How to nest DXF files with GoNesting

A job goes through six steps, in the order shown across the top of the app: Upload Files, Import Parts, Configure Sheets, Nesting Options, Run Nesting and Export Results. You need a free account to start.

Your DXF files are read into parts. The nesting itself runs in your browser: several arrangements are packed at the same time on your computer’s processor cores, and the tightest one is kept. The export files are built from your original drawing.

• Draw at 1:1. Sizes are converted to millimetres from the unit saved in the drawing (the DXF’s $INSUNITS setting), such as millimetres, inches or metres. A drawing with no unit saved is read in millimetres. If it is also under 120 units across, it is read both ways: when millimetres would leave fewer than half the parts that inches finds, it is read in inches. Either way, the upload step lets you switch that file to the other unit.
• Make every outline closed. Pieces whose ends meet within 0.5 mm are joined into one outline. Loose ends up to 2 mm apart in the same layer and colour, such as the small tabs that keep a piece in the sheet, are closed as well. An outline with a bigger gap cannot become a part.
• Draw holes inside their part. A closed shape that sits inside another becomes a cut-out of that part, and other parts can later be nested inside it. A shape inside that cut-out is a part again, unless it is the inside of a letter or digit cut into the part (the middle of an O).
• Cut lines split shapes. A line drawn across a shape in the same layer and colour as its outline, such as the lines of a jigsaw, cuts it into separate parts. A line in another colour is left as a mark, such as engraving.
• Sheet borders: a rectangle around a nested layout is recognised as the sheet and left out when it is on a layer named SHEET or BORDER, or when the shapes inside it are parts with holes of their own. Remove title blocks, frames and anything else that is not a part.
• Blocks: block inserts are expanded, including blocks inside blocks and arrayed inserts, and every separate outline in them becomes a part.

Drop your DXF files onto the box, or click it to choose them. You can add several files at once, up to 20 MB each. Each file is listed with the number of shapes found in it, so you can see straight away whether the drawing was read the way you expect.

• Remove a single file with its ×, or clear the list with Remove all.
• When a drawing has no unit saved and could be millimetres or inches, its line says which unit was used and offers Read as inches or Read as millimetres to switch. A drawing saved in another unit, such as inches, says so and is converted to millimetres.
• Press Continue to Parts when your files are in.

Every shape in your files becomes a part card with its size. Choose which parts to nest and how many of each.

• Tick the parts to nest. On a long list, search by part or file name.
• Set How many on each card, or use the box next to a file’s name to set a quantity for every part in that file.
• The order menu (Normal order, Place earlier, Place first) is the part’s priority: it decides which part is placed first when two parts are the same size.
• Press Continue to Sheets.

Add the sheets you have. Popular sizes such as 2500 × 1250 mm and 1200 × 800 mm are one click away, or enter your own length and width in millimetres and how many of that sheet you have. An offcut can be added the same way, as a custom size.

• Click a size to add it. Click the same size again to add another of it.
• For any other size, fill in Not listed? Enter your own size and press Add sheet.
• Your sheets lists every size with its quantity and the total sheet area in mm².
• Press Next: Nesting Options.

Every option starts on a sensible default, and the summary on the right shows the parts, sheets and settings before anything runs.

• Gap between parts (0–50 mm, default 1 mm): the clear space left between neighbouring parts. A bigger gap is safer for thick material and hot cuts; a smaller one fits more parts.
• Margin from the sheet edge (0–100 mm, default 0 mm): a border where nothing is placed, for clamps or a damaged edge.
• Co-edge cutting (beta, Pro only): neighbouring parts share one cut line instead of each getting its own. It sets the gap to 0 mm and suits straight-edged parts on a laser or plasma cutter. The DXF export merges the shared edges so each is cut once. It is not included in the free plan, and while it is in beta you should check the first sheet on your machine before running a whole job.
• Rotation: how far parts may turn. The options are listed in the order they appear on screen.
  • AI Smart Rotation: runs 4 angles, auto-align and 8 angles, and keeps whichever packs tightest.
  • Auto-align: lines each part up on its longest edge, plus the square turns.
  • 4 angles (recommended, and the default): quarter turns, 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°.
  • 8 angles: adds the 45° diagonals, which helps triangles and arrow shapes interlock.
  • 360 angles (Pro only): every whole degree. The tightest fit, and by far the slowest.
  • No rotation: parts stay exactly as drawn. Use it for grain, a brushed finish or a printed direction.
• Press Start Nesting.

These are common rules of thumb, not settings GoNesting enforces. Check them against your machine, material and thickness:

The first arrangement is drawn on the sheets as parts are placed, while other arrangements are tried at the same time; when they finish, the tightest one is shown. You can press Stop at any point.

• Each sheet shows how many parts it holds and how much of its material is used. Drag to move around the sheets, and use Ctrl + scroll or the zoom buttons to zoom.
• Not happy with the result? Change the settings and choose Run again. This counts as a new nesting run.
• Refreshing the nesting page shows your last result again without using a run, as long as the parts, sheets and settings are unchanged.
• When the layout is right, press Save & Continue to go to the export.

Click any placed part to check it against the shape in your file. Nesting only moves and turns parts; it never stretches or simplifies them.

• Download ZIP gives one DXF drawing per sheet, built from your original geometry. Cuts are ordered to shorten travel: holes before outlines, parts that sit inside another part before that part, and a short route between parts.
• Save as PDF opens your browser’s print window; choose Save as PDF. The report lists the sheets used, parts nested, material used, offcut, the settings and the parts, with a picture of every sheet.
• If some parts did not fit on the sheets you added, the export page says how many, and the files contain the parts that did.

A free account includes 5 nesting runs in total. It is a one-off allowance, not a monthly one. Every run uses the full engine, DXF export and the PDF report. Your nesting history, with search and CSV export, is available on both plans. Two settings are Pro-only: co-edge cutting and the 360 angles rotation mode. The other five rotation modes, including AI Smart Rotation, are on every plan.

A run is used each time you start nesting a job, including running it again with different settings. Pro (₹600 a month) removes the limit. To get Pro, email info@gonesting.com from the address you signed up with; we reply with the payment details and switch Pro on for your account. See what uses a nesting run for the full list.