Sheet stock and nesting setup
Match material groups to stock, choose a cutting method, and generate a current nesting plan.
Match every required group
- Choose stock: Add a full sheet, half sheet, custom sheet, or an eligible matching sheet from Pro Inventory for each material and thickness group.
- Choose the cutting method: Use Table/Track Saw for rip-and-crosscut planning or CNC Machine for tool-diameter-based nesting.
- Set the clearances: Review saw kerf or CNC tool diameter, Additional clearance, Sheet edge margin, the optimization goal, and the rotation policy.
- Run nesting: Generate a current result, then review actual placements and per-sheet totals before continuing.
Changing an input invalidates the old result
Material, stock size, part setup, cutting method, tool or kerf, Additional clearance, Sheet edge margin, optimization goal, search controls, and grain behavior all affect the result signature. Editing one marks the prior plan stale so Processing cannot export an outdated layout.
Additional clearance is extra space beyond the cut
CutCAD calculates the Minimum part gap as the active cut width plus Additional clearance. For example, a 6 mm CNC tool with 1.5 mm additional clearance keeps finished part outlines at least 7.5 mm apart. Additional clearance can be smaller than the tool because the tool width is already included. The pocket tool is configured separately and does not change the nesting gap.
Sheet edge margin is measured from the finished part outline to the stock boundary and is independent of part spacing. It defaults to half the active cut width, but you may reduce it to any non-negative value, including zero, when your workholding and stock setup allow it.
Choose rotation for the material and machine
Grain aligned preserves part grain with 180° flips. Orthogonal ignores grain and allows 90° turns. CNC jobs can also use Free rotation, which defaults to 15° best-fit angles and is intended for MDF and other grainless engineered material.
CNC uses profile-aware material-yield nesting under every rotation policy; the policy only limits the angles the solver may use. Table/Track Saw uses guillotine strip layouts under every breakdown style. CNC layouts support per-sheet DXF, CSV, and a CNC Shop Pack with tooling settings, exported layers, nested maps, and placement schedules. The CNC report never substitutes saw rip-and-crosscut instructions for toolpaths. For Free rotation, reusable sheet stock is conservatively calculated as rectangles outside the expanded placement envelope.
Compact footprint is the default material-use objective
Across every rotation policy, CutCAD first requires a complete valid placement and favors eligible Inventory stock before new stock. It then minimizes stock area and sheet count before comparing layout quality. Compact footprint chooses the smallest occupied envelope, with reusable offcut quality breaking close ties.
Advanced nesting controls can spend more search time, pour rows Along X or columns Along Y from the selected starting corner, or explicitly favor a long, wide, or single large remnant. Auto compares both fill axes. Search quality applies to every rotation policy; the rotation increment appears only in Free mode. Smaller angle increments and Thorough quality evaluate more candidates and take longer.