Nesting — CutFlow Academy

Overview

Nesting places parts as tightly as possible on a flat sheet, leaving the least amount of scrap. Unlike rectangular-only optimizers, CutFlow nests the actual polygon outlines of your parts — so an L-bracket fits into the notch of a neighboring part, for example.

Parts can be imported from DXF files (CAD drawings) or defined as basic rectangles and circles. The optimizer tries 16 different rotation angles for each piece to find the densest arrangement.

True-shape nesting: Utilization is calculated from the actual polygon area — not the bounding box — so you get an accurate picture of how much material is really being used.

Setting Up a Job

1

Navigate to Nesting

Click Nesting in the left sidebar under the Optimize group.

2

Enter Sheet Dimensions

Enter the width and length of your stock sheet (e.g., 48 × 96 inches). Both dimensions are required.

3

Add Pieces

Import a DXF file or add basic shapes. You can add multiple part types with different quantities.

4

Click Nest

Press the Nest button. The optimizer runs and displays sheet layouts on the right.

Importing DXF Files

DXF (Drawing Exchange Format) is the standard CAD file format. Export your part outlines from AutoCAD, Fusion 360, SolidWorks, Rhino, or any other CAD tool as DXF, then import them here.

1

Click "Import DXF"

Press the blue ⬆ Import DXF button in the Pieces section.

2

Select your file

A file picker opens. Select a .dxf file from your computer. Each DXF file represents one part shape.

3

Set quantity

After import, the part appears in the Pieces list with a quantity field. Enter how many of this part are needed.

4

Repeat for other part types

Import additional DXF files to add more part types. Each file adds a separate entry to the pieces list.

DXF tips: Export as 2D flat profiles (not 3D). Closed polylines or splines work best. If the part has holes, the outer boundary is what gets nested. Ensure your DXF units match the units selected in Settings.

Adding Basic Shapes

No CAD file? Click + Basic Shape to add a rectangle or other simple geometry. Enter the width, height, and quantity. Basic shapes nest the same way as DXF parts.

Use basic shapes for quick estimates or for simple rectangular blanks. DXF import gives better results for complex or irregular parts.

Rotation & Optimization

CutFlow automatically tries 16 rotation angles for each piece (every 22.5°: 0°, 22.5°, 45°, 67.5°, 90°, and so on up to 337.5°). There is no manual setting required — the optimizer picks the best orientation for every placement.

This means odd-shaped parts like triangles, parallelograms, and irregular polygons will be placed at the angle that wastes the least material. A 45° diamond, for example, will be rotated to fit tightly between other pieces.

Grain direction: If your material has a grain direction and rotation is restricted to 0° or 90° only, the current optimizer does not enforce this. All 16 angles are always considered. Grain-locked nesting is a planned future feature.

Reading Results

Results show four key metrics:

KPI	What it means
Sheets Needed	Minimum number of stock sheets to place all required pieces.
Total Cuts	Total number of individual piece placements across all sheets.
Scrap Area	Total unused area across all sheets.
Efficiency	Ratio of actual part area to total sheet area (true polygon area, not bounding box).

Sheet Layout View

Each sheet is rendered as an interactive diagram. Parts are shown in color; the hatched area represents unused material (scrap). If multiple sheets are needed, each is shown as a separate layout card.

Piece Summary Table

Below the layouts, a summary table lists each part type with the quantity required and the quantity placed across all sheets.

Exporting Layouts

Two export options are available from the results panel:

Export	Description
⬇ PDF Report	A printable PDF with KPI summary, sheet layout diagrams, and piece summary. Ideal for work orders and documentation.
Export DXF	A DXF file of the nested layout — each part placed at its optimized position and rotation. Import into your cutting machine's CAM software to drive the cutter.

Workflow tip: Use the DXF export to drive your laser cutter or waterjet directly. The exported file preserves each part's exact nested position so you can cut from a single file.

Cost Calculation

Enable Include cost calculation to estimate material cost for the job. Enter material, density, thickness, and price (per lb, kg, sq ft, or sq m). The cost summary shows total material cost, good-parts cost, scrap cost, and the percentage of cost locked in scrap.

See the Materials & Cost guide for details on setting up material presets.

Tips & Best Practices

★

Match DXF units to your Settings units

If your DXF is drawn in millimeters, set Settings → Measurement Unit to mm before importing. Mismatched units will produce parts that are 25× too large or too small.

★

Use closed polylines in your DXF

Open paths or stray lines can cause import errors. Make sure the part outline is a single closed shape before exporting from your CAD tool.

★

For rectangular-only jobs, use Coil Slitting or CTL

Nesting is most valuable for non-rectangular parts. For simple rectangular strips, the Coil Slitting or Cut to Length tools give faster results.

★

Add a job name for tracking

Adding a job name puts a meaningful label in Run History and PDF reports, making it easy to find results later.