Documentation

Installation

1. Download the installer from the Download page and run it. You can install for all users (administrator rights) or only for the current user.
2. Everything the program needs, including .NET, is part of the installer. A portable ZIP version is also available on request.
3. On first start the program opens in English. The language can be changed in Settings → General → Language; the program offers a restart.

Settings are stored in %APPDATA%\SRSANEST, logs, automatic backups and rescue copies in %LOCALAPPDATA%\SRSANEST.

Licensing and activation

• Without a licence the program runs as a full 30-day trial. After that it keeps working, but DXF export, reports and CSV require a licence.
• To activate, choose Help → Licence in the program, enter the licence key and click Activate. The computer must be connected to the internet.
• The licence is then checked online in the background; without an internet connection the program keeps working for 14 days after the last successful check.
• Before replacing a computer, choose Help → Licence → Release this computer, or release it in your customer account on this website.

The five-step workflow

The main window is a guide with five steps shown at the top. Use Back / Next at the bottom or Ctrl+1 … Ctrl+5. Each step shows a short hint on what to do.

1. Select parts – Import DXF files or whole folders and enter quantities.
2. Edit parts – Set rotation, mirroring and priority – for one part or many at once.
3. Sheets and gaps – Choose sheet formats and remnants from stock, set gap and margin.
4. Nesting – Start automatic nesting and fine-tune the result by hand.
5. Export – Export DXF for the machine, print the report, store remnants.

Importing DXF

Use “Import DXF…” (Ctrl+I) or drag DXF files or whole folders into the window. Supported entities: LINE, ARC, CIRCLE, LWPOLYLINE and POLYLINE including bulges, ELLIPSE, SPLINE and INSERT blocks (also nested, mirrored and MINSERT).

• Contours are joined automatically and small gaps are closed (tolerances in Settings → DXF).
• Outer contours, holes and separate parts inside holes are recognized automatically.
• Drawings without units are interpreted with the fallback unit from the settings; inches and other units are converted.
• You can import only selected layers or ignore some layers.
• Texts and lines on marking layers (GRAV, POPIS, TEXT, MARK…) are kept as engraving, not as cutting contours.
• Problems are listed in the Import problems panel; a part with an error is shown in red.

No drawings at hand? Help → Sample DXF creates and imports sample parts.

Parts: quantity, rotation, mirroring

• Quantity is set with − / + or by typing; 0 means the part is not nested.
• Rotation: No rotation, every 180°, 90°, 45°, 30°, 15°, 10°, 5°, 2°, 1° or Custom… (a step in degrees, or a list of angles separated by semicolons).
• Mirroring is allowed with one tick. Do not allow it for parts with foil or a brushed surface.
• Priority Low / Standard / High – high-priority parts are nested first and on the first sheets.
• Material and thickness: a part then goes only on sheets with the same material and thickness.
• Tick several parts to change quantity, rotation, mirroring and priority for all of them in the bar above the list (Ctrl+Z undoes it).
• Each part keeps its job (folder) – used for filtering and in the reports.

Sheets and remnants

• Add sheets of any size or choose a standard size with “Quick add”. Set the available quantity (empty or 0 = unlimited).
• Remnants: “Sheet remnant from DXF…” loads the outline of a remnant of any shape; holes in it are treated as defects.
• Ticked sheets may be used by nesting. Sheets with a higher priority are used first; remnants have a high priority automatically.
• Set the gap between parts (kerf width plus safety) and the sheet margin. The program estimates the theoretical minimum number of sheets.

Nesting settings

Manual editing

After nesting you can adjust every sheet: drag parts with the mouse, rotate with R / Shift+R, mirror with M, lock with L, delete with Delete. Drag a part from the list onto a sheet to place it by hand. Collisions and gaps are checked while you work, and “Place remaining automatically” nests missing pieces around locked parts.

“All sheets” shows every sheet in large previews; F11 shows a sheet in full screen.

Export to DXF and CypCut

• Tick the sheets to export and choose “Export selected sheets…” (Ctrl+E exports all).
• Generic DXF: layers PARTS and HOLES, optionally SHEET, MARGIN, LABELS and the remnant line REMNANT. Arcs and circles stay arcs. DXF version 2000 or 2018.
• CypCut profile: DXF 2000 in mm, only part outlines on the cutting layer, each sheet in its own file with the origin in the bottom-left corner.
• Engraving: marking from the DXF and optional labels of every piece go to the GRAVIROVANI layer.

In CypCut assign the cutting layer (REZANI) to the cutting process and GRAVIROVANI to a layer with an engraving process when importing the DXF.

Reports and cost estimate

The shop-floor report opens in the browser, where you can print it or save it as PDF. It contains a drawing of every sheet with numbered parts, the list of pieces, utilization, cut length, number of pierces, remnant size and a summary by job. The CSV report contains the same data for Excel.

Cutting time and price are estimated from cutting speed, pierce time, rapid moves and the hourly rate set in Settings → Production.

Projects, backups and settings

• Projects are saved as .nest files; the previous version is kept as a .bak backup.
• Unsaved work is backed up automatically at a set interval.
• Settings tabs: General (language, backups), Parts (defaults for new parts), Production (speeds and price), Nesting, Units, Geometry, DXF, Display, Performance and Export.
• Light and dark theme, units in millimetres or inches.

Keyboard shortcuts

Command-line tool

The installation also contains sheetnest-cli for batch processing without the user interface, for example:

sheetnest-cli uses the licence activated in the program on the same computer.

sheetnest-cli nest --sheet 3000x1500 --spacing 2 --margin 10 --time 30 --rotation 90 --out result.dxf a.dxf:10 b.dxf:25