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AutoNEST User Guide

1. RSA RSs ISSSESAGSESES ARRARAS ES e Bae Allow Part Mirror coupled with the Quantity Mixed Array option 4 42 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Nesting 4 6 Nesting Introduction The core nesting engine of AutoNEST is called NestPRO The basic technology of NestPRO lies in its powerful nesting engine NestPRO features an intelligence processor that auto adapts to different nesting conditions such as stocks and parts of different size and quantity NestPRO generates nested layouts that reduces material wastage and maximizes utilization There are two commands related to Nesting within the AutoCAD environment Both commands generate nested layouts from tasks created by TaskEdit The first for nesting one task at a time and the second for batch nesting of multiple tasks Nesting Single Task To nest a single task at a time and output immediately onto the current AutoCAD drawing session BatchNesting To nest a selection of tasks sequentially Output files are created for each nested task for viewing at a later stage Use the ViewNEST command to view the nested layouts 4 43 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Nesting NEST 4 6 1 a Nesting Single Task Select the Nesting command from the icon or pulldown menu The following will appear at th
2. Consider Common Line Es L Comline Select this option if you want AutoNEST to consider packing of the parts along their common edges This feature will save cutting time However AutoNEST will consider the common line packing together with the quality of the nesting Ignore Hole within Part Nest Regular Stock First Save Remnant Mark this check box to ignore all holes and cut outs within Parts during nesting So that no parts will be packed into these holes or cut outs Mark this check box to nest regular stocks first The default is to nest irregular stocks first Mark this check box to save the remnants of the stocks automatically after every nest as long as they are of the minimum X and Y size or more The original profile of the rectangular stocks will also be saved with the remnants By default these remnants will be saved into the Part Irregular Stock directory The names of the remnant stocks will be Taskname_ REM1 1 stk Taskname_ REM2 1 stk Taskname_ REM2 2 stk and so on The naming convention is as follows _ REM LAYOUT_NO NO In addition a Task will automatically be created bearing the Taskname_ REM job To view Remnant tasks click the Task Type radio button Remnant when selecting tasks in the TaskEdit dialog box 5 24 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Min Remnant X Min Remnant Y The minimum remnant dim
3. To type in or click the _Browse button to choose a directory where your parts and irregular stocks are to be located The directory or sub directory must be created first To type in or click the Browse button to choose a directory where your tasks are to be located The directory or sub directory must be created first Sysdata 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Sysdata Input Part Ir stock Layer Color Setting Outer Profile Inner Profile Part Leadin These are the layer color and part leadin leadout FILTER settings that you can specify for both SavePART and DXF2VEC commands These settings are especially helpful if the parts that you are saving or converting contain marking lines that touch or intersect the external internal profiles of the shapes By specifying the layer color part leadin filters you will help SavePART and DXF2VEC commands to differentiate profiles that are crucial to nesting outer and inner profiles of the part against those that are not markings or folding lines Outer Profile L Part Lead in Lead out Inner Profile You can specify more than ONE colors in the Color field by entering for example 1 3 for colors 1 and 3 separated by a comma Nested Layout Presentation Units The units setting of inputs and outputs There are 4 choices to choose from Metric Architectural Imperial 1 3 1 4 Decimal Imperial 15 25 Engineering Im
4. Nesting After having defined the nesting requirements in the previous stage Nesting can now be invoked to compute the layout solutions The resulting layouts are automatically converted into DXF format To view the nested layouts any CAD software that reads DXF files will do In addition two text files are also generated to reflect the nesting results 5 2 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Getting Started Flow Chart of AutoNEST Process Nest Manager Startup and load AutoNEST Program Sysdata Setting up AutoNEST environment DXF2VEC Parts files in Convert Parts from DXF DXF format to AutoNEST VEC format TaskEdit Create Tasks using TaskEdit More Tasks to edit Nesting To nest single or multiple tasks Upon successful nesting DXF files created 5 3 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Getting Started 5 1 2 AutoNEST Features Below is a list of commands in the Nest Manager icon menu Sysdata To set the environmental settings for the running of AutoNEST DXF2PRT ConvertPart To convert DXF files to Parts VEC and vice versa DXF2STK ConvertirStock To convert DXF files to irregular stocks STK and vice versa TaskEdit To create or edit a task by specifying a list of stocks and a list of parts to be nested and the associated parameters of the nesting requirements BatchNesting To nest a group of selected tasks On line Help To view on l
5. JOB being written on the default Task directory set at the Sysdata For example Task Name SAMPLE Filename SAMPLE JOB 5 25 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Illustrations for Packing Direction Control AUTO Packing CSS LZ BERBER lt O rrr EL S a E E a a E a a a S T N NN 5 o a m2 PEHEALLLETME ers Lu N es LZ iH HI EHH a HS Le o g 2 L 47 Le 5 26 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Illustrations for Single Part Nest Control Density Single Array Quantity Single Array DDD LOLI LLT Task Edit AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment 5 Quantity Mixed Array VYY ACBACOHGR Extension Long Nest S S RSA RSs ISSSESAGSESES ARRARAS ES e Bae Allow Part Mirror coupled with the Quantity Mixed Array option 5 28 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Nesting NEST 5 6 al Nesting Nesting enables you to selectively nest the task s that you want At times you may like to nest a series of tasks overnight or during a short break This facility is also available via th
6. 16 Total No of Shapes 87 17 Total No of Stock Sheet 0 1 18 Encl Rect 0 000000 0 000000 3806 703954 3258 750718 19 Stock Sheet 3258 750718 3806 703954 x 1 20 Stock Area 9234599 16 Sum of area of shapes 5673622 50 21 amp i stk 2685 912593 1921 541344 0 0 1 22 17 1 3445 292074 1876 218412 11 766537 2 0 1 23 17 1 2854 195540 2200 574867 168 233463 2 0 1 24 17 1 2163 516778 1875 891255 11 766537 2 0 1 25 17 1 1572 420244 2200 247710 168 233463 2 0 1 26 17 1418 622195 2774 246774 269 985376 2 0 1 27 17 1 2566 064366 443 120389 179 985376 2 0 1 28 17 1 2398 265618 961 253189 179 985376 2 0 1 29 PART3 2117 604589 1421 560227 0 014624 3 0 1 30 PART3 2324 528435 1260 959391 180 014624 3 0 1 31 PART3 3624 289236 376 923330 267 808871 3 0 1 32 PART3 1849 929902 1349 789402 270 014624 3 0 1 33 PART3 2851 255095 1352 473314 180 014624 3 0 1 34 PART4 154 152797 3096 646617 270 000000 4 0 1 35 W19 994 017396 2813 313029 180 014624 5 0 1 36 W19 928 893289 1829 261109 0 014624 5 0 1 The differences between regular stock and irregular stock are as follows Line 19 amp 20 Overall dimension of the irregular stock and the number of repeated layout s Within brackets are the overall width and length Area of irregular stock and Sum of area of parts nested in the current layout Line 21 List ir stock name and position The format for this line is amp ir stock name X Y Angle Color X Y Angle
7. 4 8 PU ALO NEST Soo SPpeIoNMRVEUTEDO een ia Ud a n Et EV RET 49 About AutoNEST iioii V EAS VR dee RA AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment 2 1 3 1 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 10 4 1 4 1 4 4 4 7 4 11 4 12 4 14 4 16 4 18 4 20 4 22 4 23 4 25 4 27 4 28 4 42 4 43 4 46 4 48 4 51 4 52 5 l Getting Started ioo vcndes veehesccedecvevnks n ER EYES e SEEN RES eevee 5 1 5 1 1 AutoNEST PIOG6SS eec eee EX RR RR ENT eR ERR d 5 2 5 1 2 SXUtONNBESLPOAUTeS Soo 2e pe e D COR nae cate INR d aite 5 4 MES V capire 5 5 53 SDXBE2PRIGCSTS RN ENORMI ERR ARI ERES MN dM MER S 5 9 9 9 1 DYXE2PR Lose coieaente te via EUER VETE UR tta Vo HR PUER EE PER S 5 9 5 4 DX DS ju qe inca ey sax dcauveseosa waaay eevee nena 5 12 24 D DXPS ee oo cartes phe eeu UM Dead NEQU Ua UR 5 12 5 5 DaskEdit ooi rodent ER e pubR EE PESE RAP n es 5 15 BiG NeSUHp conie DC e ED RP itera shag c PEE ELE e ELE EE n E 5 29 File Format c ote ERES e UTI CERNIT Fer DR en MERE MN d 6 1 6 1 M BC Bormat ee eer ES bes iav FERT RM UE PEN SIDE EIOS 6 2 6 2 STK Format iiie ee beo d e bti E Et aves e sews 6 6 6 3 JOB Format nive tv pi oea eter ep edes leteteaegensh 6 8 6 SYM Format ove a R plos olera reas qe d td 6 12 6 5 SUM Format cci ene Yos 6 16 6 6 JOXE Porat roodo EU EEE ATE EER AEE aT EHE SAT ELS qu 6 17 Error Messages ccce oc envio n Dos ira ecc lin 7 1 System Parameters 8 1 AutoNEST Systems Files sess 8 1 1 Introduction 1
8. Color indicate the color to be used on screen Hole no indicate which hole the current part is being nested as the Part may have multiple holes these are differentiated by the Hole no in VEC file 0 means the part is NOT inside any other part s hole 0 means the part is inside a certain hole no of the part Layer the meaning is different from the Drawing layers that most of us are familiar with Here it means whether a part is nested in multiple levels of Part In Part The diagram below illustrates what it means to be called Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 and so on Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Line 33 41 The second nested layout information The transformation of the part in second layout is relative to the first layout s left bottom point while the enclosing rectangle s coordinate is relative to the current layout s left bottom point Important Do not use Tab characters when you are constructing this file with a text editor or word processor Instead use ordinary spaces 6 14 6 AutoNEST File Format An irregular stock will have the following SYM file format 1 2 AUutoNEST V9 3 SymFile Name IRREG 1 sym 4 Layout from NESTPRO EXE 5 6 Process Time Taken 7 8 Input 0 min 0 08 sec 9 Pairl 0 min 0 68 sec 10 Pairll 0 min 0 02 sec 11 2 Packing O0 min 1 98 sec 12 Total 0 min 2 76 sec 13 14 JOB IRREG 1 15 No of Distinct Shapes 5
9. Introduction Thank you for purchasing AutoNEST AutoNEST is addressed to the common problem faced in a number of industries where repetitive or non repetitive parts have to be cut economically from given stock sheets This optimization requirement is often encountered in industries such as shipbuilding aerospace sheet metal garment manufacture furniture work etc While each different industry may have its own characteristics the underlying objective of the manufacturer is to maximize utilization and minimize material wastage through judicious layout of parts A part s geometry is input in a simple TEXT VEC file format or in the AutoCAD DXF format Through a Task editor TaskEdit command you can define your nesting requirements i e stock sizes quantity of each stock size parts to be nested quantity and grain orientation of each part cutting gap and so on Taking into consideration these parameters AutoNEST will search through the numerous possible arrangements and present near optimum layout solutions AutoNEST assists the fabricator in maximizing material utilization and reduce drastically the time taken to plan a layout The program has been highly optimized to provide the shortest run time a fraction of the time of what it would have taken manually AutoNEST features a single intelligent nesting engine NestPRO to handle all your nesting jobs AutoNEST allows the incorporation of an intuition factor from the exp
10. ViewNEST To view the nesting layouts of previously nested tasks UpdateNEST To update the nested layouts after editing On line Help To view on line help file click this icon 4 5 Getting Started 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment About To view the version of the program click this icon About Samples of typical nested layout p s 4 6 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment 4 2 Sysdata Sysdata is an important command to set the working environment for running AutoNEST Before you begin to work with any of the other AutoNEST commands it is recommended that the Sysdata command be activated to set the working environment Select the Sysdata command and the following dialog box will be displayed B autoNEST Sysdata m Directory Setting Task Directory Part Ir Stock Directory Browse c anest v9 O06 task Browse c anest v9 006 parts Outer Profile Inner Profile Part Leadin m Input Part Ir Stock Layer Setting Layer Name Color Units Accuracy File Format Nested Layout Presentation Metric 2 VEC Layer Color Layer Color Setting v Label Parts V Label Repeated Parts 5 00 v Summary Report 5 00 Display Repeated Layout Text Size Text Size Cancel Help Directory Setting Parts Ir Stock Directory Task Directory
11. acceptable if Explode External profile and internal holes Pedit Spline and Pedit Fit profiles of a part must be closed acceptable if Explode Layer and Color of profile must be ofas Additional line plines along the profile set in Sysdata Crossing over on each profile or between profiles Part with more than 1500 vertices per profile 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Parts The dialog box is as below AutoNEST ConverntPart Ioj x Parts Directory c Nanest v9 D B parts DF File Directory c anest v9 O06 parts Browse Convert DXFtoPart VEC Part VEC to DXF Available DXF File 77 Selected DXF File Bw2 Ir Bw3 Bw4 BWS Bw7 Bw8 wa 3 Xj Ignore Holes amp Cut outs ance Converted VEC File HER View Enar Close Help Parts Display the default part directory set at Sysdata In this case it is Directory also the target directory where all converted file will be saved DXF File To type in or click the 88 button to select a directory where directory the source files are located Convert DXF Select this radio button to convert DXF files to Parts VEC to Part VEC Convert Part Select this radio button to convert Part VEC files to DXF format VEC to DXF 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Parts Available Display a list of available files found in the Part Dir
12. transformation of the ir stock relative to the first layout s left bottom point In this current version the Angle is always 0 0 and the Color always 1 6 AutoNEST 6 5 SUM Format File Format The SUM file is one of the three files created upon every successful nesting of a task A SUM file will contain the same information as the Nesting Summary report when displayed on the drawing The format is listed below NESTING REPORT FROM PIP EXE TASK NAME STOCK QTY STOCK SIZE ENCLOSING RECT ENCLOSING RECT STOCK AREA TOTAL PART AREA ENCLOSING RECT TOTAL PART PERIMETER PART NO P001 3 3 P004 2 2 P005 2 2 SUB TOTAL W7 NESTING SUMMARY PART NO P001 P004 P005 TOTAL PARTS NESTED STOCK 1000 0000x800 0000 TOTAL TASKOI STOCK 1 1 1000 0010x800 0000 943 7744x745 7799 703847 9556 800001 8000 87 98 399104 9006 703847 9556 56 70 34744 63 BASIC QTY 3 3 2 2 10 100 2 2 5 50 FILLER QTY 7 7 15 150 TOTAL 3 3 6 AutoNEST File Format 6 6 DXF Format DXF file is a popular file interchange format among PC CAD systems Its exact structure originates from Autodesk Inc for the AutoCAD product Any detailed technical reference should be made to that source Example a The following example is a DXF file of a rectangle of 200 x 150 horizontally orientated with its lower left corner at the 0 0 origin 200 150 Column A Column B Column C 0
13. 1 0 Fill whole stock with filler parts 1 Fill stock with filler parts up to the basic qty edge 0 10 If last stock after nest the basic qty parts remains 10 or less fill up the rest of stock with filler parts SIMPLIFY CONTROL 200 minimum number of vertices of polygon to do simplification in PIP adjust higher will slow down nest but will get better PIP pattern 0 05 Part simplification ratio to remove concave gaps 0 00 0 10 QSHP APPROX Under this heading are the parameters that influence how a polygon profile is being approximated Generally the rougher the approximation less number of vectors will be used to represent the geometry Fewer vectors will decrease the workload of the nesting process The user can judiciously adjust the following parameters for maximum performance during the nesting process 8 2 8 AutoNEST System Parameters Profile approximation is therefore more effective when the original number is large However too much approximation may also lead to profile distortion that provides inefficient nesting 1 2 3 4 Minimum Vectors for Polygon Approximation 25 It is the minimum number of vectors in one polygon profile before part approximation routine is allowed Generally a polygon profile with less than 25 vectors when approximated would produce a new profile that is quite different from the original part Therefore a limit is imposed to prevent unexpecte
14. 100 0 0 0 450 0 21 11 21 250 0 300 0 300 0 31 21 31 0 0 250 0 0 0 0 31 0 LINE 0 0 LINE 8 0 8 0 LINE 0 62 8 62 2 0 2 10 62 10 100 0 2 450 0 20 10 20 250 0 100 0 300 0 30 20 30 0 0 100 0 0 0 11 30 11 100 0 0 0 300 0 21 11 21 100 0 300 0 300 0 31 21 31 0 0 100 0 0 0 0 31 0 LINE 0 0 LINE 8 0 8 0 ENDSEC 0 62 0 62 2 EOF 2 10 LINE 300 0 8 20 0 250 0 62 30 2 0 0 10 11 100 0 100 0 20 21 6 20 7 AutoNEST Error Messages T Error Messages There are a number of things that can go wrong during the running of AutoNEST from corrupted file wrong software versions non conformance of file formats etc Generally these errors will be trapped by the program through enabling View Error button Click the button to display the error message A disabled View Error button simply means no errors found during processing If there are errors internally error messages will be stored in an ASCH text file called ANEST ERR ANEST ERR contains the name of the executing task e g DXF2VEC NestPRO etc followed by a brief description of the error and the actions to be taken to correct them Categories of Errors We have grouped errors into the following six categories with corresponding numbering procedure Error Number Category a 100 199 I O Error b 200 299 Limits Conformance Error c 300 399 File Format Conformance Error d 400 499 Warning Message e 500 599 System Error f 600 699 Fatal Error
15. 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Nesting Task Type There are 3 radio buttons e All e Normal e Remnant All refers to all task files job residing on the current Task directory Normal tasks refer to all task files job created by the user Remnant tasks refer to tasks files job with the reserved suffix SREM For example XYZ_ REM job These tasks are automatically created if the Save Remnant check box in the Nesting Options of TaskEdit is marked For more details refer to Chapter 4 5 TaskEdit Nesting Type By default the Extended check box is un marked which means that the nesting will run its usual course If the Extended check box is marked then the nesting time is going to be longer as the nesting algorithms will run through an additional set of routines compare with the original and then display the better of the two results By running the Extended nesting you will get either the SAME or BETTER nested results than if you were to run without marking the check box But there is a trade off Extended nesting will take significantly longer time to run Available Task Display a list of tasks JOB files found in the task directory You can select one or more files to be nested by highlighting the filenames and then click the button Click the gt button to select ALL the files Selected Tasks Display a list of task files selected to be nes
