# Price sheet metal from the nest, not from a rectangle.
URL: https://arcnm.io/platform/sheet-nesting
Language: en

ARCNM unfolds every sheet-metal part from its STEP file. It nests the true outline on the sheet formats your shop buys. It prices the material from that nest, not from a rectangle around the part. Job nests go further: parts from many orders share sheets, and the engine shows what that saves.

## One job, 2 sheets instead of 14
The layout above is the engine's own run on 14 sample parts we modelled for this page. They are brackets, channels, a hat profile, a tray, plates and a flange ring. That is 108 pieces in 3 mm steel, with 10 mm edge margin and 5 mm web. Cut alone, every line opens its own sheets. Nested as one job they fit on 2, at 76.9% net utilisation. The engine costs every layout and keeps the cheapest. So a job nest never costs more than cutting each part alone.
Sample prices for illustration: steel at €1.60/kg, scrap at €0.25/kg, an offcut back in stock at 80% of new. In your environment your own prices apply. The job nest saves €317.14 on this job.
| Layout | Sheets | Material bought | Net after offcut and scrap credit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Each part on its own sheets (a quote without nesting) | 14 | €1,055.04 | €424.87 |
| Leftovers packed as rectangles | 1 | €117.75 | €111.55 |
| Rectangles on one sheet format | 1 | €117.75 | €111.55 |
| Job nest: full sheets first, then true-shape mix (kept) | 2 | €150.72 | €107.73 |

## Your cutting practice goes in; cutting files come out
- Sheet formats you stock and remnants already on the rack, used first.
- Edge margin, web per thickness, grain direction, micro-joints and common-line cutting.
- Quarter turns in every quote. Finer rotation steps (45°, 30°, 15°) in job nests.
- Per sheet: the parts, the utilisation, and the reusable offcut, labelled for the rack with a Code 128 barcode.
- Cutting files as DXF (R2010, millimetres), SVG and JSON, and each sheet's cost shared out over the parts it holds.

## Move a part, and the clash check answers
The layout editor lets you drag and rotate parts. You can move them to another or a new sheet, reorder and split plates. Every move is checked against the web and the margin, and the check states the gap. Every saved layout is a revision you can go back to. A release checklist runs before cutting files go to the machine.

## True shape in every quote; job nests with the Nesting add-on
Every sheet-metal quote, on every plan, is priced from the true-shape nest of its unfolded part. Job nests across orders, the layout editor, cutting files, remnant stock and the savings report come with the Nesting add-on. It costs €295 a month, on Scale and Enterprise. The true-shape nest needs a flat pattern the engine can unfold.

## FAQ
**Does ARCNM price sheet metal from the nest or from a rectangle?**
From the nest. The unfolded part is nested in its true shape on the sheet formats in your costing environment. The material is priced from the area it takes there, with edge margin and web included.

**Can parts from different orders share a sheet?**
Yes. A job nest groups the lines of many orders by material grade, sheet thickness and spacing. It fills full sheets first and nests the rest together, remnants first. The savings report shows what the nest saved.

**Which files does the nest export?**
DXF (R2010, in millimetres), SVG and JSON per sheet, ready for the cutting machine's CAM. Every remnant that goes back on the rack gets a label with a Code 128 barcode.