Use case: nesting existing sheet-metal parts for the laser
You already have the sheet-metal parts. What you want is the cut files: every part flattened, laid out on the stock sheets you actually buy, one DXF per sheet layout, and a count of how many sheets each material needs. This page shows what to ask so you get that in one request.
The shortest request that works
Name the parts, say how many of each, and give the sheet size:
What happens. Each part is opened in your CAD system, its flat pattern is exported as a DXF by the CAD itself, and SphereHarness’s own nesting engine lays the flats out on the sheet. The reply gives the number of sheets, the utilisation, and the path of every cut file it wrote. The engine is the same whichever CAD the parts come from; the CAD’s own nesting tools (Inventor Nesting Utility, Solid Edge Nest) are not used.
What to tell it, and what happens if you don’t
| Say | For example | If you leave it out |
|---|---|---|
| Which parts | “the open part”, “every sheet-metal part in this assembly”, a folder, or flat DXFs you already have | Only what you name is nested |
| How many of each | “BackPanel 20, SidePanel 40” | One of each |
| Sheet size | “2500 x 1250”, or one size per material | 2500 x 1250 mm |
| Material of each part | “S235 2 mm”, “AlMg3 3 mm” | Everything is nested together, as one material |
| Margin and gap | “10 mm margin, 3 mm between parts” | 5 mm margin, 2 mm gap |
| How hard to try | “fast” for a quick estimate, “best utilisation” for the real job | Standard |
| Where to save | “save the DXFs to C:\Jobs\Cabinet\nest” | A temporary folder (the reply gives its path) |
| Part labels on the sheet | “small labels”, “no labels”, “full labels” | Small labels |
| One file per sheet | “one DXF per sheet” | One DXF per distinct layout, with how many times to cut it |
Parts with the same material are nested together and never mixed with another material. Each material can have its own sheet size.
A complete request
The situation. A cabinet order: fifteen sheet-metal parts in three materials, 300 parts in all, cut on a fibre laser.
What happens. Three nests run, one per material, each on its own sheet size. Identical sheets are written once with a count, so “cut this layout 4 times” is one file, not four. Each material also gets a report .txt beside its DXFs, with the part list, the sheet count and the utilisation. The cut files are plain DXF for laser software; NX and Solid Edge open them too. Inventor currently opens one as an empty drawing, so check Inventor-side layouts in your laser software.
What came back. This order was run once on each CAD system below. “Sheets, whole order” shows a first pass and then the final pass. The figures are one recorded run each, not an average:
| CAD system | Sheets, whole order | Steel sheets | Steel utilisation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventor 2026 | 14 → 11 | 7 | 88.3 % |
| Solid Edge 2024 | 14 → 11 | 7 | 88.1 % |
| NX 2306 | 15 → 12 | 8 | 78.0 % |
The parts are the same design in each CAD, but each CAD builds and flattens them itself, so the flats differ slightly, and so does the nest. On NX the steel flats came out a little larger, which cost one sheet.
Tips
- Quantities per assembly. If your quantities are per assembly, say how many assemblies (“for 20 cabinets”) and the AI multiplies them out. Give the counts yourself: the BOM is not yet cross-checked against them automatically.
- You already have flat DXFs. Point at them and they are used as they are, with nothing re-flattened. This is also the way to nest parts from another CAD system or a supplier.
- A quick estimate first. “Fast nest, how many sheets?” gives a quick count. Ask for best utilisation for the files you actually cut.
- On NX, every part needs its flat pattern before nesting.
- A material that will not nest, for example because a part is larger than the sheet, is named first in the reply. That material gets a
_FAILED_Report.txtlisting every flat’s size, and no cut file is written for it. - Check the files, not the message. Ask “list the files you wrote with their size and time”, then open one layout in your CAD or your laser software.
Version. Per-material sheet sizes, small labels and writing identical sheets once arrive with SphereHarness 1.3.8. On earlier versions the same request still nests, on one sheet size.
See also
- Examples, section 8: a single flat pattern and its DXF.
- Part Modeling: building the sheet-metal parts in the first place.
- Verifying results