16. 90 orientations allowed 0 180 0 and 180 orientations allowed 0 90 180 0 90 and 180 orientations allowed ALL All orientations allowed No orientation constraints Beside the above allowable orientations you can enter any allowable angles of orientation Support 180 Mark the check box to allow the part to orientate to the specified allowable angles and their 180 combinations This option is not applicable when Orientation ALL Nesting Step To allow a part to orientate step incrementally in the defined angle angle during nesting Nest Options Click the __Nest Options command button to bring up the dialog box as shown 5 22 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit TaskEdit Nest Options m Nesting Start Point HMM Packing Direction Control C Auto C Horizontal Packing M AllStocks C VerticalPackng AllStocks r Single Part Nest Control C Density single array C Quantity single array Quantity mixed array Extension long nest Allow Part Mirror Other Nesting Options Consider Common Line Ignore Hole within Part v Nest Regular Stock First Save Remnant Min Remnant X o Min Remnant Y o Cancel This dialog box allows the user to define some control parameters for specific nesting output requirements The default settings are recommended for all users who do not require special nesting output
17. In AutoNEST there are three system files that affect and control the performance of NestPRO the nesting engine and other functions They are ANEST SYS ANEST SYS contains all the relevant and essential variables that affect parts approximation in Nesting ANEST TOL ANEST TOL contains the aperture value for SavePart MirrorPart and part expansion control for cutting gap consideration and arc approximation for nesting speed and quality ANEST SET ANEST SET contains parameters that will interface with non AutoCAD systems where a full DXF is required or the layer names are restricted to numeric ANEST SET also contains the default values for TaskEdit The following pages provide detailed information of the above system files 8 1 8 AutoNEST System Parameters ANEST SYS Format for ANEST SYS AutoNEST V9 File Name ANEST SYS SHP_APPROX 25 Minimum vectors 5 Maximum No of loops 25 Minimum concave area increment in percentage 8 0 Total Area Increment in percentage 2 Minimum Arc in percentage 0 08 Global tolerance factor wrt largest enclosing rectangle edge 3 0 Local tolerance factor wrt neighbouring edge NEST_CONTROL 3 0 No Nestb 1 Normal Nestb 2 Nestb Only 3 As indicated in UI 30 Nestb maximum group number 1 Nestb minimum average number per group 0 1 Nestb flexible ratio 0 0 to 0 1 0 1 Nestb keep grid 0 break grid QREMNANT CONTROL
18. Number of vertices minimum angular allowance ANGTOL 5 2 000000 10 5 000000 20 10 00000 60 20 00000 APERTURE Size of the aperture APERTURE 0 10 Shape Expansion Max angle to trim trim ratio SHP_EXPAND 90 1 0 Arc APPROXIMATION ERROR TOLERANCE gt 0 001 QARC APPROX ERROR TOII 0 0 01 ANGTOL This parameter is not valid for current version APERTURE Under this header you can specify a value floating point for the Aperture to be used in SavePart MirrorPart This aperture value allows you to control the degree of accuracy when considering whether two distinct end points actually meet If the current units is Metric millimeters then the value is taken as millimeter s On the other hand if the units is Imperial inches then the value is taken as inch es Aperture is the degree of accuracy of 2 very close but distinct points to be considered as the same point Therefore polygons with vectors not entirely closed or overlapping will still be tolerated if the distance apart is within the default aperture 8 6 8 AutoNEST System Parameters See below aperture aperture CGSHP EXPAND Under this header you can specify 2 parameters to control part expansion for cutting gap consideration These parameters correspond to the maximum angle between 2 vectors at a vertex and the trimming ratio Part expansion occurs at two places during the execution of Nesting or BatchNesti
19. SYSDATA For BLOCK format AutoNEST will read all points from the VEC file of the part shape and create a part shape block in the dxf file of the nested layout This part shape block will be inserted repeatedly as required For ENTITIES format AutoNEST will read all points from the VEC file of the part shape then copy these points into the DXF file of the nested layout repeatedly when as required 8 9 8 AutoNEST System Parameters Line 1 and 3 These are template DXF files created by your particular CAD system DXF support for each CAD system may differ slightly AutoNEST requires these templates from sample DXF files to generate a fully compatible DXF file Such DXF file should be loaded with all the necessary information e g linetypes layers etc Some CAD software does not have the BLOCK section in their DXF file format e g AutoSketch In this case the user can only choose ENTITIES option Line 5 Denotes to the Reference Point whereby the insertion points of the part shapes within the nested layout are referred to 0 Use the centre of the enclosing rectangle of the part 1 Use the insertion point as indicated in line 6 2 Use the INSBASE variable value from part DXF file Line 6 Input of x and y coordinates Line 7 Value of 1 will enable AutoNEST to read layer name from Line 8 Line 8 Input of layer name where nested layout is to be generated This layer name should conform
20. The detailed explanation of each possible error is in an ASCII file called ERROR MSG It is structured with a prefix each error number as follows E Error number with error message D Error number with description S Error number with proposed solution to overcome problem 7 1 7 AutoNEST Error Messages The contents of the ERROR MSG are given as below AutoNEST English Version File Name error msg AutoNEST Win V9 Date 13th June 97 100 199 10 Error 200 299 Limits Conformance Error 300 399 File Format Conformance Error 400 499 Warning Message 500 599 System Error 600 699 Fatal Error 0 Press any key to EXIT 100E The hardware lock has been disconnected removed 100E faulty or cannot be detected 100S 1 If hardware lock has been removed or loosened 100S please attach the hardware lock to the computer s 100S parallel port connector 100S 2 Install the hardware lock driver from the CD Rom 100S if you have not done so 100S 3 Should the hardware lock be damaged please report 100S to your dealer 101E Authorization File is incompatible or corrupted 101S 1 Please copy the original Authorization File from the 101S Install CD Rom Disk to the main directory where the 101S program is installed 101S 2 If the Authorization File is incompatible please 101S contact your dealer 103E 103E Can not support unlimited Maximise part qty 103S Change the unlimited pa
21. The original profile of the rectangular stocks will also be saved with the remnants By default these remnants will be saved into the Part Irregular Stock directory The names of the remnant stocks will be Taskname_ REM1 1 stk Taskname REM 2 1 stk Taskname_ REM2 2 stk and so on The naming convention is as follows _ REM LAYOUT_NO NO In addition a Task will automatically be created bearing the Taskname_ REM job To view Remnant tasks click the Task Type radio button Remnant when selecting tasks in the TaskEdit dialog box 4 38 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Min Remnant X Min Remnant Y The minimum remnant dimensions in length x dimension and breadth y dimension The default dimension is 600 x 600 The maximum value is limited to 6 digit Eg 999999 Single Part Nest Control This portion of the dialog box will be grey out unless the Task consists of only ONE Part For Single part nesting there are 5 options or controls They are e Density Single array e Quantity Single array e Quantity Mixed array e Extension Long Nest Allow Part Mirror The illustrations on Pages 4 41 to 4 42 will give you a better understanding of these control settings Density Single array The most dense packing pattern in a single array Quantity Single array The highest quantity of parts nested in a single array Quantity Mixed array This is th
22. a tight corner or space When ExpandPart is invoked the following will appear sequentially at the AutoCAD command prompt Part Expand Insertion Pt Part Name for list Cutting Gap Insertion Pt This is to prompt the user the location of the expanded part You can use the pointing device to digitize the screen location or point Part Name for list lt gt will have the name of the most recent entry of part name At the Part Name for list lt gt prompt if the option is chosen the following dialog box is displayed Select a VEC file Lookin Pets eager w39 VEC w32 VEC S W38 VEC w31 VEC W37 VEC S w30 VEC W36 VEC S W3 VEC W35 VEC S w29 vEC S W34 VEC S w28 VEC S W33 VEC w27 VEC File name l Files of type vec Cancel Locate Eind File ETETE is EIE 4 20 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts Select a Part form the dialog box and click the Open button Cutting Gap The part will be expanded by the cutting gap as specified here Once the entries have been confirmed ExpandPart will recall the part with an expanded profile Again the user can now manipulate the part to fit onto the given stock sheet using AutoCAD Modify commands The user can then manipulate the part with MOVE COPY ROTATE etc commands of AutoCAD 4 21 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Irregular Stock 4 4 Irregular Stocks In
23. appear in the file Description of JOB File Format Line 1 to 6 Lines starting with are comments There is no limit to the number of comment lines The AutoNEST V9 English must be in one of the comment lines The V9 reference number is used to check the different formats of JOD files for different software releases English indicates what language version of current AutoNEST you are using Line 7 Number of distinct Parts Range 1 to 1000 6 8 6 AutoNEST File Format Number of Distinct Stocks Range 1 to 500 The 1 digit represents the number of distinct regular stock The 2 digit represents the number of distinct irregular stock Line 9 Cutting gap Max field length 14 real nos Line 10 Edge allowance x and x1 Left and right side of the stock Max field length 14 real nos Line 11 Edge allowance y and y1 Top and bottom of the stock Max field length 14 real nos Line 12 Nesting control parameters The Ist parameter is for Single Part nesting The 2nd is for compatibility purpose of old versions of software not in use anymore The 1 parameter can be D means single part nesting with highest Density in single array M means single part nesting with Maximum quantity in single array C means single part nesting with Combination of density amp maximum qty in mixed array E means extension long nest The 3 pa
24. beta2 task Task Name New Browse Cutting Gap 0 00 r Edge Allowance i Regular Stock Irregular Stock Left 10 00 Top 10 00 Right 10 00 Bottom 10 00 No of Distinct Regular Stocks 1 Define R Stocks No of Distinct Irregular Stocks 0 Define Ir Stocks No of Distinct Parts 8 Define Parts Nesting Control Options Nest Options UE C Nest Now Save Close Help 4 28 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Explanation of the TaskEdit dialog box is given below Task Name Each task is given a user specified name for future reference job You can enter up to max 31 characters space and dot characters are not accepted Browse m Enter a new task name or click to select an existing task You will see the Pop Up Window below left Select the task file and click the OK button Click the Remnant radio button and you will see the Pop Up Window right Display in this list box are all task names with the suffix SREM You can change the existing specifications and save the new specifications into a new name or overwrite using the same task file name TaskEdit Select X TaskEdit Select X Task Type Normal C Remnant Task Type C Normal Remnant Nesting Type Extended Nesting Type Extended Task Files 102065 Task Files DAC5_6A D_ REM 102065_ REM 102065 A 102065 MAx_ REM 102065 All DAC5 64 D_ REM 10206
25. conditions The options available are explained as follows Nesting Start Point Packing Direction Control Horizontal Packing H 4 nesting start points are available depending on the user s nested output requirements Click one of the 4 corner points to set start point Point chosen shall remain as default until it is changed It is recommended for the packing direction to be set to Auto However if required either Horizontal Packing pack along the x axis or vertical packing pack along the y axis can be selected AutoNEST will automatically decide the best packing direction based on the material utilization of the nesting This is the default setting When this radio button is marked only the last nested layout will be packed horizontally However when the All Stocks check box is marked then all the nested layouts will be packed horizontally See illustration on Page 5 26 5 23 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Vertical Packing EH When this radio button is marked only the last nested layout will be packed vertically However when the All Stocks check box is marked then all the nested layouts will be packed vertically See illustration on Page 5 26 Other Nesting Options The nesting options are e Consider Common Line e Ignore Hole within Part e Nest Regular Stock First e Save Remnant e Min Remnant X Y They are explained as follows
26. existing task You will see the Pop Up Window below left Select the task file and click the OK button Click the Remnant radio button and you will see the Pop Up Window right Display in this list box are all task names with the suffix SREM You can change the existing specifications and save the new specifications into a new name or overwrite using the same task file name TaskEdit Select X TaskEdit Select X Task Type Normal C Remnant Task Type C Normal Remnant Nesting Type Extended Nesting Type Extended Task Files 102065 Task Files DAC5_6A D_ REM 102065_ REM 102065 A 102065 MAX REM 102065 All DACS BbA D REM 102065 All A DAC5_6A E_ REM 102065 ALL B DAC5_6A F_ REM 102065 B 102065 Half A 102065 HALF A 1 1noncrc WALCO Cancel Cancel Task Type Referring to the pop up windows below there are 2 selections Normal e Remnant Normal tasks refer to all task files job created by the user Remnant tasks refer to tasks files job with the reserved suffix REM For example XYZ_ REM job These tasks are created automatically when the Save Remnant checkbox is marked in the NEST OPTIONS of TaskEdit Nest Options button is located at the lower right corner of the dialog box 5 15 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Nesting Type By default the Extended check box is un mar
27. happen if there is more than one versions of AutoCAD on the system Select Neo to proceed with the installation AutoNEST V9 NestPRO X Ready to Instail You are now ready to install AutoNEST V8 NestPRO Press the Start button to begin the installation or the Back button to re enter the installation information 3 Program Installation Software Installation 9 Once you click the button the installation process will begin However if the me button is selected it will revert to the previous page 3 9 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Getting Started 4 14 Getting Started This section of the documentation makes reference to the use of AutoNEST in conjunction with AutoCAD AutoCAD is a commonly used CAD graphics engine to graphically display AutoNEST nested results and output reports It is also equally feasible to run AutoNEST independently under the Windows environment through the Nest Manager Icon Menu The Nest Manager will be explained in greater detail in the Chapter 5 4 1 1 AutoNEST Process The step by step workflow of AutoNEST in the AutoCAD environment is as follows 1 Starting AutoNEST To run AutoNEST click the Start button located at the lower left corner of screen of your Windows and select Programs gt AutoNEST for AutoCAD 200X This will launch AutoCAD and AutoNEST Next you will see an additional pulldown menu titled AutoNEST located between the Modify and Wi
28. its location in the layout The format of the files is described in detail in Chapter 6 The SUM file contains the nesting summary report in TEXT format Examples of Nested Layouts 4 46 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Nesting ley me OS el f i RN l a x ies i a K N foes 1 MOS ei S T G e es Jacar 3 N ST a a a a oT a aT OS a eT or Jap a Lt LL eL LL Le 4 47 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Nesting 4 6 2 Imi BatchNesting ST At times you may like to nest a series of tasks overnight or during a break This facility is provided via the BatchNesting command But to view the already nested layouts pick the ViewNEST command Select the BatchNesting command from the icon or pulldown menu The following dialog box will appear am AutoNEST Nesting mf x Parts Directory c anestv9 008 parts Task Directory c anestv9 008 task Task Type All C Normal C Remnant Nesting Type Extended Available Tasks 8 Selected Tasks BIGPART IRREG Multipar PAIRING Pip PIP Filler SINGLE SINGLE MIRROR xl a ARRE Cancel Nested Tasks Close Help Each dialog box input option is described in the following Parts Directory Display the default part directory as set in the Sysdata Task Directory Display the default task directory as set in the Sysdata 4 48
29. layer and color for Part Labels Stock Sheet and Summary reports PARTS If the Sysdata File Format is VEC the Parts displayed on the nested layout will follow the layer and color settings here If DWG or DXF File Format are chosen the Parts layer and color settings will be exactly the same as they were originally saved See diagram below for explanation of each of the names 4 9 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Sysdata Part Inner Profile NESTING REPORT FROM JOB NAME PIP A2 srock STOCK 1 QTY 1 STOCK SIZE 2420 00x4220 00 ENCLOSING RECT 2299 70x3985 10 ENCLOSING RECT 9164534 47 STOCK SIZE 10212400 00 NESTING SUMMARY FROM NESTPRO 89 74 SHAPE NAME TOTAL TOTAL SHAPE AREA 5771286 01 PART1 4 6 ENCLOSING RECT 9164534 47 PART2 A 8 8 o PART3 10 10 PART4 6 10 SHAPE NAME TOTAL PART5 8 10 PART1 4 6 PART2 A 8 8 TOTAL 36 44 PART3 10 10 PART4 6 10 STOCK TOTAL PARTS 8 10 2420 00x4220 00 1 SUB TOTAL 36 44 TOTAL 1 j Part Label A Summary Report Part Outer Profile Stock Sheet y Rep Label Parts Mark this checkbox if you wish to display Part Label And set Text Size the Text size of the Part label when displayed on screen To change the layer color of the Part labels click the Layer Color Setting button Label Repeated Mark this checkbox if you wish to add a part Label on each and Parts every part on the nested layout When this checkbox is un marked when ther
