The nesting optimization section in the Processing Station allows you to choose how to optimize parts within a material sheet. Selecting the strategy for your Nesting Optimizer will allow you to maximize materials by placing and rotating the parts as necessary to create a nested pattern that minimizes waste. Depending on the project, some strategy options may be more appropriate to provide accurate machining of small parts and calculating the best yield. The Part Sorting and Grouping section subsequently controls the way parts are prioritized in terms of order.

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Block Nesting: Optimizes the parts based on the bounding box dimensions instead of the actual irregular part sizes, treating all parts as though they are rectangles.

True Shape Nesting: Optimizes parts based on their shapes and borders, potentially leading to increased yield and decreased scrap. True shape nesting takes longer than block nesting but may produce better results.

Adaptive Nesting: Runs the batch through Block Nesting, then True Shape Nesting automatically, comparing the results and setting the option that produced higher yield as the outcome.

Persistence: Controls the amount of time the optimizer operates and analyzes patterns of material, potentially resulting in better results. Select between low, medium, high, or highest. The level selected represents the number of patterns that the optimizer will continue evaluating without improved results found. Each time that a new, better result is found, the optimizer’s persistence counter resets to allow an additional ‘selected value’ patterns to be checked again.

Distance Between Parts: The minimum gap between parts in a nesting pattern.

Max Quantity Per Optimized Sheet: The maximum number of duplicate optimized sheets allowed during the operation.

Sheet Quantity Preference: This slider controls the degree to which the optimizer prioritizes yield or quantity of identical sheets. This option only affects operations if Max Quantity Per Optimized Sheet has a value greater than 1, and the parts being processed have a greater quantity than 1.

Run Face 6 First (Full Sheet): Sets the software to process bottom-side (face 6) machined parts first on nested sheets, then fill the rest with flat parts (face 5).

Enable Multi-run Optimization: Allows the genetic optimizer to make multiple consecutive runs before selecting the best result. The number of runs before a result must be selected and the number of seconds between each run can be manually entered in the fields of this section once the option is enabled.
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This interface allows users to sort and group parts during optimization using 3 different levels of priority.

The priority of each sorting/grouping option corresponds with its position in the interface, with the top option being the highest level of sorting, then so on. Based on the sorting and grouping settings, parts are generally placed contiguously, to minimize the number of sheets used. The sorting changes depending on whether the parts are sorted in ascending or descending order.

Item Number: Sorts parts with the same item number to same sheet regardless of yield result and sets parts to be placed onto sheets chronologically. Order can be set to Ascending (lowest number to highest number) or Descending (highest number to lowest number).

Part Name: Sorts parts alphabetically according to the name of the part within the work order or database. Order can be set to Ascending (A-Z) or Descending (Z-A).
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Face 6 Machining: Sort parts based on whether they have face 6 machining applied. Order can be set to Ascending (face 6 parts are placed on the final/lower sheets) or Descending (face 6 parts are placed on the first/highest sheets). Whether flat (non-Face-6) parts may fill the remaining space on those sheets is controlled by the group-break type (New Sheet / Same Sheet / Previous N Sheets).
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Group Type: The strategy for placing parts on individual sheets. Group type refers to the grouping and ‘overlap’ between parts with different sort values. You can choose between placing parts on a new sheet, on the same current sheet, or on a previous sheet, with a selection of how up the stack one goes when selecting the previous sheet (from 2-10 sheets prior). All grouping options work independently of each other and can create poor yield if used excessively with highly restrictive grouping types and/or low numbers of parts.

​For an example of how this feature affects operations, assume an operation requires the optimization of 3 products, each with unique item numbers of 1.01, 1.02 and 1.03 and each requiring 10 parts per product. Sorting by item number and in ascending order on the top sort only, the optimizer will place all of 1.01’s 10 parts individually on as many sheets as necessary until all are placed, then 1.02’s 10 parts will be placed. Each part will be attempted on the first sheet, then the second and so on until an empty space large enough to place the part is found. The group type dictates what happens between the last part of 1.01 and all of 1.02’s parts.

If the last part of 1.01 is placed on sheet 3, the selected group type will dictate the following:

All of 1.03’s parts will be placed according to the group type and based on the last part of 1.02 regardless of any of 1.01’s parts.

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