Is it possible to nest with an incorporated pattern?
Hi,
Hope someone can help.
I believe there is an add-on called TruNest for nesting in AutoCAD.
In normal nesting applications, you would fit as many parts onto a sheet as possible for cutting by CNC, to reduce waste.
However, I need to be able to nest parts with a pattern on them.
For example, if I use square sheets with a pattern on and have three small parts each containing the pattern, is it possible to nest all three parts onto one sheet, but with the pattern remaining in the correct place once nested?
At the moment I have to nest manually due to the pattern, but would love to make this automated as normal nesting. I’m guessing there would need to be a way of setting the nesting parameters to the pattern, but don’t know how to do it.
Hmm.. that’s pretty complex! There’s a lot of math that goes into placing objects in the correct positions to reduce material waste.
If it does exist it would be a very specialist solution, most likely designed for a specific manufacturing company for their specific requirements . Bear in mind manufacturing-grade nesting software can get very expensive.
If it’s something you badly need, I would recommend speaking to a Nesting software developer like SigmaNest. Ask them if they offer such a solution.
This sounds to me like you’d need nesting software aimed at the clothing apparel market. When you make clothing, such as a suit, the weave/pattern of the fabric needs to match up, so that the sleeves will join up correctly with the body.
If the constraints are less, such as only needing to restrict the nesting angle of objects (e.g. 0/180 degrees) then 2D nesting software should suffice. Take a look at JETCAM, which has an extremely efficient nesting algorithm. It’s used in both the sheet metal and composite industry, with the latter having very expensive material – often upwards of $100 per square metre.