30. of each part and its location in the layout The format of the file is described in detail in Chapter 6 The SUM file contains the nesting summary report in TEXT format Once the tasks are selected click the _ stat button The dialog box below will appears to indicate the nesting is in progress an AutoNEST Nesting LL X Nesting in Process BIGPART 25 The nested results are saved in DXF files bearing the same name as the Tasks To view the nested tasks open the taskname dxf file s from the current Task Directory 5 31 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Nesting Examples of Nested Layouts Irregular Stock Nesting with mark outs 5 32 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Y Nesting us TRIR E7 Nesting of Multiple Parts 5 33 6 AutoNEST File Format 6 File Format In order to establish an open architecture for users to have full flexibility in using AutoNEST various file formats must be maintained both at input levels and for output purposes For input there are 3 files namely 1 VEC file The VEC file contains the geometry of a part in TEXT file format 2 STK file The format of a STK file is the same as the VEC file Where the VEC describes the profile of a part STK describes the profile of an irregular stock 3 JOB file This TEXT file contains the parameters of a task that need to b
31. therefore ViewNEST terminates here No suitable stock size at all During nesting if all the declared stock sizes are found to be too small to nest even one or a pair of the smallest part in the task this message will be displayed Either increase the stock sheet size or nest smaller parts Number of distinct parts exceeds 1000 The number of distinct parts submitted in the task file has exceeded the limit of 1000 Number of distinct stocks exceeds 500 The number of distinct stocks submitted in the task file has exceeded the limit of 500 Part profile has more than 1500 vertices The number of vertices in one of the profile of the part has exceeded the maximum number allowed 1500 Ir stock profile is out of processing limit This may be due to too many vertices in the ir stock profile or too many holes defined inside the ir stock Please simplify the ir stock profile or try to reduce the no of holes inside the ir stock Incompatible AutoNEST version Error happens when data file is from a different version of AutoNEST For eg the data file for AutoNEST V9 will contain the following comment line f AutoNEST V9 The Release no is used to check the compatibility of different formats of data files between different releases AutoNEST provides downward compatibility for all the data files Please make sure all the files are not corrupted and the Release No is properly designated If the file is corrupted re create
32. to the particular CAD system s criteria Lines 9 to 12 Contain the default values for TaskEdit Line 9 Cutting Gap specification Line 10 Edge Allowance Left Right Top and Bottom Line 11 Number of distinct Stocks Line 12 Stock Specifications for each distinct Stock in the following format WidthxLength Quantity Priority If the Stock is stretchable append the gt character to the Length of the stock size Example 2000x4000 gt If the Stock is non stretchable just give the exact dimension of the stock size Example 3000x6000 If there are 3 nos of distinct Stocks specified in Line 11 subsequently Lines 12 to 14 will indicate the detailed stock specifications for each of the 3 distinct stocks 8 10
33. using AutoCAD DRAW commands Once parts are designed and drawn with AutoCAD SavePart command can be used to save the parts under the part directory as specified in Sysdata Within the AutoCAD drawing session where the parts to be nested had already been drawn select the SavePart command either from the AutoNEST pulldown or icon menu The following prompts will appear sequentially at the command prompt Save Part Parts Name lt gt Require to save holes in Part Y N lt Y gt Insertion Pt Select objects Parts Name lt gt This is to prompt for the name of the new part max no of characters 31 both the space and dot characters are not accepted File already exists OK to overwrite Y N lt N gt This prompt will be displayed if the entered part name already exists Require to save holes in Part Y N lt Y gt This will enable the SavePart command to save internal profiles of a part as holes which may be used to nest other parts Insertion Pt This is the pick up point of the part as well as the location for label or tag of the part Insertion point is recommended to be one of the vertices of the part or within the geometry of the part AutoCAD object snap modes under the OSNAP command such as Endp or Midp are allowed 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts Select Objects The Entity Select modes of AutoCAD are applicable here You can type W Window C Crossing R Remove or simply p
34. 1 port connector Any peripheral device such as a printer that you wish to connect to the computer s parallel port should instead be connected to the other end of the hardware lock For almost all computers you should attach the hardware lock directly to the connector of the computer with no intervening cable or adapter Some clones may also have the wrong gender connector on the back of the computer In such a case you may need a gender changer available from your computer distributor It is also possible to connect a straight through full 25 pin cable between your computer and the hardware lock if it is required for physical flexibility The hardware lock will be invisible to any program but the AutoNEST program You need not remove the hardware lock in order to run other programs Attempting to execute an AutoNEST program without a properly attached hardware lock will result in a program abort with the message The hardware lock has been disconnected removed or fails in service 1 If hardware lock has been removed or loosened please attach the hardware lock to the computer s parallel port connector 2 Install the hardware lock driver from the CD Rom if you have not done so 3 Should the hardware lock be damaged please report to your dealer The same message will be displayed if the hardware lock has been disconnected removed or fails in service The program will not continue until the lock has been replaced 3 2 3 Pr
35. 10 21 SECTION 200 0 150 0 2 20 31 ENTITIES 150 0 0 0 0 30 0 LINE 0 0 LINE 8 11 8 0 0 0 0 10 21 10 0 0 150 0 0 0 20 31 20 150 0 0 0 0 0 30 0 30 0 0 LINE 0 0 11 8 11 0 0 0 200 0 21 10 21 0 0 200 0 0 0 31 20 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 0 LINE 0 0 ENDSEC 8 11 0 0 200 0 EOF 6 AutoNEST File Format Y x X units zero cutting gap with the bottom left of the stock sheet inserted at 100 100 location Column A 0 SECTION 2 ENTITIES 0 POLYLINE 350 Column B 600 Column C SEQEND 8 TASK1 6 AutoNEST File Format Column D Column E Column F 8 0 0 0 0 LINE LINE 62 8 8 2 0 0 10 62 62 300 0 2 2 20 10 10 500 0 300 0 450 0 30 20 20 0 0 500 0 500 0 11 30 30 450 0 0 0 0 0 21 11 11 500 0 300 0 300 0 31 21 21 0 0 300 0 500 0 0 31 31 LINE 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 LINE LINE 62 80 8 2 62 0 10 2 62 450 0 10 2 20 300 0 10 500 0 20 300 0 30 300 0 20 0 0 30 300 0 11 0 0 30 450 0 11 0 0 21 450 0 11 700 0 21 300 0 31 300 0 21 0 0 31 100 0 0 0 0 31 LINE 0 0 0 8 LINE 0 0 8 LINE 62 0 8 2 62 0 10 2 62 450 0 10 2 20 450 0 10 700 0 20 300 0 30 300 0 20 0 0 30 100 0 11 0 0 30 300 0 11 0 0 21 450 0 11 700 0 21 450 0 31 500 0 21 0 0 0 100 0 1 0 31 6 AutoNEST File Format orumn orumn orumn 31 550 0 250 0 0 0 30 31 0 0 0 0 0 LINE 11 0 8 300 0 LINE 0 62 8 62 2 0 2 10 62 10 100 0 2 450 0 20 10 20 400 0 300 0 100 0 30 20 30 0 0 100 0 0 0 11 30 11
36. 28080 15 295798 14 662140 7 973529 5 298084 9 628080 Hole 1 12 796370 10 754583 11 282631 13 254011 12 796370 Hole 2 9 804096 Hole 3 8 783203 8 994422 7 656700 8 783203 Leadin 1 4 838997 4 982175 5 211919 5 298084 5 146448 4 951585 4 817346 Leadin 2 7 656700 7 901215 7 998023 11 478481 8 841770 3 673817 3 076163 8 208960 11 478481 7 857398 7 189432 5 958967 6 099591 7 857398 9 580049 7 154275 4 798814 6 345684 7 154275 8 555070 8 555070 8 398732 8 208960 8 096893 8 027744 8 027744 6 345684 6 345684 A A C A A 0 388339 0 624107 0 868615 0 280570 0 148813 Note The above line numbers are strictly for referencing purposes they do not appear in the file 6 AutoNEST File Format escription of Line 1 to 5 Line 8 13 Line 15 19 ule Format Lines start with character denote comments There is no limit to the number of comment lines The AutoNEST V9 English must be in one of the comment lines The V9 reference number is used to check the different formats of VEC files of different software releases English indicates what language version of current AutoNEST you are using Vec not Compressed is a file header identifier to indicate this vec part file has not been compressed It will be followed by a section describing the external profile of a part First pair of co ordinates is always ass
37. 351S Need to re create file 352E The DXF file is above R12 version 352D Current software cannot support part ir stock 352D DXF file above R12 version in Nest Manager environment 352S Save your part ir stock DXF file as in R12 format 400E Notall shapes are nested Insufficient stock 400E For more information look at the summary 500E Not Enough Memory 500D Error due to insufficient memory to execute the AutoNEST program 500S Remove all unnecessary memory resident programs 7 6 7 AutoNEST Error Messages SUUS rin AutoCAD environment check acad pgp tor memory reserve 7T 500S for all the programs If possible increase the memory reserve 500S for the program For more information please refer to AutoCAD 500S Reference Manual Appendix B 600E Pointer out of range 600D Software bugs 600S Report to AutoNEST Dealer 601E Array Out Of Range 601D Software bugs 601S Report to AutoNEST Dealer 602E Part expansion error 602E Expanded part contains invalid geometry 602D The part after expansion to the specified cutting gap may 602D contain invalid geometry or the number of vertices of the 602D expanded part exceeds the limit 350 vertices 602S He create the part by reducing the number of vertices 602S This may help to solve the problem If not Report it to 602S AutoNEST Dealer 652E Nesting Error 652E Report to AutoNEST Dealer 7 7 8 AutoNEST System Parameters 8 1 AutoNEST System Files
38. 5 Parameter 1 If there is a grid pattern consisting of identical shapes in the nesting result NESTB engine will not break the grid and retain its regularity in the final output 0 If there is a grid pattern consisting of identical shapes in the nesting result NESTB engine will ignore the regularity of the grid and will carry out any necessary operation to make the final result tighter REMNANT_CONTROL There are 2 parameters under REMNANT_CONTROL Each of them are explained below 1 Parameter 0 Always fill up the whole stock with filler parts 1 Fill stock with filler parts only up the edge of the Basic qty parts 2 Parameter 0 10 If last stock after filling in the basic quantity remains 10 or less then fill up the rest of the stock with filler parts otherwise do not QSIMPLIFY CONTROL There are 2 parameters under 9 SIMPLIFY CONTROL Each of them are explained below 1 Parameter 200 Minimum number of vertices of polygon to do simplification in PIP adjusting higher will slow down nesting but will get better PIP pattern 2 Parameter 0 05 Part simplification ratio to remove concave gaps 0 00 to 0 10 Higher value will make nesting fast but waste more stock material lower value will use more nesting time but waste lesser stock material 8 5 8 AutoNEST System Parameters ANEST TOL Format for ANEST TOL AutoNEST V9 Filename anest tol Angle tolerance
39. 5 Al A DACS BA E REM 102065 ALL B DAC5_6A F_ REM 102065 B 102065 Half A 102065 HALF A 1 1noncrc WALCO Cancel Cancel Task Type Referring to the pop up windows below there are 2 selections e Normal e Remnant Normal tasks refer to all task files job created by the user Remnant tasks refer to tasks files job with the reserved suffix REM For example XYZ_ REM job These tasks are created automatically when the Save Remnant checkbox is marked in the NEST OPTIONS of TaskEdit Nest Options button is located at the lower right corner of the dialog box 4 29 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Nesting Type By default the Extended check box is un marked which means that the nesting will run its usual course If the Extended check box is marked then the nesting time is going to be longer as the nesting algorithms will run through an additional set of routines compare with the original and then display the better of the two results By running the Extended nesting you will get either the SAME or BETTER nested results than if you were to run without marking the check box But there is a trade off Extended nesting will take significantly longer time to run Explanation of the TaskEdit dialog box continues below Irregular Stock Cutting Gap This is the cutting gap between nested parts to allow for the tool siz
40. An easy way to optimize your cutting plans AutoNEST User Guide CONTENTS Introduccion oec oted to ia Ol t edes Operating System Requirements sssseeeeeeeeee Program Installation ssssssssse m 3 1 dutdware DOGE oue crertstake e Yo eit voc taxe o rur Esau Ae p Rue 3 20 Hardware Lock Replacement Policy eeeeeeeseeesse 3 3 Network Install at OW R CO tO e EORR E BO pd 3 4 Standalone Installation eee yer eye ete enean AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment 4 1 Getting Started scere oH UPC n eq 41 1 AmtoNBSI PEODESSe eere on Eee eyed ESEOVAES rey ER KEEN Funk eas 4 1 2 AutoNBST Eeatutesu s e pese deno piss denen DOS I Une Qu ER 42 Sysdal du ssi iem b x a Pe oiii a ure ide de E 43 Parts uoo E He RU ERE Etha A eM Saye POLE oie ner EE EIE et eae EEE EES EEDE EEE Me des ADD Convert Pall is cde in ER Et dete E E Ea Epis 43 3 NEW Pal Ut EE PE xxi pp ere 2 32 INBEIOEPREL die SERERE o LEE RO ERR IS DEEA 2153 JEM PANO att vias tore re re E tee ieee 4 4 Irregular SCtOCk aseo c ROGER COGO TE EHE ERES BA sl Save listek si cred so Nae easy aad ea Hen e Nr a as Sae t ten 442 MONVETUTSIOCK seie curet Enea eerie aa EUR OUACI EEES 44 5 WiewlrStock oes er oye e a Y Ye Ea AX s 4 5 FaskEdWM oes ore IRL eR ETE EE xg SPP qa SEM ier Z5 T NESNE 52 nn nites tes tes eru E E E NEEN E NE EE E aes 4 6 2 BatehlNesumg uod vbt E EE ERU UE ER VPE PEOR EVE TUE TL OWUIOWNESTE 2 RR PRSE Etre
41. ST SET Line 1 and 3 These are template DXF files created by your particular CAD system DXF support for each CAD system may differ slightly AutoNEST requires these templates from sample DXF files to generate a fully compatible DXF file Such DXF file should be loaded with all the necessary information e g linetypes layers etc Line 2 Refers to DXF format for part shape geometry files For BLOCK representation the part shapes must be inserted into the drawing as AutoCAD Blocks ALL Blocks must be inserted in the ANEST layer The part shape name will be written into the Block section of the DXF file for that particular part shape For ENTITIES format the part shape must be drawn using entities eg LINE ARC CIRCLE etc Each file should contain 1 part shape Line 4 Refers to the DXF format of the nested output For reviewing of nested output within Nest Manager environment the user can only choose either DXF or VEC File Format option in Sysdata DXF Option in SYSDATA For BLOCK format AutoNEST will copy the part shape block information from the dxf file of the part shape only once and insert the part shape name repeatedly as required into the dxf file of the nested layout This option will produce a smaller dxf file For ENTITIES format AutoNEST will copy part shape information from the dxf file of the part shape and write these information into the dxf file of the nested layout repeatedly VEC Option in
42. Sheet 1000 000000 1000 000000 x 1 Sum of area of shapes 424993 32 PB2 481 808601 752 658210 90 000000 2 0 1 PB4 325 031795 790 024688 225 000000 3 1 2 PB6 216 957854 839 081153 66 737425 5 1 2 PB2 204 146757 252 341790 270 000000 2 0 1 PB4 360 923563 214 975312 45 000000 3 1 2 PB6 468 997504 165 918847 246 737425 5 1 2 PB5 86 609213 368 417625 270 000000 4 0 1 PB5 82 753450 86 609213 0 000000 4 0 1 PB6 578 095177 568 065142 90 000000 5 0 1 PB6 578 095177 747 205088 270 000000 5 0 1 PB5 893 066053 82 753450 90 000000 4 0 1 PB5 737 022380 144 317798 270 000000 4 0 1 Encl Rect 10 000000 10 000000 1002 999940 500 000000 Stock Sheet 1524 000000 2000 000000 x 1 Sum of area of shapes 271150 51 6 AutoNEST File Format 36 PB2 1870 658150 38 191399 0 000000 2 0 1 37 PB4 1908 024628 194 968205 135 000000 3 1 2 38 PB6 1957 081093 303 042146 336 737425 5 1 2 39 PB2 1352 341790 481 808601 180 000000 2 0 1 40 PB4 1314 975312 325 031795 315 000000 3 1 2 41 PB6 1265 918847 216 957854 156 737425 5 1 2 Note The above line numbers are strictly for referencing purposes they do not appear in the file Description of SYM File Format Line 1 to 13 Lines start with character denote comments There is no limit to the number of comment lines The AutoNEST V9 must be in one of the comment lines The V9 reference number is used to check the different formats of SYM files for differen
43. Show the name of the Irregular stock stk If a list of irregular stock is selected will appear Quantity Quantity of that particular irregular stock to be used in the task Maximum quantity allowed for each distinct stock is 9999 Priority The priority of using the stock sheets when more than one is available You can define the order of priority in which AutoNEST should use the Irregular stock 1 has the highest priority 99 has the lowest priority If two or more stocks have the same priority number the system will nest the smallest Irregular stock first Define Parts By clicking the Define Parts button the dialog box below appears TaskE dit Parts Specification Parts Directory c anestv9 0 0 12 parts Available Parts Add Edit 3575 x 1750 Name Basic Qty Filler Qty Orientation Priority cOoornooococcoc Caes Whenever a part name from the listing of Available Parts is highlighted a viewer will display the part profile with the overall dimension of the part profile The overall length and breadth dimensions will be rounded off to the nearest integer value 4 34 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Available Parts Display a list of parts that are available in the part directory You can highlight a list of parts and press DM button to add them to the Selected Parts list box The following pop up window appears when the Add button
44. able For stock sheets in reels or rolls the length of the stock sheet can be extended or stretched beyond the specified dimension to accommodate the nesting results If Yes is chosen mark the Stretchable checkbox AutoNEST will have the liberty to increase the Length as much as it takes to pack in all the parts optimally Note this feature is currently only available for tasks which nest only one part Single Part Task Priority The priority of using the stock sheets when different stock sizes are available You can define the order of priority in which AutoNEST should use the stock sheets 1 has the highest priority 99 has the lowest priority If two or more stock sizes have the same priority number the system will automatically decide based on the material utilization 4 32 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Define Ir Stocks By clicking the Define Stocks button the dialog box below appears Task Edit Irregular Stock Sheet Specification 9E BEEZ 5585 x 3485 You can add change or delete the irregular stock specification by clicking the An Es or Bee button respectively You can highlight more than 1 stock name and then pick the Es button or click the Am button The following pop up window will appear Ir 8tock Specification Add X Ir Stock Specification Edit x 4 33 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Name
