Core Concepts
This page explains the ideas behind NestMaxx in plain terms. If you are new to nesting or CNC cutting, reading this first will make everything else clearer. If you already cut parts for a living, you can skim it and move on.
Nesting
Nesting is the job of arranging shapes on a sheet of material so they fit together as tightly as possible, wasting the least material. Do it well and you get more parts from every sheet, which saves money and time.
Doing this by hand is slow and fiddly. NestMaxx does it for you: you supply the parts and the sheet, and it works out a dense arrangement.
True-shape nesting
Some tools treat every part as the rectangle that surrounds it, which wastes the space around anything that is not itself a rectangle. NestMaxx uses true-shape nesting, which means it packs parts by their actual outline. An L-shaped part can tuck into the corner of another, and a small part can sit in the curve of a larger one. This packs far tighter than working with rectangles.
Parts
A part is a single shape you want to cut. It might come from the shape library or from a CAD file you import. A part can have holes in it, and those holes are real: NestMaxx can nest smaller parts inside them. See Filling Holes.
Each part has a quantity: how many copies of it you need. You set this in the Part List.
The sheet
The sheet is the piece of material you are cutting from, described by its width and height. If your parts do not all fit on one sheet, NestMaxx uses more sheets, all the same size. See Sheet Size and Multiple Sheets.
Spacing and kerf
Parts should not touch each other on the sheet, for two reasons:
- Kerf: a cutting tool removes a thin strip of material as it cuts. The width of that strip is the kerf. If two parts sit right against each other, the cut for one eats into the other.
- Handling: a small gap makes the cut parts easier to separate and keeps heat or stress from one cut away from the next.
The gap NestMaxx leaves between parts is the spacing. You also set a clearance from the sheet edge, so parts do not sit right on the border. See Spacing and Clearance.
Rotation
Letting a part rotate gives the nester more ways to fit it, which usually packs tighter. Sometimes, though, the material has a grain or a finish direction and a part must keep its angle. NestMaxx lets you allow or restrict rotation. See Rotation and Orientation.
Utilisation
Utilisation is the share of the sheet covered by parts, as a percentage. Higher is better: it means less of the sheet is going to waste. It is the main number to watch when you compare two layouts. See Reading the Result.
The origin
The origin is the reference point on the sheet that everything is measured from. When you send a layout to a machine, the origin tells the machine where the material sits. NestMaxx lets you place the origin at a corner, an edge, the centre, or a custom point. See Material Origin.
Putting it together
A NestMaxx job is: a set of parts (each with a quantity), placed on one or more sheets, with a chosen spacing and clearance, packed by true-shape nesting to a high utilisation, ready to export. The Quick Start walks through exactly that.