Nest shapes for material efficiency

Pack selected parts inside a selected closed vector container. Beam Bench runs the math; you set the constraints.

When cutting many parts from a sheet of material, manual layout takes time and can waste material. The Nest dialog packs selected parts inside a selected closed vector-compatible container.

What you need

A visible, unlocked, closed vector-compatible object that represents the usable material boundary.
One or more visible, unlocked vector-compatible parts to place inside it.
The container and every part selected together. Beam Bench uses the largest eligible selected closed object as the container.

Select the closed container and all parts you want to nest. Use the Select tool, drag a marquee around the intended objects, or select them individually. Use Ctrl+A only when every selected object belongs in this nesting operation.

2. Open the Nest dialog

Menu: Arrange → Nest Selected. See Nest dialog.

3. Set constraints

Minimum Spacing: required gap between parts and from parts to the container boundary. The label and value follow the current Display Unit; Beam Bench stores the value in millimeters. Start from a measured process width for the exact machine, material, focus, and cut settings, then add a verified safety margin.
Allow Rotation: let the packer rotate parts to fit better. Turn on unless rotation is meaningful (e.g. wood grain direction matters).
Allow Mirror: let the packer mirror parts. Turn on only if mirrored versions are acceptable.
Lock Inner Objects: preserve internal geometry positions (text-inside-frame, etc.).

4. Nest

Click Nest. The dialog closes and the packing runs asynchronously. Watch the canvas, the parts rearrange into a packed layout.

5. Handle a result that does not fit

Nest Selected does not use or resize the workspace automatically. If the parts do not fit, select a larger valid material-boundary container, reduce the part count, or reduce spacing only after a scrap test shows that it is safe. Do not increase the machine profile's physical bed dimensions to force a layout to fit; those dimensions must describe the real machine.

6. Frame and cut

If the container is only a construction boundary, place it on a non-output layer or turn its output off. Frame and Preview the nested layout to verify that the output paths fit the real material and machine bounds. Then run a scrap or low-risk test before production.

When to use kerf compensation

The per-layer Kerf value is stored with the project, but the current production planner does not apply it to Preview or generated G-code. Do not rely on that field to create clearance. Use the measured process width plus a verified margin for Minimum Spacing. If the parts need dimensional compensation, create and verify explicit offset geometry as described in Kerf compensation.

If your parts will be press-fit assemblies (slot-and-tab), the kerf and tolerance need to be carefully tuned, see Cut acrylic with kerf compensation.

Tips

For irregular shapes, larger Minimum Spacing values pack more conservatively but use more material.
Many small parts pack better than a few large parts because the packer has more flexibility.
Mirror disabled is the right default for parts with chirality (left-vs-right gear shapes).

Verify it worked

All placed parts are inside the selected container and the real machine bounds.
No two parts overlap or touch.
The arrangement looks reasonable (no obvious large gaps).