45. ailable files found in the Part Directory This DXF VEC File will depends on which conversion has been chosen You can select one or more files to be converted by highlighting the filenames and then the gt button or 27 button to select all files Selected Display a list of files selected for the conversion You can select DXF VEC File the filenames and click the button to remove the files from the Selected Parts list but the files still remained on the Available Parts list Or click the lt lt button to remove all files Click the Convert conversion button to initiate the process of Ignore Holes and If this check box is marked holes and cut outs will not be Cut outs converted Converted This will show files that have been converted successfully VEC DXF File View Error Click this icon to view error messages if any This is especially helpful as it will give a list of the filenames that cannot be converted for certain reasons 4 15 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts 4 3 3 ViewPart This provides the facility to view previously created Parts stored in the default directory If necessary you can ask for a listing of all the DWG DXF and VEC parts within the directory As DWG parts are stored as AutoCAD s BLOCKS they will be recalled very much the same way as AutoCAD s INSERT command The following will appear sequentially at the AutoCAD command prompts ViewPart S
46. ant sheet stock CO Examples of Irregular shaped Example of Layout with pre Example of Remnant sheet sheet stock nested parts stock 5 4 1 DXF2STK ConvertirStk is a function that allows the user to convert the irregular stock profiles in DXF file format to Irregular Stocks Incidentally the format for stk and vec are quite similar Similarly it also allows user to convert back irregular stocks STK file format into DXF format Select the ConvertirStock command icon from the Nest Manager icon menu The following dialog box will appear 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Parts AutoNEST ConvertlrStock x Ir Stock Directory c Nanest v9 D B parts DXF File Directory c anest v9 006parts Browse Convert DXF to STK C STK to DXF Available DXF File 77 Selected DXF File SARE Converted STK File Ir Stock Display the default Ir stock directory set at Sysdata In this case Directory it is also the target directory where all converted file will be saved DXF file Directory To type in or click on the Browse where the source file are located Convert Check this radio button to convert DXF file format to Irregular DXF to STK Stock STK Convert Check this radio button to convert Irregular Stock STK file STK to DXF format to DXF Available DXF Display a list of available files found in the Parts Directory This STK File will depends on
47. art Point Packing Direction Control Dm C Horizontal Packing AllStocks e C C Auto C Vertical Packing AllStocks m Single Part Nest Control Other Nesting Options C Density single array Consider Common Line C Quantity single array Ignore Hole within Part Quantity mixed array v Nest Regular Stock First C Extension long nest Save Remnant Allow Part Mirror Min Remnant X o Min Remnant Y o Cancel This dialog box allows the user to define some control parameters for specific nesting output requirements The default settings are recommended for all users who do not require special nesting output conditions The options available are explained as follows Nesting Start Point Packing Direction Control Horizontal Packing HEE 4 nesting start points are available depending on the user s nested output requirements Click one of the 4 corner points to set start point Point chosen shall remain as default until it is changed It is recommended for the packing direction to be set to Auto However if required either Horizontal Packing pack along the x axis or vertical packing pack along the y axis can be selected AutoNEST will automatically decide the best packing direction based on the material utilization of the nesting This is the default setting When this radio button is marked only the last nested layout will be pac
48. ay be used to nest other parts Insertion Pt This is the pick up point of the part as well as the location for label or tag of the part Insertion point is recommended to be one of the vertices of the part or lies within the geometry of the part AutoCAD object snap modes under the OSNAP command such as Endp or Midp are allowed 4 18 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts Select Objects All the Entity Select modes of AutoCAD are applicable here You can type W Window C Crossing R Remove or simply pick the required entities to be saved as a part If W Window is entered at this stage a dynamic window will be formed to enclose the relevant geometry of the part All the entities within the window will be saved as an AutoNEST part Part Name lt _MTEST1 gt By default the mirror image is given the same name as the original part but pre fixed with M The user has the option to rename it if required Example of a part saved by MirrorPart is shown below Part Drawn Part Mirrored amp Saved 4 19 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts 4 3 5 ExpandPart The nested layout displayed after the nesting process in the current AutoCAD session may be edited as a normal AutoCAD drawing During an editing session of a nested layout you may wish to make use of a part with an expanded profile by an offset equal to the bridge width This expanded profile of the part can assist you in manipulating the part to fit
49. ck sheets For tasks that nest one part with fixed quantity AutoNEST will allow stretchable rectangular stocks in rolls or reels Information relating to the number of parts the quantity to be nested for each part and orientation constraint etc will also be defined in TaskEdit Cutting information such as cutting gap x y edge allowances are also definable There is a new Nest Now button within the dialog box for nesting Instead of clicking the Nesting command the user can create edit Tasks and go direct into nesting Select the TaskEdit command either from the icon menu or the AutoNEST pulldown menu The following dialog box will appear E AutoNEST TaskEdit el Es Task Directory c anestv9 beta2 task Task Name NEW 1 Browse Cutting Gap 10 00 r Edge Allowance i Regular Stock Irregular Stock Left 10 00 Top 10 00 No of Distinct Regular Stocks 1 Define R Stocks No of Distinct Irregular Stocks 0 Define Ir Stocks No of Distinct Parts 8 Define Parts Nesting Control Options Nest Options Hd Nest Now Save Close Help 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Explanation of the TaskEdit dialog box is given below Task Name Each task is given a user specified name for future reference job You can enter up to max 31 characters space and dot characters are not accepted Browse m Enter a new task name or click to select an
50. ck3 stk a istk a Irstock stk ai NMIRstock2 stk a stock1 stk a stock2 stk File name f Files of type stk M Cancel Locate Find File Insertion Pt Pick a point on the screen The specified STK stock will be displayed at the insertion point on the screen 4 27 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit 4 5 TaskEdit In TaskEdit three 3 categories of information are required e Stock sheet regular and irregular stocks accepted e Parts to be nested e Nesting Conditions and Options Stock sheet information includes the number of distinct stocks size and quantity of each distinct stock AutoNEST can handle both rectangular stocks of fixed size and irregular shaped stock sheets For tasks that nest one part with fixed quantity AutoNEST will allow stretchable rectangular stocks in rolls or reels Information relating to the number of parts the quantity to be nested for each part and orientation constraint etc will also be defined in TaskEdit Cutting information such as cutting gap x y edge allowances are also definable There is a new Nest Now button within the dialog box for nesting Instead of clicking the Nesting command the user can create edit Tasks and go direct into nesting Select the TaskEdit command either from the icon menu or the AutoNEST pulldown menu The following dialog box will appear E AutoNEST TaskEdit PISIS Task Directory c anestv9
51. con menu the following prompts will appear sequentially at the command prompt Save Irregular Stock Irregular Stock Name Insertion Pt Select object Irregular Stock Name This is to prompt for the name of the new irregular stock Max no of characters 31 both the space and dot characters are not accepted File already exists OK to overwrite Y N N This prompt will be displayed if the entered stock name already exists Insertion Pt This is the pick up point of the stock Insertion point is recommended to be one of the vertices of the profile or anywhere inside the profile AutoCAD object snap modes under the OSNAP command such as Endp or Midp are allowed Select Objects The Entity Select modes of AutoCAD are applicable here You can type W Window C Crossing R Remove or simply pick the required entities to be saved as irregular stock If W Window is entered at this stage a dynamic window will be formed to enclose the relevant geometry of the stock All the entities within the window will be saved as an AutoNEST irregular stock 4 23 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Irregular Stock During SavelrStock the following happens a STK DWG and DXF files are created where e STK isa text file which record geometric information of an irregular stock such as x y coordinates of vertices bulge values for arcs center point coordinates and radius for circles e DWG is the file f
52. d results Maximum No of Loops 5 The maximum number of times the subroutine processes through all the vertices of a profile It acts as a safety counter to ensure that the subroutine will terminate properly However it is to be noted that complex profiles require more approximation passes Too many passes will make the process longer too little will not give an efficient approximation A judicious number will be derived from the user s experience Minimum Concave Area Increment in percentage 25 This parameter has an important role in controlling the amount of cut through in concave portion of the polygon profile It is the incremental area allowed for all the cut through in concave approximation A 4 Increase in the parameter will result in greater amount of cut through during approximation Note that another parameter Minimum Arc does play a similar role in controlling the amount of cut through as this control parameter Minimum Arc will be discussed later in the section Total Area Increment in percentage 8 As the routine approximates a polygon profile the net area will be expanded A limit in area increment is therefore necessary before the new profile is grossly different from its original profile 8 3 8 AutoNEST System Parameters This value is the additional percentage in area increment that is allowed for the approximation subroutine The approximation will be terminated once
53. decide based on the material utilization 5 18 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Define Ir Stocks By clicking the Define Stocks button the dialog box below appears Task Edit Irregular Stock Sheet Specification ES 5585 x 3485 THETIGVE You can add change or delete the irregular stock specification by clicking the _ Add Ed or _Benove_ button respectively You can highlight more than 1 stock name and then pick the Es button or click the Am button The following pop up window will appear Ir Stock Specification Add Ea Ir Stock Specification Edit Ea 5 19 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Name Show the name of the Irregular stock stk If a list of irregular stock is selected will appear Quantity Quantity of that particular irregular stock to be used in the task Maximum quantity allowed for each distinct stock is 9999 Priority The priority of using the stock sheets when more than one is available You can define the order of priority in which AutoNEST should use the Irregular stock 1 has the highest priority 99 has the lowest priority If two or more stocks have the same priority number the system will nest the smallest Irregular stock first Define Parts By clicking the Define Parts button the dialog box below appears TaskEdit Parts Specification Parts Director
54. directory or sub directory must be created first 5 5 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Sysdata Input Part Ir stock Layer Color Setting Outer Profile These are the layer color and part leadin leadout FILTER Inner Profile settings that you can specify for both SavePART and DXF2VEC commands Part Leadin These settings are especially helpful if the parts that you are saving or converting contain marking lines that touch or intersect the external internal profiles of the shapes By specifying the layer color part leadin filters you will help SavePART and DXF2VEC commands to differentiate profiles that are crucial to nesting outer and inner profiles of the part against those that are not markings or folding lines Outer Profile i Part Lead in Lead out You can specify more than ONE colors in the Color field by entering for example 1 3 for colors 1 and 3 separated by a comma Inner Profile Nested Layout Presentation Units The units setting of inputs and outputs There are 4 choices to choose from Metric Architectural Imperial 1 3 1 4 Decimal Imperial 15 25 Engineering Imperial 1 3 25 Accuracy The number of decimal places or the number of digits to the right of the decimal point 0 to 4 If the units chosen above is Imperial the denominator of the fractions or the accuracy will be expressed as follows 1 for full integers no f
55. e Edge Allowance Sometimes it is necessary to leave out an edge around the Regular Stock Perimeter of the stock sheet This is to cater for trimming or clamping purposes For regular or rectangular stock the edge allowance of the 4 sides of the stock can be defined For irregular stock a common edge allowance can also be defined Left Left is the edge allowance in the x direction on the left side of stock sheet Bottom Bottom is the edge allowance in the y direction from the bottom of the stock sheet Right Right is the edge allowance in the x direction on the right side of the stock sheet Top Irregular Stock Top is the edge allowance in the y direction from the top of the stock sheet The edge allowance around the Irregular stock No of Distinct Stocks Number of different sizes of stock sheets A maximum of 500 distinct stock sizes is available for the current version No of Distinct Irregular Stocks Number of different sizes of irregular stock sheets A maximum of 500 distinct stock sizes is available for the current version No of Distinct Parts Number of distinct parts to be nested A maximum of 1000 distinct parts is available for the current version 4 30 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Top Left Cutting Cutting Gap Gap Right Bottom Edge allowance around Irregular stock Edge allowance around Irregular s
56. e AutoCAD command prompt Insertion Pt RETURN for 0 0 gt Select a point lower left corner where the nested layout will be placed Subsequently a dialog box as follows will appear an AutoNEST Nesting Piel xi Task Directory c anest v9 006 task Task Name Browse Cancel Task Directory Display the default task directory set at Sysdata Task Name Brows Enter the task name to be nested or click the button to display a list of tasks available in the task directory for selection as follows Task Name Select X Task Type Normal C Remnant Nesting Type Extended TaskFiles BIGPART IRREG Multipar PAIRING Pip PIP Filler SINGLE SINGLE MIRROR x 4 44 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Nesting Task Type Referring to the pop up windows above there are 2 selections e Normal e Remnant Normal tasks refer to all task files job created by the user Remnant tasks refer to tasks files job with the reserved suffix SREM For example XYZ REM job These tasks are automatically created if the Save Remnant check box in the Nesting Options of TaskEdit is marked For more details refer to Chapter 4 5 TaskEdit Nesting Type By default the Extended check box is un marked which means that the nesting will run its usual course If the Extended check box is marked then the nesting time is going to be longer as th
57. e Nesting command To view the nested tasks open the taskname dxf file s from the current Task Directory Select the Nesting command icon from the icon menu The following dialog box will appear ar AutoNEST Nesting Parts Directory c anestv9 008 parts Task Directory c anestv9 008 task Task Type C All C Normal C Remnant Nesting Type Extended Available Tasks 9 Selected Tasks IRREG gt Multipar lt PAIRING PIP g PIP Filler SINGLE lt SINGLE MIRROR x lt Cancel Nested Tasks View Ettar Close Help Parts Directory Display the default part directory as set in the Sysdata Task Directory Display the default task directory as set in the Sysdata 5 29 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Nesting Task Type There are 3 radio buttons e All e Normal e Remnant All refers to all task files job residing on the current Task directory Normal tasks refer to all task files job created by the user Remnant tasks refer to tasks files job with the reserved suffix SREM For example XYZ S REM job These tasks are automatically created if the Save Remnant check box in the Nesting Options of TaskEdit is marked For more details refer to Chapter 5 5 TaskEdit Nesting Type Available Tasks By default the Extended check box is un marked which means that the ne
58. e are say 10 parts of the same name nested only ONE of the 10 is being labeled Summary Report Mark this checkbox if you wish to display Summary Report And Text Size set the Text size of the Report when displayed on screen The summary report is always displayed next to the lower right hand corner of the nested layout To change the layer color of the Summary Report click the Layer Color Setting button Display Repeated Mark this checkbox if you wish to display the same nested layout Layout repeatedly 4 10 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts 4 3 Parts Introduction This section introduces five commands related to PART within the AutoCAD environment They are used to save expand or view parts that have been drawn or edited using AutoCAD commands In addition DXF files can be converted into Parts as well SavePart To save the geometry of a part in DWG DXF and VEC file formats ConvertPart To convert DXF file format to Part VEC and vice versa ViewPart To view a part in DWG DXF and VEC file format within AutoCAD MirrorPart To save a part and the mirrored part in DWG DXF and VEC file formats EE 53 Ee oo ExpandPart To display a part with an expanded profile by an offset equal to the cutting gap 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts PRT 4 3 1 SavePart Parts are generally components that have been constructed or drawn
