Nesting Expert
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العربيةNesting Expert · SOLIDWORKS® add-in
SOLIDWORKS tosheets and cost,in seconds
Read an open assembly, fill your sheets under your real machine settings, and get the sheet count, weight and material cost — then a layered DXF and a printable report.
- 4 ms
- Solve time
- 5
- Free outputs
- 2019+
- SOLIDWORKS
A real job, measured: 38 parts on 1 sheet in 4 ms.
Outputs
One license, every output
No add-ons per output. One license covers everything below, and all of it works in the free trial.
Sheets used, utilisation, net weight, sheet consumed, scrap weight and what the scrap cost you — as figures, before anything is cut.
One file per sheet, with outer contours and holes on separate layers, for your CAM or whoever cuts for you.
A cover page with the figures, your machine settings and the part list, then one page per sheet with the layout drawn to scale.
Features
Built for the shop floor, not only for the laser
Sheet metal parts
The flat pattern comes from SOLIDWORKS itself, so the bend allowance is SOLIDWORKS' own. Your document is never modified.
Imported solid plates
STEP and IGES bodies with no sheet-metal feature are handled too: the largest flat face becomes the contour.
Quantities from the assembly
Quantity, material and thickness are read from the model, per file and configuration. Nothing is typed in twice.
Separate X and Y gaps
A router cuts a channel, not a line. Horizontal and vertical spacing are separate numbers because on the shop floor they differ.
Tool diameter and edge margins
Tool diameter is an input and margins are set per edge, so you can clear clamps or a vacuum zone on one side only.
Cheapest sheet mix
Give it several sheet sizes with their prices. It picks the cheapest combination, not the biggest sheet.
Weight, three ways
Net for the parts, gross for the sheet consumed, and scrap, so the cost of what is left over is a number.
Same input, same layout
The same assembly gives the same layout every time, so a question about a job has one answer.
Nothing skipped silently
A part that cannot be nested is named, with the reason. You find out on screen, not at assembly.
How it compares
| Feature | Nesting Expert | By hand in SOLIDWORKS | By hand in CAD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material cost in the result | ✓ | — | — |
| Weight and scrap in the result | ✓ | — | — |
| Same input, same layout | ✓ | — | — |
| Change a quantity and run again | ✓ | ~ | ~ |
| Printable cut report | ✓ | — | ~ |
We compare with laying sheets out by hand, because that is how our own shop worked. On the job we measured, our foreman fits it on the same one sheet: the gain is time and the cost figure, not material.
Routers
Built for routers, not only for beams
A laser cuts a line. A router cuts a channel as wide as the tool, so parts need real distance between them, and not the same distance in both directions.
One number cannot describe it
On our own machine: 25 mm across, 16–20 mm down, 15–28 mm at the edge. A single kerf setting cannot express that.
Common-line is not offered on a router
Sharing one cut between two parts works when the cut is a line. A channel would eat both parts, so we do not count a saving you cannot take to the machine.
Five millimetres, one sheet
One measured job from our own shop. The setting is yours, because it decides how much material you buy.
gap X 25 mm · gap Y 20 mm → 1 sheet
gap X 25 mm · gap Y 25 mm → 2 sheetsLimits
What it does not do
A surprise on day two is worse than a no on day one, so the list is kept here.
Licenses
Simple pricing
- Perpetual license, 1 machine
- Every output included, no add-ons
- 1 year of updates included; optional yearly update plan afterwards
- Free trial: 5 outputs, no time limit
The Expert family
More SOLIDWORKS add-ins from the same publisher
- GLB Expert
Exports SOLIDWORKS parts and assemblies to 3D formats for the web, presentations and sharing.
Gearing ExpertComing soon
Mechanism ExpertComing soon
Springs ExpertComing soon
FAI ExpertComing soon
