Nesting is the merging of several parts into one drawing.
Do you have a lot of small parts? Or parts that fit well side by side. Then nesting can be advantageous.
Nesting is not beneficial for all types of parts. Here we explain everything you need to know about nesting.
When to nest?
Nesting can be beneficial if you need several parts of the same material, especially if they are small parts.
Nesting can also be beneficial if parts fit easily next to or inside each other. It can save costs by reducing residual shape in a drawing, or by sharing cutting lines and reducing manufacturing time.
Nesting is not a requirement.
When not nesting?
Nesting is never a requirement. But it may be more advantageous to put parts together at sheet .
Need multiple copies of the same part? Even then you don't have to nest. Just upload the drawing of the part and choose the desired quantity in the ordering process. The website automatically calculates the quantity discount, the unit price goes down for higher quantities.
Only if your parts are shaped to fit together conveniently is it sometimes more economical to make your own nest anyway.
How to nest?
You format a nest in the same way as a regular laser drawing. Use the appropriate layer name and line color, as described in the drawing rules.
- Enlarge your artboard or drawing area, note the maximum material size
- Copy the parts to the nest drawing
- Look for an efficient layout, leave 2 mm between parts
Leave a space of at least 2 mm between parts to prevent burn-in and smoke deposits.
For foams, this should be at least 4 mm.
Do you have a lot to nest? Then check out nesting software such as RhinoNest.
Share cutting lines
You can put parts against each other so that they share one cutting line.
For example, if you put two rectangles together, you can theoretically cut two parts loose with one line. That saves costs because the total cutting length and production time is then shorter.
Remove duplicate lines from your drawing after placing shapes against each other.
Cutting line sharing is not possible in the following cases:
- Small parts (precision cannot be guaranteed)
- Precision parts (precision cannot be guaranteed)
- Round corners
We cannot guarantee dimensional accuracy for parts with split lines.