59. e default option Maximum quantity of parts nested onto the stock sheet Extension Long Nest This nesting option will take the longest time compared with the other three It will go through more iteration to produce either the same or better results than Quantity Mixed array Allow Part Mirror If this option is checked the nesting will consider the part single and its mirrored image during the nesting Allow Part Mirror can be used in conjunction with any of the other 4 options TaskEdit Users can enter multiple tasks but Sae each task at a time To exit click MEN button For every task created there is a corresponding file with extension JOB being written on the default Task directory set at the Sysdata For example Task Name SAMPLE Filename SAMPLE JOB 4 39 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Illustrations for Packing Direction Control AUTO Packing EETILIE uL ELE t LUI TARN sscan AL TA FL Ium 4 40 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environmen t Task Edit Illustrations for Single Part Nest Control Density Single Array Quantity Single Array DYED LLL T Task Edit AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment 4 Quantity Mixed Array VYY ACBACOHGR Extension Long Nest S S
60. e nested For examples number of stocks stock size and quantity number of parts part quantity and orientation constraints edge allowance cutting gap etc This file is automatically created by the TaskEdit command Likewise there are three 3 output files These files are generated automatically from a successful nesting 1 SYM file This TEXT file gives the layout information by making reference to the parts files indicating position orientation color layer etc information of each part in the stock sheet 2 SUM Format This file contains the nesting summary in TEXT format 3 DXF Format This file contains the geometry of the nested layout with information for each and every part nested onto the stock sheet As such it will be very much larger in size when compared to say the SYM file 6 1 6 6 1 AutoNEST VEC Format File Format Each VEC is a TEXT file containing the x and y co ordinates of vertices of part profiles arranged in clockwise or counter clockwise direction If some segments of the profiles are arcs bulge values will be attached to the starting vertices of arcs or if the profile is a circle center point and radius of the circle will be recorded One example of a VEC file is described as follows 0 Oo9o9QO9dAQ0l5 n AutoNEST V9 ENGLISH Shape Name test1 vec First pair of x y is assumed to be insertion pt of the shape Vec not Compressed 9 346454 9 6
61. e nesting algorithms will run through an additional set of routines compare with the original and then display the better of the two results By running the Extended nesting you will get either the SAME or BETTER nested results than if you were to run without marking the check box But there is a trade off Extended nesting will take significantly longer time to run Once the Task name has been confirmed click the OK button to start the nesting The following dialog box appears indicating that the nesting is in progress z AutoNEST Nesting x Nesting in Process BIGPART The nested layout will be displayed onto the current drawing at the location indicated by the Insertion point 4 45 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Nesting HESTIME REPORT FROH JDB WAHE WEB1 E STOCK STOCK HH ary 1 STOCK AIE pedalon yan ENCLOSPS RECT AB DSF od EMBLOSPG RECT 3681 28 NESTING SUMMARY SIDGE SIZE FECE BAER SHAPE NAME TOTAL WEB sD TOTAL SHAPE AREA 2410 05 ENGLASHS REET a8 TOTAL B10 aL fe EHAPE NAHE TOT STOCK TOTAL WEBI 5i 4rEXTSOO i SUB TOTAL io TOTAL 1 Insertion Point Internally once a task has been successfully nested output files will be created These files have the same name as the task but different file extensions as shown below Example Task name is SAMPLE Output Files SAMPLE SYM SAMPLE SUM The SYM file contains the results of the nesting in terms of each part and
62. e starting of one leadin leadout section of part profile in this example it is for external profile Line 28 34 A list of X and Y coordinates representing the leadin leadout lines or arcs A indicates Arc same as the foregoing Line 35 37 Other leadin leadout for part inner profiles Notes on overall geometry of Part Mi Each profile of geometry must be closed v1 No crossing over on each profile itself or between profiles Mi Not more that 1500 vertices per profile including the starting and ending vertices of arcs 6 4 File Format 6 AutoNEST 3 626080 1147848D radius 0 868615 9 804096 8 9 580049 5 295798 3 841770 B39 2 796370 7 857398 A 0 38 5 298084 3208960 tan 84 8325 4 0 388339 10 754583 7 189432 8 783803 71542752 84 8925 413 254011 6 023520 7 65670063456847 130 03987 182886310 5950967 A HORAN Mm tonc 130 0398 4 0 624107 3 994422 4 798814 C14 662140 36738172 7 373509 3076162 6 5 6 AutoNEST File Format 6 2 STK Format Each STK is a TEXT file containing the x and y co ordinates of vertices of an irregular stock ir stock profile s arranged in clockwise or counter clockwise direction If some segments of the profiles are arcs bulge values will be attached to the starting vertices of arcs or if the profile is a circle cent
63. ectory This DXF VEC File will depends on which conversion has been chosen You can select one or more files to be converted by highlighting the filenames and then the El button or click this 22 button to select all files Selected Display a list of files selected for the conversion You can select DXE VEC File the filenames and click the button to remove the files from the Selected Parts list but the files still remained on the Available EB P Parts list Or click this lt lt button to remove all files Click the Convert button to initiate the process of conversion Ignore Holes If this check box is marked holes and cut outs will not be and Cut outs converted Converted This will show files that have been converted successfully VEC DXF File View Error Click this icon to view error messages if any This is especially helpful as it will give a list of the filenames that cannot be converted for certain reasons 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Parts 5 4 DXF2STK Introduction This section introduces a command related to Irregular Stocks within the AutoNEST Nest Manager environment This utility will convert irregular shaped stocks that are in DXF format into AutoNEST irregular stock files STK format and vice versa In AutoNEST Irregular Stock is a generic name used to describe the following 1 Irregular shaped sheet for nesting 2 Layout with pre nested parts 3 Remn
64. ed 4 52 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment 5 1 Getting Started As mentioned in the earlier chapter it is equally feasible to run AutoNEST independently in the Windows environment through the Nest Manager icon menu Running AutoNEST from Nest Manager will be advantageous in situation where another CAD software is used instead of AutoCAD Lighter version of a CAD software such as AutoCAD LT may be used to create the parts and to view the nested layouts in DXF format AutoNEST Nest Manager PS EG E ta All 2 The AutoNEST Nest Manager Icon Menu consists of seven icons They are Sysdata To set environmental settings for running AutoNEST DXF2PART ConvertPart To convert DXF files to Parts VEC As well as from Part VEC files back to DXF format DXF2STK ConvertirStock To convert DXF file format to irregular stock stk As well as from irregular stock stk files to DXF format IJ Bei Bei Hw TaskEdit To specify or edit a task by specifying a list of parts and stocks to be nested and the associated parameters of the nesting requirements a Nesting To nest any selected tasks After successful nesting the nested layouts are saved in DXF files On line Help To view online help file click this icon EIE About To view the version number of the program click this icon Each of these will be explained individually in the following
65. eg AutoNEST V9 AutoNEST Y9 NestPRO Operating Environment X Select Auto NEST V9 NestPRO Operating Environment The Installation program can install AutoNEST V9 NestPRO to run under Nest Manager or AutoCAD Environment IV AutoNEST under Nest Manager I AutoNEST under AutoCAD R14 Windows IV AutoNEST under AutoCAD 2000x Windows cass es Next select the appropriate AutoNEST operating environment AutoNEST can be installed to run on the AutoCAD environment or as an independent Windows application Note If you select the AutoCAD environment the installation program will automatically detect the directory where AutoCAD R14 or later versions is installed 3 7 3 Program Installation Software Installation Confirm Directories X Please Confirm Directories The AutoNEST V8 NestPRO System files will be copied to these directories Do you wantto change any ofthe directories AutoNEST V3 NestPRO directory C ANEST Browse AutoCAD R14 windows directory Browse AutoCAD 200 Windows directory C Program Files AutoCAD 2002 Browse Exit Installation lt lt Back Next gt gt Next confirm the directory where AutoNEST is to be installed and the directory where AutoCAD is detected You may use any of th Browse buttons to change the directories indicated in the edit boxes This feature is helpful if the wrong copy of AutoCAD is being detected this could
66. elect part format to view Dwg dXf iVec Vec Insertion Pt Part Name for list Select part format to view DwgldXflVec Vec This is to prompt for the type of file format that you wish to view e D for Dwg e X for Dxf e V for Vec Enter for the default option in this case the VEC file format Insertion Pt Pick a point on the screen The specified part will be displayed at the insertion point on the screen Part Name for list This is to prompt for the name of the part which you wish to review Enter the required part name Conversely you can enter which in turn will display a dialog box for you to select the part name 4 16 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts CAUTION Each AutoNEST part saved using SavePart will internally be stored as an AutoCAD block This may pose a problem where in the current drawing different blocks are referred by the same name For example if the name of a Part that you are viewing happens to be the same as one of the Blocks in the current drawing In this case a copy based on the block in the current drawing will be inserted This is all right if they are actually of the same geometry Otherwise one may get very confusing results AutoNEST allows same names of Wblocks as long as they are in different directories or sub directories This situation can even be more baffling if the existing Blocks have been erased from the curre
67. ensions in length x dimension and breadth y dimension The default dimension is 600 x 600 The maximum value is limited to 6 digit Eg 999999 Single Part Nest Control This portion of the dialog box will be grey out unless the Task consists of only ONE Part For Single part nesting there are 5 options or controls They are e Density Single array e Quantity Single array e Quantity Mixed array e Extension Long Nest Allow Part Mirror The illustrations on Pages 5 27 to 5 28 will give you a better understanding of these control settings Density Single array The most dense packing pattern in a single array Quantity Single array The highest quantity of parts nested in a single array Quantity Mixed array This is the default option Maximum quantity of parts nested onto the stock sheet Extension Long Nest This nesting option will take the longest time compared with the other three It will go through more iteration to produce either the same or better results than Quantity Mixed array Allow Part Mirror If this option is checked the nesting will consider the part single and its mirrored image during the nesting Allow Part Mirror can be used in conjunction with any of the other 4 options TaskEdit Users can enter multiple tasks but Sae each task at a time To exit click MEE button For every task created there is a corresponding file with extension
68. er point and radius of the circle will be recorded One example of a STK file is described as follows AutoNEST V9 ENGLISH Shape Name irstk5 vec _anest_ dxf First pair of x y is assumed to be insertion pt of the shape Vec not Compressed 5536 235396 2990 376451 5873 082676 4446 162743 6006 813023 4018 838111 10 6528 36 1479 3164 188822 11 7504 593093 2950 526519 12 8204 423336 2536 555764 13 8204 423336 1214 119803 14 4398 551137 1214 119803 15 4397 719382 4472 870521 16 5873 082676 4446 162743 SCONOORWNDH Note The above line numbers are strictly for referencing purposes they do not appear in the file Description of STK File Format Line 1 to 5 Lines start with character denote comments There is no limit to the number of comment lines The AutoNEST V9 English must be in one of the comment lines The V9 reference number is used to check the different formats of files of different software releases English indicates what language version of current AutoNest you are using Vec not Compressed is a file header identifier to indicate this ir stock file has not been compressed It will be followed by a section describing the external profile of an ir stock 6 6 6 AutoNEST First pair of co ordinates is always assumed to be the ir stock s insertion point Line 8 16 File Format X and Y co ordinates in real number No restrictions on the length o
69. erienced designer so as to take into consideration the practical features only known by the designer Nested layouts can readily be edited through AutoCAD or any CAD system for the best final layouts 1 1 2 2 Operating System Requirements Operating System Requirements AutoNEST can run on machines with Windows operating systems Minimum Hardware Configuration Pentium based PC or compatible Minimum 512 MB RAM CD ROM drive Hard Disk with minimum 20 MB free disk space for software Parallel port or USB Port for hardware lock Operating Environment Requirements Microsoft Windows XP or newer CAD software that reads DXF files AutoCAD optional R14 or higher 2 1 3 Program Installation Software Installation 3 Program installation AutoNEST must be installed onto a hard disk During installation you can specify the directory in which to download AutoNEST By default the directory is CAANEST The user is cautioned that AutoNEST should always be installed by the installation program If a change in directory is required the user is advised to re install the whole software again Please ensure that all important data has been backed up prior to the new installation For the program installation reference is made on the following assumptions C Drive as the target drive where AutoNEST is downloaded E Drive is the source drive C ANEST as the directory where AutoNEST is loaded The program in
70. ery big parts which are very close to the stock sizes you may need to set this parameter on to adjust arc approximation to fit the parts Otherwise you may not be able to nest those big parts ANEST SET This file is used for interfacing with CAD systems other than AutoCAD It also contains the default values of TaskEdit A sample DXF file is required To create sample dxf file open a drawing called SAMPLE in the particular CAD software used and do a DXFOUT equivalent command Format for ANEST SET AutoNEST V9 Filename anest set 1 Shape dxf sample filename 2 Shape dxf option 1 BLOCK 0 ENTITIES 3 Nested layout dxf sample filename 4 Nested layout dxf option 1 BLOCK 0 ENTITIES 5 Insertion point 0 Shape box center 1 Fix insertion as below 2 Use DXF INSBASE value 6 Insertion point x and y 7 Layer option 1 to set default layer name 8 Name of default Layer 9 Default Cutting Gap 10 Default Edge Allowance Left Right Top Bottom 11 No of default Stocks 12 Default stock specifications Width x Length Qty Priority sample 0 sample 0 1 0 00 0 00 1 1 3 00 3 00 3 00 3 00 3 00 3 1200x2400 51 1500x3000 102 1500x6000 99 3 8 8 8 AutoNEST System Parameters Lines starting with character denote Comments The AutoNEST V9 must be in one of the comment lines There is no limit to the number of comment lines Explanatory Notes for ANE
71. f field X and Y co ordinates of each vertex of the external profile X and Y co ordinates in real numbers No restrictions on the length of field Notes on overall geometry of an Irregular stock M M M Each profile of geometry must be closed No crossing over on each profile itself or between profiles Not more that 1500 vertices per profile which includes the starting and ending vertices of arcs 4397 719382 4472 070521 5973 002676 4446 162743 6006 51 3023 4018 838111 6528 361479 3164 155822 7504 593093 2950 526519 8204 423336 2536 555764 4398 551137 1214 119803 8204 423336 1214 113803 6 7 6 AutoNEST File Format 6 3 JOB Format A JOB file will contain all the relevant controlling parameters of the nesting for a particular task as captured in the dialog boxes when TaskEdit is invoked The format of the file is as follows 1 2 AutoNEST V9 ENGLISH 3 Job Name EXAMPLE1 4 Next 6 lines No of Distinct Shapes No of Distinct R Stock amp I Stock 5 Cutting Gap Edge Allowance X and X1 6 Edge Allowance Y and Y1 Control Parameter 7 1 8 32 9 2 0000 10 5 0000 5 0000 11 5 0000 5 0000 0 0000 12 CHR13001 1600 0000 600 0000 13 60 0000 x 103 0000 10 3 14 70 0000 x 103 0000 5 1 15 80 0000 x 103 0000 20 2 16 amp IRSTK111Y 17 amp IRSTK211Y 18 MTI AL YYTIO15 Note The above line numbers are strictly for referencing purposes they do not
72. ferentiate the regular stock from the irregular stock ir stock will link to the STK file name The STK file stores the ir stock geometry profile Quantity refers to the number of ir stocks available for nesting Priority of the ir stock to be nested 1 has the highest priority whereas 99 has the lowest priority Rotate able has two options Y means able to rotate the ir stock and N mean no rotation of the ir stock A list of distinct Parts Number of lines depends on number of distinct Parts Each line has the following format 6 10 6 AutoNEST File Format Part quantity Part name Orientation constraints Pairing Priority Block name Filler quantity Support 180 step angle Part quantity integer number range 1 9999 Note for Single Part tasks of fixed size stocks part quantity can be M to indicate unlimited quantity of the Part Part name string 30 characters long no space characters allowed Orientation constraints combination of any angles between 0 and 360 such as 0 30 60 90 180 or ALL Pairing Y means allow part pairing N means do not allow part pairing Currently not in use Priority Priority of the parts to be nested 1 has the highest priority 2 has the second highest and so on Block name Part details block name Part detail block is a DWG file containing more detail information of the part In the current version it will be the same as Pa
73. file format type as specified in Sysdata without having to re nest the task again NESTING REPORT OF TASEK NAME TESTE IR_ gt TOCK IE THCK NAME ATY IR_STOCK SIZE IR_STOCK AREA TOTAL PART AREAS IR_STOCK AREA TOTAL PART PERIMETER PART NAME SUB TOTAL IF_ TOCK 1 I ztk8 1 3957 28x339L24 11559379932 7694820 767 10555378 23 Foray 12581312 TOTAL 205 42 NESTING SUMMARY PART NAME 10 ii lz eu amp Ej N4 TOTAL PARTS NESTED STOCK Irstke TOTAL 4 48 BASIC OTY FILLER BTY 10 10 4 4 3 ovo 150 300 20720 13 20 205 378 TOTAL 1 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment ViewNEST Nesting Summary Report A nesting summary report will be created for each nested task at two places a Next to the nested layout right hand side b Text file in a SUM file You can set the TEXTSIZE of this nesting report on the drawing through the Sysdata In the same command you can also choose NOT to display it with the nested layout As for the layer and color of the nesting summary report you can define them in Layer Color Setting of Sysdata The following information will be presented in the Nesting report 1 Name and quantity of parts nested unnested i Total area and perimeter of parts nested ii Area of smallest enclosing rectangle x 100 Area of stock sheet iv Sum of area of all parts nested x 10096 Area of smallest enclosing rectangle Sample Ne
