DXF nesting software for sheet metal
AllTerra Calculator turns a DXF drawing into a true-shape nest on your sheet format. Cut length and pierces then go into costing. This page describes what the live service at calc.1cterra.ru does with contours, holes, spacing and edge margin.
How DXF geometry is read
Orders start from DXF files. Drop one or more .dxf drawings into the order form. The calculator looks for closed contours. If a file has none, nesting cannot start and you get an error about missing closed contours. Open lines alone do not define a part you can cut.
For each part, the calculator finds the outer contour and the inner cut holes. Very small closed loops are treated as engraving, not as holes. Part area is the outer area minus the hole areas. Cut length includes the outer path and the hole paths. Openings add cut length and pierces, so they do not disappear from the quote.
Holes versus outer contour
Inner closed contours that count as cut holes become openings in the part. Pierces for a part are the outer start plus one per hole. A plate with three openings is not priced like a solid blank with the same outline. Pierces then drive machine time and gas in the cost calculation.
Inner lines and engraving
Open lines and arcs that never close, text, engraving layers and very small closed loops are treated as engraving. They stay with the part data. They are not drawn in the mini preview today. They are not added to cut length or pierces the way cut holes are. If your DXF mixes decorative lines with cut geometry, the nest and cost follow the closed cut contours and holes, not every decorative stroke.
True-shape nesting on the sheet
Once the geometry is accepted, the calculator places parts on the sheet format you selected. Placement is true-shape. It works with the real outlines, including holes that affect packing, not just bounding rectangles. Clearances and sheet edge rules come from the order and from your company defaults.
On the order form you set the nesting parameters: Part rotation lock, Shared cut, Pair up L-shaped parts and edge handling. Part spacing is a gap in millimetres (default 2 mm, allowed 0–20 mm). Mirroring is always on in the live order flow. There is no separate switch for it.
- Part rotation lock: free (0/90/180/270° with mirroring), grain (0° and 180° only, no mirroring) or fixed (as drawn, 0° only).
- Mirroring is used when the rotation lock allows it. In free mode, parts can be flipped to pack tighter.
- Part spacing (gap between parts) is 2 mm by default. You can set another value.
- Edge mode: keep a margin from the sheet edge, or treat the edge as part of the piece. Edge margin is set in millimetres (0–100).
- Shared cut merges matching edges, so neighbouring parts share one cut where the nesting allows it.
- Pair up L-shaped parts nests matching L-shapes together. This option is unavailable with some nesting setups.
What you get after nesting
A finished nest is more than a picture. It gives you the production numbers that costing and the PDF quote reuse. Estimators check sheets and utilisation before sending an offer. Cut length and pierces go on into machine time.
| Metric | How it is used |
|---|---|
| Sheets used | How many sheets the nest needed for the ordered quantities. |
| Sheet utilisation | Share of sheet area covered by parts, on the same basis in results and history. |
| Cut length | Total cutting path of the nested parts. Feeds machine time. |
| Pierces | One start per outer contour and per hole. Each pierce adds pierce time, and gas where it is set. |
You can check the layout preview before you send a quote. You can also add the nesting layout to the PDF quote, so the customer sees the same packing you priced. Geometry and price stay together, with no screenshots from another tool.
From nest to cost and quote
Nesting is the geometry half of the job. Costing applies your shop rates to cut length, pierces and material, using the pricing model you chose. Quoting turns the result into a PDF. Use the links below for those steps, or open the calculator with your own DXF. This page quotes no utilisation figures for unnamed customers. It describes only what the live service does and the public demo on the home page.