Software Enables Work with Remnant, Irregularly-Shaped Sheet Metal

BobCAD-CAM’s Nesting Standard and Nesting Pro CAD/CAM software modules provide intelligent sheet optimizing technology that can increase material usage for sheet cutting on CNC mill, router, laser, plasma and waterjet machines. The modules work within BobCAD-CAM CNC programming software and offer multiple ways for machinists to get more parts out of every sheet, the company says.

Nesting optimizers can be used to create either a fast nest or an optimal nest. Without any optimization, nests can be completed within a matter of seconds; however, by allowing the system to run as many as 102 trials, the system can improve material utilization by an average of 3 to 15 percent, according to the company.

The addition of wizards is said to make the entire nesting process quicker and easier. The wizards enable a logical workflow for the definition of important nesting parameters such as part counts, tabs, sheet margins, filler parts, part-in-part nesting, grain direction, thermal considerations for laser and plasma jobs, and part and sheet priority levels.

The software also includes options for working with remnant sheets and custom sheet shapes. This means that any irregularly-shaped leftover sheets from previous jobs, which normally might go to the scrap pile, can be used to nest more parts on future jobs.