standard DXF (universal)
Do
- Export DXF and import it into CypCut or RDWorks, then assign lead-ins, kerf compensation and cut sequence there as usual.
- Treat the export as part positions and geometry, not machine-ready NC.
Avoid
- Looking for a PDF export in the interface: the UI exports DXF only, while PDF and SVG layouts are available through the Integration API.
- Expecting the customer widget to run nesting: the quoting bots do not nest.
FAQ
Where is the nesting button?
It depends on what you want to lay out. For a whole quote: open the project and use its Nesting tab, then Calculate Nesting. For one part: use the Sheet nesting panel on that part. For production: the Nesting tab on a shift or a shift task. See the quick-reference table above.
How do I find how many parts fit on one sheet?
Use a single-part mode. On a project part open Sheet nesting and tick Max parts per sheet, or in a quick-calculation draft use the Nesting panel with Max parts per sheet. CUTL reports the maximum that fit and can set the project quantity to that number.
How do I save leftover material to reuse later?
In a project or shift result, turn on Show offcuts, use Auto or draw them with Manual, then Draw offcut, and press Save offcuts. Saved offcuts (with their size) are recorded so your team can identify and manually reuse the remnant; automatic nesting onto saved remnants is not live yet.
Is nesting rectangular or true-shape?
True-shape. Parts are packed by their actual cut contour, so they nest into each other's gaps and concave areas rather than each occupying a rectangle. The engine also tries rotations (within any grain constraint) to improve packing.
Why can't I nest this part?
Nesting needs a flat cut outline, so a few cases are not supported. The interface names the specific reason:
- STEP files are not supported for nesting. Export a flat DXF instead. See preparing files.
- A drawing with several parts (a batch) is not supported for project nesting. Upload it to a calculation first and let CUTL split it into individual parts (see preparing files), or split it in CAD.
- Geometry still processing needs to finish first. Wait for processing to complete.
- No material assigned blocks the calculation. Assign a material first.
- Part larger than the sheet cannot be placed. Pick a larger sheet or reduce the spacing.
Once your layouts look right, move on to shifts and production to turn them into scheduled cutting work for the shop floor.