Smart placement

Nesting Wizard

Smart Placement — Rotate Parts for Tighter DXF Nests

True-shape placement with bottom-left packing and shape-aware rotations so DXF parts pack tighter on each sheet.

Sheet2Nest combines bottom-left placement with geometry-aware fitting so rotated profiles tuck closer together. Ideal when parts are irregular or mix sizes—fewer gaps than naive strip layouts on comparable DXF inputs.

PlacementStrategies

Proven strategies for dense, collision-free part positioning

Bottom-Left Fill

Greedy placement strategy

Places parts starting from bottom-left corner, moving right and up. Fast and efficient for most nesting scenarios. Grid-based search with configurable step size (default 2mm).

O(n²)
Fast

Edge-Anchor Search

Neighbor-first candidates

Prefers positions along edges and corners of already-placed parts before falling back to a finer grid. Finds tight arrangements faster than naive full-sheet scanning alone.

O(n²)
Fast

Rotation Support

Multi-angle optimization

Tests 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270° rotations for each part. Rotation angles are determined by part classification (circles: 0°, rectangles: 0° and 90°, irregular: 0°, 90°, 180°, 270°).

O(k)
Fast

Collision Detection

Two-stage validation

Fast AABB pre-check followed by precise polygon intersection testing. Handles complex shapes with holes by subtracting hole areas from outer polygons during collision checks.

O(n)
Fast

Smart PlacementProcess

How smart placement finds optimal positions for each part

1

Rotation Testing

Try multiple rotation angles

Tests allowed rotation angles (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) for each part to find the best fit. Rotation is determined by part classification and user preferences, maximizing space efficiency.

2

Bottom-Left Strategy

Start from bottom-left corner

Places parts starting from the bottom-left corner, moving right and up. This greedy approach creates compact layouts by filling space systematically from the lowest available position.

3

Candidate Search

Evaluate edge anchors and grid positions

Searches neighbor edges of placed parts and a utilization-aware grid to find legal positions quickly, then tightens placement with a slide-toward-origin pass when space allows.

4

Collision Detection

AABB pre-check and precise validation

Performs fast axis-aligned bounding box (AABB) intersection tests first, then precise polygon-polygon collision detection. Handles complex shapes with holes accurately.

5

Position Optimization

Find optimal placement location

Evaluates multiple candidate positions to find the best fit. Considers proximity to existing parts, sheet boundaries, and material utilization to maximize efficiency.

6

Validation & Placement

Final validation and part placement

Validates that the placement is collision-free, within sheet boundaries (with margin), and holes are properly contained. Once validated, the part is placed and the process continues.

PlacementFeatures

Optimal Positioning

Finds best placement location

Rotation Support

0°, 90°, 180°, 270° angles

Collision-Free

Accurate overlap detection

Boundary Respect

Maintains sheet margins

Hole Handling

Properly accounts for holes

Fast Execution

Efficient algorithms

True-Shape Collision

Sheet2Nest places parts with polygon-accurate overlap checks—not bounding boxes alone— so irregular outlines nest tighter while staying collision-free.

Polygon precision

Fast AABB rejection, then precise polygon intersection for acceptance.

Shape-aware rotations

Circles, rectangles, and irregular parts only try the rotations that actually help packing.

Efficient search

Edge anchors and adaptive grids focus effort where free space is most likely.

How placement works

Candidates come from sheet corners, neighbors of placed parts, and an adaptive grid.

Each candidate is checked with AABB then polygon intersection so irregular profiles stay collision-free.

Accepted positions can slide toward the origin to close leftover gaps without overlapping neighbors.

RotationSupport

Intelligent rotation based on part classification

Circles

0°

No rotation needed for circular parts

Rectangles

0°, 90°

Two orientations for rectangular parts

Squares

0°

Single orientation for square parts

Irregular

0°, 90°, 180°, 270°

Full rotation support for complex shapes

More Nesting Wizard features

DXF processing

Nest DXF files in your browser with automated placement—sheet cutting optimization and CAD-friendly exports without installing desktop CAD.

Quick Add Part

Create rectangles, circles, brackets, and structural profiles from dimensions—live preview, queue multiple parts, and add them straight into nesting or cost quotes.

Part detection

Closed contours and holes are inferred from DXF geometry—less manual picking before you nest.

Nesting algorithms

Fast greedy plus optimized nesting for DXF sheets—many jobs reduce scrap 20%+ vs naive layouts; results vary by job.

Try it in the nesting wizard

Upload your DXF, review parts, set quantities, and export optimized layouts with utilization reports.

Start free nesting

Feature: Smart placement