1 · Parts
Every closed outline in a cut colour becomes a part, and cut outlines inside it become its holes. Lines in other colours (score, engrave) stay locked to the part they sit in, see Line colours. Identical shapes in one file are counted together. Use − and + to set how many you need, untick Rotate to keep a part's direction (for example wood grain), and change the units if the size looks wrong.
Add files
Load example parts
Clear
Nest parts : as soon as you add files, a quick layout appears with every part at your part spacing and no shared lines. Press Nest parts at the top for the tightest layout with your settings, and switch on Common-line cutting in Settings if you want shared lines. Keep file layout : every part stays exactly where it is in your file. Nothing is moved, turned or joined. Use it when you only want to add tabs (Settings → Tabs) and download. Here quantities don't add copies; set a part to 0 to leave it out. The sheet is the outline around your parts plus the edge allowance.
Line colours i
Laser software uses colour to tell cut, score and engrave apart, so every colour found in your files is listed here. Cut lines are part outlines and holes: they get nested, can share lines and get tabs. Score / engrave lines stay exactly where they are on their part. They move and turn together with it, never become a part or a hole, and keep their colour when you download. The guess: the colour of the outermost outlines is Cut, every other colour is Score / engrave. Change a colour here if the guess is wrong; the parts are rebuilt straight away.
2 · Sheet
3 · Nesting
Rotationi
Free (any angle) Fixed (0°) 0° / 180° 90° steps 45° steps 15° steps Precisioni
Auto Coarse · 2 mm Standard · 1 mm Fine · 0.5 mm Very fine · 0.25 mm
Free lets parts turn to any angle and packs tightest. Choose steps if parts must stay square to the sheet, or untick Rotate on a single part to keep its direction.
Parts are packed on a fine grid. A smaller grid packs tighter but takes longer. Auto picks a grid that suits the sheet size.
Search timei
2 s (quick) 10 s 30 s 2 min (best) Part spacingi mm
How long the program keeps trying new orders and rotations after you press Nest parts. Longer usually packs tighter. The best layout so far is always shown, and Stop keeps it.
The smallest gap between parts that don't share a line. Set it to at least your kerf plus a little extra so edges don't burn.
Nest small parts inside holesi Small parts may be placed inside the holes of bigger parts, for example washers inside rings.
4 · Common-line cutting
When two parts share an edge, the laser cuts that line once instead of twice. That means a shorter cut path, so less machine time and less heat, and less scrap because the parts touch. Only cut colours are shared; score and engrave lines are never touched. The Layout panel shows how much cutting and time you save. Each part loses half the kerf width on a shared edge, so leave this off when that edge must be exact.
Share cut lines between parts
Sharing lines and packing tight pull in different directions, so you choose what matters more for this job.Cutting speed : joins as many edges as it can, also between different parts, so the laser cuts the shortest path. Less machine time and less heat in the material; the sheet can get a little bigger.Mixed : pairs identical parts and groups parts only where they fit together without wasting space. A good time saving for very little material.Material : packs the parts as tight as possible first: it nests three ways (as they are, with pairs, with groups) and keeps the tightest, then shares only the lines that cost no extra space. Least scrap, smaller time saving, and it takes about three times the search time.Material used and Cutting time in the Layout panel.
Shortest shared edgei mm Cutting speedi mm/s
Edges shorter than this are never joined. Very short shared edges save little and are hard to cut cleanly.
Your usual cutting speed for this material. It is only used to estimate cutting time in the Layout panel and does not change the file. The estimate leaves out travel moves and acceleration, so real jobs take a little longer.
5 · Tabs
A tab is a short piece of the outline that is not cut, so the part stays held in the sheet and can't fall or tip into the bed. Break the parts out by hand after cutting. Holes get no tabs, so their scrap still drops out.
Leave tabs so parts stay in the sheet
Tab widthi
0.2 mm 0.3 mm 0.4 mm 0.5 mm 0.8 mm 1 mm 1.5 mm Tabs per parti
Auto (by size) 1 2 3 4 6
Length of each uncut bridge. 0.2–0.5 mm holds most wood and acrylic and snaps off easily. Use more for heavy parts.
Auto gives small parts 1 tab and large parts up to 4. Tabs keep at least 1 mm from corners and never sit on a shared line.