74. ges e Update the SYM and SUM files Important This command works only if the nested layout is displayed in DWG format see Sysdata s File Format The prompts below will appear UpdateNEST Task Name For list The user is prompted the Task name that needs to be updated lt gt will contain the name of the most recent entry of the Task name New Nested File Name lt gt You will be prompted the name of the new nested sym and sum file You can enter a new name e g SAMPLE a or if you enter the same name e g SAMPLE then the UpdateNEST will overwrite the existing nested files of the same name Select Objects Here you are requested to enclose the layout s If the task consists of several nested layouts and only one of them has been edited you still have to enclose select all of them as long as they are of the same task Insertion Pt of New layout RETURN for 0 0 Indicate a point on the screen to indicate the lower left corner of the nested layouts The updated nested layouts and nested summary reports will be displayed with reference to the new insertion point 4 51 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment About 4 9 i About This command will display a message box showing the product version number that you are currently using The following dialog box will be displayed About AutoNEST xi AutoNEST for Windows Kf Version V3 0 Copyright 2002 Radan Systems Pte Ltd All rights reserv
75. ick the required entities to be saved as part If W Window is entered at this stage a dynamic window will be formed to enclose the relevant geometry of the part All the entities within the window will be saved as an AutoNEST part During SavePart the following happens a VEC DWG and DXF files are created where e VEC isa text file which record geometric information for a part such as x y coordinates of vertices bulge values for arcs center point coordinates and radius for circles e DWG is the type of file format given by AutoCAD when a part is saved as Block WBlock This is to keep a true copy of the part geometry submitted to AutoNEST e DXF is a Drawing Interchange File format to assist in interchanging drawings between AutoCAD and other programs b Text and dimensioning information are filtered out in the VEC file but are retained in the DWG and DXF files for final presentation Conditions for Part Profile Acceptable Unacceptable e Lines Arcs Circle Rectangle e Block entity Polyline Polygon and Spline entities acceptable if Explode e External profile and internal holes e Pedit Spline and Pedit Fit profiles of a part must be closed acceptable if Explode e Layer and Color of profile must be of Additional line plines along the profile as set in Sysdata e Crossing over on each profile or between profiles e Part with more than 1500 vertices per profile Inclusive of starti
76. in default 131D directory Check part directory in SYSDATAs 133E No SYM files found in directory 133D The AutoNEST data files cannot be found in default 133D directory Check task directory in lt SYSDATA gt 134E No DWG files found in directory 134D The AutoNEST data files cannot be found in default 134D directory Check part directory in SYSDATAs 134D Only applicable for AutoCAD 140E Can topen file for read 140D The error will happen when AutoNEST cannot open 140D the data file for read 140D Eg In Nesting please make sure that the task file 140D and the part files are in the specified default 140D directories 141E Can t open AutoNEST file for read 141D The AutoNEST supporting files are missing or corrupted 141S Check the AutoNEST distribution diskettes and re load 141S the necessary files onto the hard disk 7 3 7 142E 142D 143E 143S 144E 144S 144S 145E 145S 146E 146S 147E 147S 147S 147S 147S 150E 150D 150D 150S 150S 150S 150S 151E 151D 151D 151S 151S 151S 151S 153E 153E 153E 154E 154S 155E 156E AutoNEST Error Messages Can t open file for read Need to create the above data file Authorization file not found Please consult your dealer All concurrent user licenses are currently being used Please run the program later or contact your dealer to increase the network concurrent user licenses Your current license is not f
77. ine help file click this icon About To view the version number of the program click this icon 5 4 5 5 2 Sysda AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Sysdata ta Sysdata is an important command to set the working environment for running AutoNEST Before you begin to work with any of the other AutoNEST commands it is recommended that the Sysdata command be activated to set the working environment Select the Sysdata command and the following dialog box will be displayed amp AutoNEST Sysdata Part Ir Stock D Task Directory m Directory Setting irectory c anest v9 006 parts Browse c anest v9 D06 task Browse Outer Profile Inner Profile Part Leadin m Input Part Ir Stock Layer Setting Layer Name Color Part Leadin l Units Accuracy File Format Layer Color m Nested Layout Presentation v Label Parts M Label Repeated Parts 5 00 v Summary Report 5 00 Display Repeated Layout Metric Text Size kg Text Size Cancel Help Directory Setting Parts Ir Stock Directory Task Directory To type in or click the _Browse button to choose a directory where your parts and irregular stocks are to be located The directory or sub directory must be created first To type in or click the Browse button to choose a directory where your tasks are to be located The
78. is pressed Parts Specification Add Parts Specification Edit Name BWS Name M4 Basic Quantity A I eve Basic Quantity P Havirrive Filler Quantity pooo Filler Quantity p Priority no Priority fl Orientation ALL Orientation ALL X M Support igi M Support el Nesting Step Angle 5 Nesting Step Angle Cancel Cancel Both the Add and Edit pop up windows allow editing The Delete button will remove the part specification from the selected parts list box The An button will place it back to the Selected Parts list If you select the Ed button the above pop up windows will appear Explanation of the above dialog boxes is given below Name Show the name of the part that you have selected If more than 1 parts are selected will appear Basic Quantity Number of that particular part required to be nested Each part has a maximum quantity of 9999 Filler Quantity Number of that particular filler part to be nested Each filler part has a maximum quantity of 9999 The AutoNEST will decide how many filler parts to be utilized in order to fill the stock up to an acceptable layout It will not exceed the amount that the user had specified Maximize For single part tasks check the Maximize check box to specify the program to fill up the whole stock sheet with the necessary quantity of parts Not valid for stretchable stocks 4 35 4 AutoNEST Unde
79. ked horizontally However when the All Stocks check box is marked then all the nested layouts will be packed horizontally See illustration on Page 4 40 4 37 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Vertical Packing EH When this radio button is marked only the last nested layout will be packed vertically However when the All Stocks check box is marked then all the nested layouts will be packed vertically See illustration on Page 4 40 Other Nesting Options The nesting options are e Consider Common Line e Ignore Hole within Part e Nest Regular Stock First e Save Remnant e Min Remnant X Y They are explained as follows Consider Common Line L Comline Select this option if you want AutoNEST to consider packing of the parts along their common edges This feature will save cutting time However AutoNEST will consider the common line packing together with the quality of the nesting Ignore Hole within Part Nest Regular Stock First Save Remnant Mark this check box to ignore all holes and cut outs within Parts during nesting So that no parts will be packed into these holes or cut outs Mark this check box to nest regular stocks first The default is to nest irregular stocks first Mark this check box to save the remnants of the stocks automatically after every nest as long as they are of the minimum X and Y size or more
80. ked which means that the nesting will run its usual course If the Extended check box is marked then the nesting time is going to be longer as the nesting algorithms will run through an additional set of routines compare with the original and then display the better of the two results By running the Extended nesting you will get either the SAME or BETTER nested results than if you were to run without marking the check box But there is a trade off Extended nesting will take significantly longer time to run Explanation of the TaskEdit dialog box continues below Irregular Stock Cutting Gap This is the cutting gap between nested parts to allow for the tool size Edge Allowance Sometimes it is necessary to leave out an edge around the Regular Stock Perimeter of the stock sheet This is to cater for trimming or clamping purposes For regular or rectangular stock the edge allowance of the 4 sides of the stock can be defined For irregular stock a common edge allowance can also be defined Left Left is the edge allowance in the x direction on the left side of stock sheet Bottom Bottom is the edge allowance in the y direction from the bottom of the stock sheet Right Right is the edge allowance in the x direction on the right side of the stock sheet Top Irregular Stock Top is the edge allowance in the y direction from the top of the stock sheet The edge allowance aro
81. lutions The resulting layouts are automatically converted into DXF format and displayed onto the current AutoCAD session Two text files are also generated to reflect the nesting results Update Once a nested layout is displayed onto the current drawing you can further edit it based on your better judgement and experience using AutoCAD s move copy rotate or delete commands This process will be invisible to AutoNEST as such AutoNEST needs to be updated so that new utilization percentages of the stock sheet can be displayed This is achieved via UpdateNEST command ViewNEST This command allows you to review layouts of previously nested tasks within current Task Parts directory 4 2 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Getting Started Flow Chart of AutoNEST Process START AutoNEST for AutoCAD R14 or 200X Startup AutoCAD and load AutoNEST Program Sysdata Setting up AutoNEST environment SavePart SavePart drawn using AutoCAD for nesting More Parts to edit TaskEdit Create Tasks using 4 TaskEdit More Tasks to edit Nesting To nest single or multiple tasks Edit the Nested bius layout o update the j nesting information 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Getting Started 4 1 2 AutoNEST Features Below is a list of AutoNEST commands available within the AutoCAD environment Sysdata Environment Settings Sysdata To set environme
82. ndow pulldowns E AutoCAD 2002 NOT FOR RESALE Drawing1 dwa E File Edit View Insert Format Tools Draw Dimension Modify AutoNEST Window Help An intelligent computer aided nesting program that maximizes stock utilization and minimizes wastage rA Radan Systems Pte Ltd Copyright 1989 2002 Radan Systems Pte Ltd wwwradansys com sg All rights reserved Regenerating model AutoCAD menu utilities loaded Loading LISP files Henu unloaded successfully MENUGROUP AutoNEST Menu loaded successfully MENUGROUP AUTONEST el 0 0274 0 0274 0 0000 SNAP GRID ORTHO POLAR DSNAP OTRACK L wT MODEL E Start I dec SJ ANEST Docs WF Microsoft Word Chapterd El AutoCAD 2002 NOT FoR 408PM 4 1 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Getting Started 2 3 4 5 6 Create Parts Using AutoCAD interactive DRAW commands the user can construct the geometry of each part that needs to be nested Use the SavePart or MirrorPart commands to save each part Create Task This is the task definition stage Through Windows dialog boxes the particulars of parts required to be nested onto specified stock sheets are specified Details such as edge allowances cutting gaps and other nesting criteria are being specified here The command name is TaskEdit Nesting After having defined the nesting requirements in the previous stage Nesting can now be invoked to compute the layout so
83. ng and ending vertices of arcs 4 13 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts 4 3 2 ConvertPart ConvertPart is a function that allows the user to convert part profile in DXF file format to Part VEC file format Similarly it allows user to convert Parts VEC file format back into DXF format Select the ConvertPart command icon from the icon menu within the AutoCAD drawing session The following dialog box will appear AutoNEST ConyvertPart Ic x Parts Directory c Nanest v9 betada parts DXF File Directory Jc anest v9 betada parts Browse Convert DXF to Part VEC Part VEC to DXF Available DXF File 71 Selected DXF File 14 gt gt D36 z SS joz z Ignore Holes amp Cut outs ES ES Converted VEC File 10 Each dialog box input option is described in the following listing 4 14 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts Parts Directory Display the default part directory set at Sysdata In this case it is also the target directory where all converted file will be saved n File To type in or click on the Browse button to choose a directory Directory where the source file are located Convert DXF to Check this radio button to convert DXF file format to Part Part VEC VEC Convert Part Check this radio button to convert Part VEC file format to VEC to DXF DXF Available Display a list of av
84. ng and ExpandPart After a part has been expanded the expanded profile may consist of long narrow and pointed edges These edges will cause obstruction during the nesting process It is therefore advisable to trim off these pointed edges The amount of trimming required for your application is defined here The first parameter indicates the range of angles to be considered for trimming Default is 90 which means that any angle less than 90 will be trimmed The second parameter specify the amount to be trimmed ratio of cutting gap at the vertices of the part shape Default is 1 0 CARC APPROX ERROR TOLL Under this header you can specify 2 parameters to control arc or circle approximation if a part has arcs or circles as profiles The first parameter can be set to 1 0 1 means this parameter is on and 0 means off If it is off 0 the second parameter will be ignored Otherwise the second parameter means the error tolerance when approximating arcs or circles The smaller the value is the less distortion the approximated profile is For instance if the first parameter is set to 1 and the second parameter is set to 0 01 after approximating a circle part the new part radius will increase at most 0 01 It s recommended that the first parameter be set to off 0 i e users do not have to use this control parameter The system will handle arc approximation automatically 8 7 8 AutoNEST System Parameters Only when you have some v
85. nt drawing yet AutoCAD remembers them in the drawing This will of course result in the wrong part being displayed The problem can be eliminated to a certain extent if unused blocks are purged from the drawing AutoCAD PURGE command This is the only way AutoCAD removes completely unused blocks Starting a fresh new drawing will also help An experienced AutoCAD user will know how to avoid this pitfall 447 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Parts 4 3 4 MirrorPart MirrorPart is basically the same as SavePart except in this case for every part saved an additional mirrored image of the part will be saved as well Likewise the user has to draw the part with AutoCAD before the MirrorPart command can be used The following will appear sequentially at the AutoCAD command prompt MirrorPart Part Name TEST1 Require to save holes in Part Y N lt Y gt Insertion Pt Select objects For example the program will save the original part under the name TEST1 Subsequently the following prompts will appear Parts Name This is to prompt for the name of a new part Part names are limited to 31 characters long space and dot characters are not accepted File already exists OK to overwrite Y N N This prompt will be displayed if the entered part name already exists Require to save holes in Part Y N Y This will enable the SavePart command to save internal profiles of a part as holes which m
86. ntal settings for running AutoNEST SavePart To save a Part which you have constructed or drawn using AutoCAD DRAW commands ConvertPart To convert DXF files to Parts VEC As well as from Part VEC files to DXF format ViewPart To view a saved Part click this icon At the AutoCAD command prompt you will be able to view a part in either DWG DXF VEC formats MirrorPart Besides saving a part which you have constructed or drawn using AutoCAD DRAW commands MirrorPart command will also save a mirror of the part with a user definable name ExpandPart To create a part with an expanded profile on the AutoCAD screen If the part is expanded with the cutting gap this command can help you to manually edit the layouts by fitting the part onto some available space 4 4 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Getting Started Irregular Stock SavelrStock To save an irregular stock which you have constructed or drawn using AutoCAD DRAW commands ConvertirStock To convert DXF files to irregular stocks stk As well as from irregular stock stk files to DXF format ViewlrStock To view a saved irregular stock click this icon TaskEdit To specify or edit a task by specifying a list of parts and stocks to be nested and the associated parameters of the nesting requirements Nesting To nest one particular task and to display the nested layout Batch Nesting To nest multiple tasks in one go
87. ocation where you wish to install the AutoNEST program Click ome to return to previous page or __ New to continue The default directory is C ANEST 3 If the directory that you have selected is existing the following dialog box will appear otherwise skip this step 3 and steps 4 and 5 AutoNEST V9 NestPRO Backup 3 5 3 4 Program Installation Software Installation Click the Yes radio button if you have an old copy of AutoNEST in the destination directory and you do not want to overwrite it Otherwise select the No radio button AutoNEST Backup Directory E ACAD drawing G Acrobat PDPwriter 3 0 E ANEST V9 Betada E3 anestfs v8 2 5 1 anest 8 2 4 E3 amp nestv8 2 3 f anaty A _ Est instalation _ e If you have selected Yes in the previous dialog box the above dialog box will appear Type in or browse to specify where you want to store the backup files Click the _ w button after specifying the destination directory AutoNEST V9 NestPRO Start Menu h AutoNEST V9 NestPRO e ec E GENES 3 p 4 E CP Manager 2 01Betal1sept CP Manager 2 01 beta25 Microsoft Office Tools 3 6 Program Installation Software Installation By default the program name is AutoNEST V9 NestPRO This name will appear at the Windows Start Programs Click ow to proceed to the next step Otherwise if you like to change please indicate the new program name here For
