Nesting configuration

Display units
inches mm
Space between parts
inch
Curve tolerance
inch
Part rotations
Optimization type
Use rough approximation

Import

SVG scale
units/inch
Endpoint tolerance
inch
DXF import units

Laser options

Merge common lines
Optimization ratio

Meta-heuristic fine tuning

GA population
GA mutation rate
set all to default

Units

Whether to work in metric or imperial. This affects display only, and not import or export.

Space between parts

The minimum amount of space between each part. If you're planning on using the merge common lines feature, set this to zero.

SVG import scale

This is the conversion factor between inches/mm to SVG units. Set to 72 units/inch for Illustrator and 90 units/inch for Inkscape.

Normally the scaling factor can be extracted from the SVG file itself, but when not available this value is used.

Curve tolerance

When computing a nest, curved sections must be turned into line segments. Curve tolerance is the maximum acceptable error when performing this approximation. Set to a higher value to speed up the nesting process, and a lower value when more precision is required.

Endpoint tolerance

Real-world vectors are often messy and imprecise, sometimes the points from one path to the next does not match up exactly to form a closed path. Try increasing this value if you have trouble importing a file.

Use rough approximation

Certain geometries can be very time consuming to compute, eg. several hundred unique snowflakes. You may wish to use a simple polygon approximation to speed up the process, at the cost of greater material use.

If your vector not unique (ie. several hundred identical snowflakes) using the "quantity" field is another way to speed up the process dramatically.

Rotations

The number of rotations to try when inserting a part. For example, if 8 rotations are used some parts will have a 45 degree angle. 4 rotations is generally enough, and ensures that common lines are easily merged for rectangular parts. Higher rotations may help if you have extremely irregular parts.

1. Gravity

Minimize the width of the nest. It's good for when you have a rectangular sheet and wish to use the left overs for another cut.

2. Bounding Box

Reduce the overall rectangular bounds. This mode is best for conserving material when only a small portion of the sheet is used.

3. Squeeze

Reduce the overall area, but may produce nests that aren't rectangular. It is best used for irregularly shaped sheets, or when all sheets will be filled with no space left behind.

Merge common lines

If set, part edges that touch will be merged into a single line in the export. Merging common lines ensure that the laser only passes over each line a single time, reducing cut time and heat warping.

Optimization ratio

When placing each part, the program has to decide between whether saving time or material is more important. When the optimization ratio is 0, only material savings are considered. When the ratio is 1, time savings are considered as important as material savings.

Genetic population size

Genetic algorithms are a form of machine learning that mimics biological evolution. A smaller population size may lead to results more quickly but will have less genetic diversity. A larger population size could give better results, at the cost of more processing time.

Genetic mutation rate

How much to mutate the population in each successive trial. A higher mutation rate ensures that a large variety of nest arrangements are tried, but reduces the ability of the algorithm to build upon previous successes. Increase this value if there are obvious arrangements that it does not seem to explore.

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