How to nest DXF files with GoNesting

This guide follows a job from uploading your first DXF to downloading the files for your machine.

How GoNesting works

A job goes through six steps: Upload, Parts, Sheets, Nesting options, Nesting and Export. You need a free account to start.

Your DXF files are uploaded to our server, where they 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 on our server from your original drawing.

Supported files

• DXF files in ASCII (text) format, up to 20 MB each. You can upload several files into one job.
• Read as geometry: lines, arcs, circles, ellipses, splines, lightweight and old-style polylines, and block inserts.
• Ignored: text, dimensions and other annotation.
• Not supported: DWG, SVG, PDF and binary DXF files. Save or export an ASCII DXF from your CAD program instead.

How to prepare DXF files for nesting

• Draw at 1:1 in millimetres. Coordinates are read as millimetres; the drawing’s unit setting is not used.
• Make every outline closed. Pieces whose ends meet within 0.5 mm are joined into one outline. 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.
• Remove everything that is not a part: sheet borders, title blocks and frames would otherwise be read as very large parts.
• Blocks: each block insert becomes its own part.

Parts and sheets

On the Parts step, choose which parts to nest and how many of each. Priority decides which part is placed first when two parts are the same size.

On the Sheets step, 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.

Nesting options

• 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: 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.
• Rotation: how far parts may turn.
  • 4 angles (recommended): quarter turns, 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°.
  • Best of several: runs 4 angles, auto-align and 8 angles, and keeps whichever packs tightest.
  • No rotation: parts stay exactly as drawn. Use it for grain, a brushed finish or a printed direction.
  • Auto-align: lines each part up on its longest edge, plus the square turns.
  • 8 angles: adds the 45° diagonals, which helps triangles and arrow shapes interlock.
  • 360 angles: every whole degree. The tightest fit, and by far the slowest.

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

• Laser cutting: about 1–2 mm between parts.
• Plasma cutting: 5 mm or more, to keep heat away from neighbouring parts.
• Waterjet: about 2–3 mm.
• CNC router: at least the cutter diameter.

There is no kerf setting in GoNesting: kerf compensation is applied by your CAM software as usual.

Running a nest

Press Start Nesting. 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.

• 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.
• 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, choose Save & Continue to go to the export.

Export your nested layout as DXF or PDF

• 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.

Plans and nesting runs

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.

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 switch it on for your account and reply to confirm.

DXF nesting FAQ

How do I prepare a DXF file for GoNesting?

Save it as an ASCII DXF, drawn 1:1 in millimetres, with every part as a closed outline and any holes drawn inside it. Remove borders, title blocks and anything else that is not a part. Text and dimensions are ignored.

What part-to-part spacing should I use?

It depends on your machine, material and thickness, so check with your machine supplier. As a starting point, many shops use about 1–2 mm for laser cutting, 5 mm or more for plasma, and 2–3 mm for waterjet. The default gap in GoNesting is 1 mm.

Can I nest parts on multiple sheets at once?

Yes. Add as many sheets as you have on the Sheets step. Parts are spread across them, each sheet gets its own DXF in the export, and any parts that do not fit are listed.