88. ogram Installation Software Installation 3 2 Hardware Lock Replacement Policy e Locks found to be faulty within 9 months of purchase will be replaced at no charge Shipping and handling charges however will be borne by the user e Damaged locks will be replaced at US 150 00 per lock e The faulty lock must be returned before the replacement lock is dispatched e Should locks be lost stolen or destroyed the holder will be responsible for the full retail cost of the software 3 3 3 Program Installation Software Installation 3 3 Software Installation 1 To begin insert the AutoNEST Installation CD ROM into the drive of your computer The following assumptions are made E is your source drive C is your target drive Click the Start button at the lower left corner of your screen and select Run Windows will prompt you for the name of an application to run type the command E Setup Enter where E is your CD Rom drive The installation wizard will guide you step by step through the complete installation of AutoNEST AutoNEST V9 NestPRO Click Neo button to start the installation 3 4 3 Program Installation Software Installation AutoNEST V9 NestPRO Destination Directory ndi ES S a ACAD drawing E Acrobat PDFWiriter 3 0 gt C ANEST V9 Betada o E anestfx v8 2 5 1 3 anestf 8 2 4 E3 amp nestv8 2 3 3 anestv8 2 4 Fo anewa 2h A 2 Enter the drive and directory name to indicate the l
89. on the Available Parts list or click the lt button to remove all files Click the Convert button to initiate conversion process Ignore Holes and If this checkbox is marked holes and cut outs will not be Cut outs converted Converted This will show files that have been converted successfully STK DXF File View Error Click this icon to view error messages if any This is especially helpful as it will give a list of the filenames that cannot be converted for certain reasons 4 26 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Irregular Stock SIE 4 4 3 ViewSTK This provides the facility to view previously created irregular stocks stored in the default directory If necessary you can ask for a listing of all the filenames within the directory The following will appear sequentially at the AutoCAD command prompts The screen prompts are View Irregular stock STK Irregular stock name for list Insertion Pt Irregular stock name for list lt gt This is to prompt for the name of an irregular stock in STK file format that you wish to view Enter the required stock name If you enter at the Irregular stock Name for list lt gt prompt the following dialog box will be displayed In this case you can have access to all the stk files in the default directory Select a VEC file 2 x Look in favs beta3Parts f amp Tl c a a 10sept0 stk a sto
90. or this product Please contact your dealer Your trial license for this product has expired Please contact your dealer This program has not been authorized To authorize this program you need to submit the SITE CODE to Radan Systems by clicking ABOUT from the AutoNEST menu For more details on program authorization please refer to the README TXT or README DOC file Can t open file for write The error will happen when AutoNEST cannot open the data file or supporting file for write 1 Run Out of File Handle increase the FILE field in config sys Eg FILES 20 2 Hard Disk Full Can t open file for append The error will happen when AutoNEST cannot open the data file or supporting file for write 1 Run Out of File Handle increase the FILE field in config sys Eg FILES 20 2 Hard Disk Full The AutoNEST file is corrupted Check the AutoNEST distribution diskettes and re load the necessary files onto the hard disk The file is corrupted Report to AutoNEST dealer The following part s cannot be found in the job file No part found in the job file 74 T AutoNEST Error Messages T57E No part Selected 158E 159E 201E 201D 201D 201D 201D 201S 202E 202D 202D 203E 203D 203D 204E 204D 204D 205E 205D 205D 205S 205S 300E 300D 300D 300D 300D 300D 300D 300D 300D 300S 300S 300S 306E 306D 306S 306S 307E 307D No stock selected Cannot find job file
91. ormat given by AutoCAD when an irregular stock is saved as a Block WBlock This is to keep a true copy of the geometry submitted to AutoNEST e DXF is a Drawing Interchange File format to assist in interchanging drawings between AutoCAD and other programs b Text and dimensioning information are filtered out in the STK file Conditions for saving Irregular Stock profile Acceptable Unacceptable e Lines Arcs Circle Rectangle e Block entity Polyline Polygon and Spline entities acceptable if Explode e External profile and internal holes e Pedit Spline and Pedit Fit profiles of irregular stock must be acceptable if Explode closed e Additional line plines along the profile e Layer and Color of profile must be as f set in Sysdata e Crossing over on each profile or between profiles e Part with more than 1500 vertices per profile 4 24 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Irregular Stock DXF 4 4 2 ConvertlrStock ConvertirStk is a function that allows the user to convert the irregular stock profiles in DXF file format to irregular stocks STK file format Similarly it allows user to convert irregular stocks STK file format back into DXF format Select the ConvertlrStk command icon from the icon menu within the AutoCAD drawing session The following dialog box will appear AutoNEST ConvertlrStock X Ir Stock Directory d mike test job v9 beta3parts DXF File Directory c Sanest
92. pages To activate any command place the mouse cursor on the icon and click on it once 5 1 Getting Started 5 5 1 1 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Getting Started AutoNEST Process This section of the documentation makes reference to the use of AutoNEST in Nest Manager The Nest Manager works within the Windows operating system and is especially useful for users who are using CAD packages like AutoCAD LT that supports the DXF file format The step by step workflow of AutoNEST in the Nest Manager is as follows 1 2 3 4 Starting AutoNEST Nest Manager From the Windows Start button select Programs AutoNEST gt Nest Manager This will launch the AutoNEST Nest Manager icon menu on the Windows desktop The following icon menu will be loaded ready for use AutoNEST Nest Manager P Oe F3 EEEE EJ Create Parts Since AutoCAD is not in use It is assumed that the users have Parts prepared in DXF format As required by the AutoNEST program the user has to submit the geometry of the Parts in an established format of a VEC file format A command is available to convert DXF files into VEC files Create Task This is the task definition stage Through Windows dialog boxes the particulars of parts required to be nested onto specified stock sheets are specified Other manufacturing details such as edge allowances cutting gap and other nesting criteria are being specified here
93. perial 1 3 25 Accuracy The number of decimal places or the number of digits to the right of the decimal point 0 to 4 If the units chosen above is Imperial the denominator of the fractions or the accuracy will be expressed as follows 1 for full integers no fractions 2 forl 2 half 4 forl A quarter 8 for 1 8 eighth 16 for 1 16 sixteenth 4 8 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Sysdata File Format Layer Color Parts Outer Profile Parts Inner Profile Parts Label Stock Sheet Summary Report This option decides which part file format is to be used when generating graphical nested layout on screen Three choices are available DWG VEC DXF If you have chosen VEC format please note the Nested Layout Layer Settings click the Layer Setting button to define the layers and colors of the nested layout If you have chosen DXF or DWG format the nested layouts will display the layers colors of your parts as they were originally created The following dialog box will appear when you click this button Layer Color Setting Nested Layout Presentation Layer f Color Setting X Layer Name Color Parts Outer Profile Pat O Profld autos Parts Inner Profile Patl Profle auto Parts Label Patlabel Mama H Stock Sheet tok 7 Black white Summary Report Summary rcm gj Cancel User can define the
94. ppear Stock Specification Add Stock Specification Edit Width 1218 00 Length 2438 00 Width BE Length 2438 00 Quantity fi Stretchable Quantity 1 I Stretchable Priority fi Priority E aa Cancel Width The width and length dimensions of the stock sheet Length For Imperial Units users you can either enter in feet and inches or purely in inches In the latter case the inches will automatically be converted into feet and inches if Architectural Imperial or Engineering Imperial units are chosen Quantity Quantity of stock sheets of that particular size to be used in the task Maximum quantity allowed for each distinct stock is 9999 Stretchable For stock sheets in reels or rolls the length of the stock sheet can be extended or stretched beyond the specified dimension to accommodate the nesting results If Yes is chosen mark the Stretchable checkbox AutoNEST will have the liberty to increase the Length as much as it takes to pack in all the parts optimally Note this feature is currently only available for tasks which nest only one part Single Part Task Priority The priority of using the stock sheets when different stock sizes are available You can define the order of priority in which AutoNEST should use the stock sheets 1 has the highest priority 99 has the lowest priority If two or more stock sizes have the same priority number the system will automatically
95. r AutoCAD Environment Task Edit Maximize For single part tasks check the Maximize check box to specify the program to fill up the whole stock sheet with the necessary quantity of parts Not valid for stretchable stocks Priority The priority of each and every part to be nested 1 has the highest priority 9999 has the lowest priority AutoNEST will nest according to the priority settings i e parts of Priority 1 will be nested first followed by Priority 2 then 3 and so on If two or more parts have the same priority AutoNEST will decide automatically which part is to be nested first Orientation To allow for orientation constraints of the part during nesting 0 No rotation allowed 0 90 0 and 90 orientations allowed 0 180 0 and 180 orientations allowed 0 90 180 0 90 and 180 orientations allowed ALL All orientations allowed No orientation constraints Beside the above allowable orientations you can enter any allowable angles of orientation Support 180 Mark the check box to allow the part to orientate to the specified allowable angles and their 180 combinations This option is not applicable when Orientation ALL Nesting Step To allow a part to orientate step incrementally in the defined angle angle during nesting Nest Options Click the _Nest Options command button to bring up the dialog box as shown 4 36 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit TaskEdit Nest Options m Nesting St
96. ractions 2 for 1 2 half 4 for 1 4 quarter 8 for 1 8 eighth 16 for 1 16 sixteenth 5 6 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Sysdata File Format Layer Color Parts Outer Profile Parts Inner Profile Parts Label Stock Sheet Summary Report This option decides which part file format is to be used when generating graphical nested layout on screen Three choices are available DWG VEC DXF If you have chosen VEC format please note the Nested Layout Layer Settings click the Layer Setting button to define the layers and colors of the nested layout If you have chosen DXF or DWG format the nested layouts will display the layers colors of your parts as they were originally created The following dialog box will appear when you click this button Layer Color Setting Layer Name Color Parts Outer Profile Pat O Profld auto H Parts Inner Profile Pat Profle uo y Parts Label Patlabel is B Magenta gt Stock Sheet Stock Black white Summary Report Summay 4 Cyan gj Cancel User can define the layer and color for Part Labels Stock Sheet and Summary reports PARTS If the Sysdata File Format is VEC the Parts displayed on the nested layout will follow the layer and color settings here If DWG or DXF File Format are chosen the Parts layer and color settings will be exactly the same as they
97. rameter is for Packing Start Point Left Bottom 2 Left Top 3 Right Top 4 Right Bottom The 4 parameter is for Packing direction control Horizontal Packing Vertical Packing Auto System Control Horizontal Packing for All Stocks Vertical Packing for All Stocks Uu A U Ne The 5 parameter is for Common Line option 6 9 6 AutoNEST File Format 0 Without Common Line Consideration With common Line Consideration The 6 parameter is for Mirror option Single part only 0 Do NOT allow Part Mirror Allow Part Mirror The 7 parameter is for Ignore Part Hole option 0 Do NOT ignore hole of part will nest smaller parts inside part holes 1 Ignore Hole of part will not nest any parts inside part holes The 8 parameter is for Save Remnant option 0 Do NOT save remnant stocks 1 Save remnant stocks into STK files The 9 and 10 parameters are for Min Remnant Size in X and Y Only remnant stocks that are greater than this Min Remnant Size will be saved into stk files onto the default Part Ir Stock directory and provided the Save Remnant option 8 parameter is set to 1 Line 13 15 A list of distinct stocks Each line has the following format Stock Width X Stock Length Quantity Priority Line 16 17 A list of distinct irregular stocks ir stock Each line has the Line 18 following format amp ir stock Quantity Priority Rotate able amp is to dif
98. rt name Filler quantity integer number range 1 9999 Additional quantity for filling up available space Support 180 1 means allow the part orientation angle 180 degree Eg if part allows 30 degree orientation 30 180 210 degree will also be allowed O means No to 180 degrees for part orientation Step angle an incremental step angle for seeking the best nesting pattern Reducing the step angle will have higher chance to get a better nesting result but it will also increase the nesting time Important Do not use Tab characters when you are constructing this file with a text editor or word processor Instead use ordinary spaces 6 6 4 AutoNEST File Format SYM Format All the pertinent information of the nested results are in a file with the filename extension of SYM Assuming that the task name is example it will therefore be example sym The SYM file is intended to be the standard vehicle for communicating with any other applications The format is as follows SCONOORWBNDH AutoNEST V9 Sym File Name example sym Layout from NestPro EXE Process Time Taken Input 0 min 0 38 sec Pairl Omin 1 49 sec Pairll 0 min 0 11 sec Packing 0 min 1 04 sec Total Omin 3 02 sec JOB example No of Distinct Shapes 4 Total No of Shapes 18 Total No of Stock Sheet 2 0 Encl Rect 10 000000 10 000000 959 675266 985 000000 Stock
99. rt qty to be limited 104E 104E Cannot support stretchable stocks 104S Change the stretchable stock to un stretchable 105E 105E Cannot support unlimited Maximise part qty for tasks 105E with multiple distinct parts 105S Change the unlimited part qty to be limited 106E 106E Cannot support stretchable stocks for tasks 106E with multiple distinct parts 106S Change the stretchable stock to un stretchable 7 2 7 AutoNEST Error Messages 107E Number of distinct stock sizes can not be lt 0 107S Specify a num gt 1 108b Number of distinct parts is greater than the actual 108E number of parts in the task file 108E Add more parts in task file 109E Number of distinct parts can not be lt 0 109S Specify a num gt 1 110E Invalid number of parameters 110E Format program name lask name 110E 110E Example NESTPRO task1 112E For SYMUPDAT the part output format should be set to DWG 1125 Run SYSDATA to re set the option to DWG 114E Stretchable stock and unlimited Maximise part qty 114E can not be supported at meantime 114S 1 Either change the stretchable stock to un stretchable 114S 2 Or change part qty Maximise to a fixed qty 130E No DXEF files found in directory 130D The AutoNEST data files cannot be found in default 130D directory Check part directory in lt SYSDATA gt 131E No VEC files found in directory 131D The AutoNEST data files cannot be found
100. s always displayed next to the lower right hand corner of the nested layout To change the layer color of the Summary Report click the Layer Color Setting button Mark this checkbox if you wish to display the same nested layout repeatedly 5 8 NESTING SUMMARY FROM NESTPRO 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Parts 5 3 DXF2PART Introduction This section introduces a command related to PARTS within the AutoNEST Nest Manager environment This utility will convert part files in DXF format into AutoNEST Part files VEC format and vice versa 5 3 1 DXF2PART DXF2PART will convert part files of DXF format into the AutoNEST Part VEC files The user has to submit the geometry of a part in an established format of a VEC file These VEC files of the parts will be used by both the Nesting and BatchNesting commands Likewise the user can convert VEC format back into DXF format A VEC file is an text file containing the x and y co ordinates of vertices of the part profiles arranged in a counter clockwise direction If some segments of the profiles are arcs bulge values will be attached to the starting vertices of arcs or if the profile is a circle center point and radius of the circle will be recorded More detailed description is given in Chapter 6 1 Conditions for Part Profile Acceptable Unacceptable Lines Arcs Circle Rectangle Polyline Block entity Polygon and Spline entities
101. stallation process involves 3 steps a Connect the hardware lock b Install the software from the CD Rom onto the hard disk c Setting up the working environment Sysdata 3 1 3 Program Installation Software Installation 3 1 Hardware Lock Enclosed with your manuals and diskettes is a small device with an electrical connector at each end This device is a hardware lock and without it being properly attached to your computer the program cannot execute Please note that only ONE hardware lock will be supplied with each AutoNEST package If the device is lost stolen or totally destroyed it will be necessary to purchase another copy of the AutoNEST software to replace it It is therefore recommended that you insure the device just like any other piece of computer equipment for its replacement cost namely the full price of your AutoNEST program Should your hardware lock be damaged or otherwise fail in service contact your AutoNEST dealer You will need to return the original in order to receive a replacement The license agreement allows you to use a copy of your program on as many computers as you wish provided that you use it on only one computer at any one time If you use the program on more than one computer you will need to remove the hardware lock from one computer to connect it to another When installing your hardware lock the end that has 25 pins sticking out should be attached to your computer s parallel printer LPT
102. sting Summary Report NESTING REPORT OF TASK NAME PIP STOCK QTY STOCK SIZE ENCLOSING RECT ENCLOSING RECT STOCK SIZE TOTAL PART AREA ENCLOSING RECT TOTAL PART PERIMETER PART NAME PART1 PART2 PART3 PART4 PART5 SUB TOTAL STOCK 1 1 2423 20x6121 50 2291 70x5966 50 13673428 05 14833373 94 92 18 9400020 32 13673428 05 68 75 195202 62 6 6 12 12 24 24 18 18 18 18 78 78 NESTING SUMMARY PART NAME PART1 PART2 PARTS PART4 PART5 TOTAL PARTS NESTED STOCK 2423 16x6121 50 TOTAL BASIC QTY 6 6 12 12 24 24 18 18 18 18 78 78 TOTAL 1 FILLER QTY 0 50 0 50 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environmen t ViewNEST Typical nested layout 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment UpdateNEST 4 8 UpdateNEST Once the nested layout is presented onto the current AutoCAD drawing you can have full access to all the AutoCAD commands It is sometimes easier for the user to scrutinize an already nested layout and then decide how it can be further improved manually In this case you can use your better judgement and experience to edit the layout through the MOVE COPY etc commands of AutoCAD However after such a session AutoNEST is not aware of these changes Therefore an UpdateNEST is necessary so that AutoNEST will do the following e Update the drawings by re displaying the nested layouts e Update the nesting summary and re calculate the utilization percenta
