Nesting · DXF and SVG
True-shape nesting
Nest brackets, letters, gaskets, and panels with cutouts straight from your DXF and SVG files. NestSolver fits parts into each other's holes, keeps the spacing your cutter needs, works around sheet defects, and exports nests that open cleanly in your cutting software.
Included with the Bench plan and up, for up to 500 parts a nest.
NestSolver plans cutting and loading for shops that work in lengths, sheets, irregular parts, and loads, and shows the waste before anything is cut or shipped.
Outlines in, a clean nest out
01
Import DXF and SVG
Lines, arcs, polylines, circles, ellipses, splines, and SVG paths become closed outlines. Loose ends are joined, small gaps closed, and stray or doubled lines removed, with a report of every repair.
02
Parts inside holes
Contours inside a part become its holes, and smaller parts nest inside them when they fit, so frames and rings waste nothing in the middle.
03
Turns and mirroring
Keep a part fixed for grain, turn it in quarter or eighth steps, or let it turn to any angle; mirror it where your part allows.
04
Spacing and defects
Set the gap between parts and to the sheet's edge for your kerf and heat zone, and mark defects no part may cover.
05
Runs in the background
A nest keeps searching while you work and stops as soon as it stops improving, within your plan's search time.
06
Exports that open cleanly
Download DXF with each sheet on its own layer and SVG in real millimetres, plus part labels and a print packet for the floor.
True-shape nesting — common questions
What files can I import?
ASCII DXF from any CAD program and SVG from Inkscape, Illustrator, or a font tool. Each closed outline becomes a part you can name, count, or drop, and contours inside it become its holes.
What if my DXF file is messy?
The import repairs what CAD exports often leave behind: ends that nearly meet, zero-length lines, lines drawn twice, and small gaps. It lists every repair and shows where any outline is still open. If the sizes look like the wrong unit, it says so and offers to read the file again.
How is this different from sheet cutting?
Sheet cutting lays out rectangles for a panel saw or a router. True-shape nesting fits any outline, holes and all, the way laser, plasma, and waterjet shops cut.
How long does a nest take?
Most nests settle in seconds to a minute. The search stops once the plan stops improving, and never runs past your plan's search time.
Can I nest on leftovers from an earlier nest?
Yes, with the Shop plan: keep a nested sheet as stock, and the next nest works around the parts already cut from it.