Before You Start
You will need files of shapes you have prepared for nesting. For example, parts that you plan to cut using laser, oxygen, or other forms of cutters, using materials like sheet metal, wood, composites, and more. Supported file formats include:
- IPT: These can be:
- Sheet metal files containing flat patterns, a simple sketch, or an extrusion
- Inventor solids that have a planar (flat) face (so that Inventor Nesting can determine the projection direction, which is the normal of the flat face)
- Inventor Composites that have a planar (flat) face
- Non-native files (such as STL, STEP, and so on) saved as IPT; these must also have a planar (flat) face
Non-native files are supported as of the 2019.2 Update.
- IAM: These must reference at least one supported IPT.
- DXF: Most DXF files will work, as long as they define 2D closed shapes on standard layers.
- DWG: These must also define 2D closed shapes on standard layers. Avoid using DWG-specific features, such as Paperspace.
Start the Inventor Nesting Environment
Use your preferred method to start the Inventor Nesting environment.
From an Open Inventor File | Using the Create New File Dialog Box | By Going to the Nesting Tab |
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Inventor Nesting automatically extracts the information in the file to shapes for nesting. |
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The extension for Inventor Nesting files is .inest. You cannot save nesting files to any other format. Inventor Nesting includes a sample nesting file at C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor Nesting 2020\Samples\PC Chassis\Nesting results.inest. Use this to experiment and try out the features of Inventor Nesting.
For best results, enable Automatic Update on the Inventor Nesting toolbar. This simplifies and enables update of objects in real-time while you work.
Start Working
- Update the material library with the material types you will use to create your parts.
- Create packaging to define the size and form of your materials.
- Import CAD files and extract them into shapes that can be used for your nest.
- Edit nesting properties for the shapes you have imported.
- Create a nesting study.
- View reports, export to other applications, or generate 3D models.