103. sting will run its usual course If the Extended check box is marked then the nesting time is going to be longer as the nesting algorithms will run through an additional set of routines compare with the original and then display the better of the two results By running the Extended nesting you will get either the SAME or BETTER nested results than if you were to run without marking the check box But there is a trade off Extended nesting will take significantly longer time to run Display a list of tasks JOB files found in the task directory You can select one or more tasks to be nested by highlighting the filenames and then the 2 button Click the 7 1 button to select all files Selected Tasks Highlight the tasks and click the button to remove them from the Selected Tasks list but the files still remained on the Available Tasks list Click the E button to remove all files from the list box 5 30 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Nesting Nested Tasks Display a list of successfully nested task files You can click the Mew Error button to see if there is any error message Internally once a task has been successfully nested two output files are created These files have the same name as the task but different file extensions as shown below Example Task name is SAMPLE Output Files SAMPLE SYM SAMPLE SUM The SYM file contains the results of the nesting in terms
104. t software releases Sym file name oon The key character here is the equal sign The words before it are purely descriptive but the name after the sign is important Number of distinct parts oon The key character here is the equal sign The words before it are purely descriptive but the value after the sign is important Total quantity of parts nested noon The key character here is the equal sign The words before it are purely descriptive but the value after the sign is important Total number of distinct nested layouts oon The key character is the equal sign The words before it are purely descriptive but the 2 values separated by space indicate the no of distinct nested layouts for regular and irregular stocks respectively Line 18 32 The first nested layout information Enclosing rectangle of the first nested layout The first pair of real numbers is the left bottom point of the rectangle the second pair is the length and width of the rectangle 6 13 6 AutoNEST File Format Stock sheet size and the number of the repeated layout Within brackets are the width and length of the stock Lim20 20 Sum of area of parts nested in the current layout Line 21 32 A list of nested parts Each line has the following format Part name X Y Angle Color Hole no Layer Part name name of the part X Y Angle transformation of the part relative to the first layout s left bottom point
105. ted Click the button to un select the file s or click to un select ALL the files in the list box You can click the __ Start button to start the nesting process 4 49 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Nesting Nested Tasks Display a list of successfully nested task files Click the View Error button to see if there is any error message Internally once a task has been successfully nested output files will be created These files have the same name as the task but different file extensions as shown below Example Task name is SAMPLE SAMPLE SYM SAMPLE SUM The SYM file contains the results of the nesting in terms of each part and its location in the layout The format of the files is described in detail in Chapter 6 Output Files The SUM file contains the nesting summary report in TEXT format Samples of Nested Layouts i ul Tm 4l i f i f d eni in gl o Seng f ar Tm l 4 50 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment ViewNEST 4 7 ViewNEST The ViewNEST command is used to output nested task layout s sym onto the current AutoCAD session as a drawing This command is especially useful for viewing of already nested layouts e g BatchNesting viewing of updated nested layouts when there is change in the report text size or output
106. the area increment exceeds the value of parameter or in the case when there is no more approximation possible Do not confuse this parameter with the Minimum Concave Area Increment discussed previously The present parameter is using the total area of profile after approximation in deciding the quitting of subroutine The previous parameter is used during the concave portion of the profile 5 Minimum Arc This parameter is not valid for current version 6 Global Tolerance Factor 0 08 7 Local Tolerance Factor 3 0 NEST_CONTROL There are 5 parameters under NEST_CONTROL which control the NESTB nesting engine Each of them are explained below 1 Parameter Do not use the exhaustive nesting engine NESTB Use the normal nesting engine OR NESTB depending on the TASK job Always use the exhaustive nesting engine NESTB Uo N e C As indicated in the UI By default option O is used for nesting If the Extended check box is marked then option 1 will be employed 2 Parameter 30 Increasing this number will also increase the chance of a task being submitted to the NESTB engine 3 Parameter 1 Default is 1 This is the lower limit of the average number of individual parts in a Task for NESTB 4 Parameter 0 1 This means that NESTB is able to extend beyond 10 from the nested pattern when considering if a part or a group of parts are suitable 8 4 8 AutoNEST System Parameters
107. the file Profile has ZERO area The profile is not closed or too small or is a straight line Either re create the part or change the aperture value in ANEST TOL Profile has lines that CROSSES over The profile has some intersection lines 7 5 7 AutoNEST Error Messages 3075S Either re create the part or change the aperture value 307S in ANEST TOL 308E Profile has multiple SAME point 308S Either re create the drawing or change the aperture value 308S in ANEST TOL 312b Profile is an ACAD Block need to EXPLODE 312D Only applicable for AutoCAD 312S He create the drawing 313E Profile contains SPLINE segment 313D AutoNEST cannot accept profile with SPLINE segment 314E Cannot convert DXF file 314D No profile can be detected on the LAYER or of the COLOR 314D that are specified in the SYSDATA Input Part Ir Stock Layer Setting 315E Part has TOO MANY EDGES 315D The constraints for vector compression is too tight 315S Change the constraints in ANEST SYS 315S Either decrease minimum vector increase total area or 315S increase relative global tolerance 340E Invalid file format for 340S Need to re do 341E Invalid file format for AutoNEST supporting file 341S Need to re load from Diskette 345E Cannot find ANEST layer in DXF file 345S Need to save blocks in ANEST layer 350E Cannot find BLOCK in DXF file 350S Need to re create file 351E Cannot find ENTITIES in DXF file
108. the part that you have selected If more than 1 parts are selected will appear Basic Quantity Number of that particular part required to be nested Each part has a maximum quantity of 9999 Filler Quantity Number of that particular filler part to be nested Each filler part has a maximum quantity of 9999 The AutoNEST will decide how many filler parts to be utilized in order to fill the stock up to an acceptable layout It will not exceed the amount that the user had specified Maximize For single part tasks check the Maximize check box to specify the program to fill up the whole stock sheet with the necessary quantity of parts Not valid for stretchable stocks 5 21 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Maximize For single part tasks check the Maximize check box to specify the program to fill up the whole stock sheet with the necessary quantity of parts Not valid for stretchable stocks Priority The priority of each and every part to be nested 1 has the highest priority 9999 has the lowest priority AutoNEST will nest according to the priority settings i e parts of Priority 1 will be nested first followed by Priority 2 then 3 and so on If two or more parts have the same priority AutoNEST will decide automatically which part is to be nested first Orientation To allow for orientation constraints of the part during nesting 0 No rotation allowed 0 90 0 and
109. tock Irregular Stock outline Define R Stocks When you click the pore Rei button the following dialog box appears TaskEdit Stock Sheet Specification Available Stocks 1219 00 X 2438 00 Add 1524 00 X 3048 00 1524 00 X 6069 00 1829 00 x 6069 00 Edit 2438 00 X 9144 00 Remove Selected Stocks 1 Width Length Quantity Priority Stretchable 2478 00 3360 00 cont 4 31 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Task Edit You can add change or delete the stock specification by clicking the _ Add Ed Or Bemowe button respectively Highlight one of the stock size in the Available Add Stock list box and then pick the Edi button or click the button The following pop up windows will appear Stock Specification Add Stock Specification E dit Width 121 9 00 Length 2438 00 Width Length 2438 00 Quantity fi Stretchable Quantity 1 I Stretchable Priority fi Priority E aa Cancel Width The width and length dimensions of the stock sheet Length For Imperial Units users you can either enter in feet and inches or purely in inches In the latter case the inches will automatically be converted into feet and inches if Architectural Imperial or Engineering Imperial units are chosen Quantity Quantity of stock sheets of that particular size to be used in the task Maximum quantity allowed for each distinct stock is 9999 Stretch
110. troduction In AutoNEST Irregular Stocks is a generic name used to describe the following 1 Irregular shaped sheet for nesting 2 Layout with pre nested parts 3 Remnant sheet stock CO Examples of Irregular shaped Example of Layout with pre sheet stock nested parts Example of Remnant sheet stock This section introduces three commands related to Irregular Stock within the AutoCAD environment They are used to save or view irregular stocks that have been drawn or edited using AutoCAD commands In addition DXF files can be converted into irregular stocks as well Irregular Stocks will also be saved automatically when you marked the Save Remnant checkbox in the Nest Options within the TaskEdit dialog box Please refer to Chapter 4 5 TaskEdit for details SavelrStk To save the profile of an irregular stock in DWG DXF and STK file formats STK ConvertirStock To convert DXF file format to irregular stock STK and vice versa ViewlrStock To view an irregular Stock STK file within AutoCAD P5 E ID 4 22 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Irregular Stock STK 44 1 SavelrStk Similarly to Parts an Irregular Stock can be constructed or drawn using AutoCAD DRAW commands The SavelrStock command can be used to save the irregular stock profiles into the Part Ir Stock directory as specified in Sysdata When the command is selected either from the pulldown or the i
111. umed to be the part s insertion point X and Y co ordinates in real number No restrictions on the length of field X and Y co ordinates of each vertex of the external profile X and Y co ordinates in real numbers No restrictions on the length of field Hole 1 is a file header identifier to indicate the starting of an internal hole profile section of this part T is the hole number of a part A indicates Arc 15 12 796370 7 857398 A 0 388339 The first two real numbers are X and Y coordinates of starting point of an arc the last real number is the bulge value of the arc The ending point of the arc will be the first two real numbers at the following line If the following line is starting with the ending point will lie in the first line of this section This section means the first hole is a polygon with two arcs Hole 2 indicates the starting of second hole profile section of this part This hole number is 2 6 3 6 AutoNEST File Format Line 21 C indicates circle 9 804096 9 580049 C 0 868615 The first two real numbers are X and Y coordinates of center point of the circle The last real number is radius of the circle That means the second hole is a circle Line 22 Hole 3 indicates the starting of third hole profile section of this part This hole number is 3 Line 23 26 A list of X and Y coordinates of each vertex of a polygon Line 27 Leadin 1 indicates th
112. und the Irregular stock No of Distinct Stocks Number of different sizes of stock sheets A maximum of 500 distinct stock sizes is available for the current version No of Distinct Irregular Stocks Number of different sizes of irregular stock sheets A maximum of 500 distinct stock sizes is available for the current version No of Distinct Parts Number of distinct parts to be nested A maximum of 1000 distinct parts is available for the current version 5 16 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Top L eft Cutting Cutting Gap Gap Right Bottom Edge allowance around Irregular stock Edge allowance around Irregular stock Irregular Stock outline Define R Stocks When you click the DEGREE d button the following dialog box appears TaskEdit Stock Sheet Specification Available Stocks 1219 00 X 2438 00 Add 1524 00 X 3048 00 1524 00 X 6069 00 1829 00 x 6069 00 Edit 2438 00 X 9144 00 Remove Selected Stocks 1 Width Length Quantity Priority Stretchable 2478 00 3360 00 const 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit You can add change or delete the stock specification by clicking the au Ed Or Bemowe button respectively Highlight one of the stock size in the Available Stock list box and then pick the Edi button or click the 4 J button The following pop up windows will a
113. v9 betada parts Browse Convert DXF to STK C STKto DXF Available DXF File 77 Selected DXF File 11 Bw x Ignore Holes amp Cut outs Converted STK File 3 Bw Bwa Bw3 View Error Help 4 25 4 AutoNEST Under AutoCAD Environment Irregular Stock Each dialog box input option is described in the following listing Ir Stock Directory Display the default irregular stock directory set at Sysdata The irregular stock directory is the same as the Parts directory In this case it is also the target directory where all converted stk files will be saved es File To type in or click on the Browse button to choose a directory ape ctOry where the source file are located Convert Select this radio button to convert DXF files to STK files DXF to STK Convert Select this radio button to convert STK files to DXF files STK to DXF Available The available files in the directory This will depend on which DXF STK File option has been chosen You can select one or more files to be converted by highlighting the filenames and then clicking the gt button By clicking the gt gt button all the files in the directory will be selected Selected DXF STK This list box displays the selected files for the conversion You File can unselect the filenames by clicking the button to remove the files from the Selected Parts list but the files still remain
114. were originally saved See diagram below for explanation of each of the names 5 7 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Sysdata Part Inner Profile Part Outer Profile NESTING REPORT FROM JOB NAME PIP A2 STOCK STOCK 1 QTY 1 STOCK SIZE ENCLOSING RECT 2420 00x4220 00 2299 70x3985 10 ENCLOSING RECT STOCK SIZE 9164534 47 10212400 00 89 74 SHAPE NAME TOTAL PART1 4 6 ENCLOSING RECT 9164534 47 PART2 A 8 8 Y PART3 10 10 PART4 6 10 SHAPE NAME TOTAL PART5 8 10 PART1 4 6 PART2 A 8 8 TOTAL 36 44 PART3 10 10 PART4 6 10 STOCK TOTAL PARTS 8 10 2420 00x4220 00 1 TOTAL SHAPE AREA 577128601 SUB TOTAL a ie Stock Sheet TOTAL 1 Part Label Summary Report Label Parts Text Size Label Repeated Parts Summary Report Text Size Display Repeated Layout Mark this checkbox if you wish to display Part Label And set the Text size of the Part label when displayed on screen To change the layer color of the Part labels click the Layer Color Setting button Mark this checkbox if you wish to add a part Label on each and every part on the nested layout When this checkbox is un marked when there are say 10 parts of the same name are nested only ONE of the 10 parts will be labeled Mark this checkbox if you wish to display Summary Report And set the Text size of the Report when displayed on screen The summary report i
115. which conversion has been chosen button to choose a directory You can select one or more files to be converted by highlighting the filenames and then the gt button Click the 77 button to select all files 5 13 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Parts Selected DXF Display a list of files selected for the conversion You can select STK File the filenames and click the button to remove the files from the Selected Parts list but the files still remained on the Available ex Parts list Click the lt button to remove all files Click the Comet button to initiate the process of conversion Ignore Holes If this check box is marked holes and cut outs will not be and cut outs converted Converted This will show files that have been converted successfully STK DXF File MiewEnor Error Click this icon to view error messages if any This is especially helpful as it will give a list of the filenames that cannot be converted for certain reasons 5 14 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit 5 5 TaskEdit In TaskEdit three 3 categories of information are required e Stock sheet regular and irregular stocks accepted e Parts to be nested e Nesting Conditions and Options Stock sheet information includes the number of distinct stocks size and quantity of each distinct stock AutoNEST can handle both rectangular stocks of fixed size and irregular shaped sto
116. y c anestv9 0 0 12 parts Available Parts 3575 x 1750 Basic Qty Filler Qty Orientation Priority ecOooroocococzco Whenever a part name from the listing of Available Parts is highlighted a viewer will display the part profile with the overall dimension of the part profile The overall length and breadth dimensions will be rounded off to the nearest integer value 5 20 5 AutoNEST Under Nest Manager Environment Task Edit Available Parts Display a list of parts that are available in the part directory You can highlight a list of parts and press Add button to add them to the Selected Parts list box The following pop up window appears when the _ Add button is pressed Parts Specification Add Parts Specification Edit Name Bw Name M4 Basic Quantity A I Mavinice Basic Quantity fT HMavirnice Filer Quantity D Filer Quantity 0 Priority i Priority m Orientation ALL X Orientation ALL X Jv Support 4180 A Suosurt lt Nesting Step Angle 5 Nesting Step Angle 5 lt Cancel Cancel Both the Add and Edit pop up windows allow editing The Delete button will remove the part specification from the selected parts list box The An button will place it back to the Selected Parts list If you select the Ed button the above pop up windows will appear Explanation of the above dialog boxes is given below Name Show the name of

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