Free Nesting Software for Plasma Cutting: Optimize Your Sheets Online
A 3000 × 1500 mm sheet of mild steel costs €150–230. On a plasma table, the post-processor generates the G-code — but it’s the nesting, upstream, that decides how much of that sheet becomes parts and how much becomes scrap. And unlike the G-code, you can optimize it for free, right in your browser.
1. Nesting happens before the G-code — and that’s where your material bill is decided
Every plasma cutting chain looks the same: CAD → DXF → nesting → post-pro (SheetCAM or similar) → G-code → machine. Most plasma table operators carefully tune their machine parameters (speed, amperage, torch height) but arrange their parts “by hand” in their CAD or post-processor.
The cost of that habit: a manual layout typically wastes 20–30% of the sheet. A good nesting engine brings that under 10%. On a €200 sheet, that’s €20–40 recovered — on every sheet, on every job. Nesting software, even paid, pays for itself with the first saved sheet. Free, it’s pure profit.
2. The DXF in → DXF out workflow
DXF is the universal exchange format between your CAD and your table. An online nesting tool slots into your chain without changing anything:
- Export your parts as DXF from your CAD (Fusion 360, SolidWorks, LibreCAD…)
- Upload them to the nesting tool, set your sheet dimensions and part spacing
- Download the nested DXF, ready to load into SheetCAM or your post-pro for toolpath generation
No installation, no plugins, no changes to your existing workflow. You keep your post-pro and your machine settings.
3. Kerf and spacing on plasma: the settings that change everything
Plasma kerf (1–3 mm depending on amperage) is much wider than laser (0.1–0.3 mm). Direct consequences for nesting:
- Part spacing must cover the full kerf, plus a margin for edge quality at the cut boundary. Set the spacing in your nesting tool to match your actual kerf — not a default value.
- Parts placed too close degrade each other: a kerf biting into the neighboring part means a ruined edge and a scrapped part.
- Small parts inside cutouts: watch for localized heat buildup when many cuts concentrate in a tight area — a good layout spreads the thermal load.
4. Hole nesting and reusable offcuts: where the real savings hide
Two techniques separate a real engine from bounding-box placement:
Hole nesting (part-in-part) — small parts are automatically placed inside the cutouts of larger ones. On real jobs with flanges, rings or chassis parts, that’s often 5–10% of the sheet recovered with zero extra effort.
Reusable offcuts — an 88% layout that leaves one large, clean rectangular remnant is often worth more than a 93% layout that leaves only unusable slivers. The clean remnant goes back into stock for a future job; the slivers go to the bin. Demand that your tool shows you the offcut, not just the fill rate.
5. An honest comparison of free options in 2026
| Tool | Model | Status | Free tier limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deepnest (original) | Free, desktop | ❌ Unmaintained (v1.0.5, 2020) | Unlimited but frozen, unfixed bugs |
| deepnest-next (fork) | Free, desktop | ✅ Active | Same aging engine, dated UI |
| SVGnest | Free, browser | ⚠️ Minimal | SVG only, single sheet, no serious kerf handling |
| NestorCut Free | Free, browser | ✅ Active | 10 nestings/month, no credit card |
Deepnest remains the historical reference for free nesting, and the deepnest-next fork deserves to exist — but the engine dates back to the mid-2010s and no longer evolves. SVGnest is a great proof of concept, not a production tool.
Under the hood: a Rust engine, not a demo
A quick aside for the curious (everyone else can skip to the next paragraph). NestorCut is built on open-source roots — the Nest2D project, the jagua-rs exact collision engine, and the sparrow strip-packing heuristic from KU Leuven research. On top of these foundations, we developed our own engine in Rust:
- Two-phase bi-axial compaction: after minimizing strip length, the layout is transposed 90° and re-optimized to push parts into remaining pockets
- Native hole nesting: parts inside cutouts are handled by the solver itself, not by a post-processing hack
- Multi-start simulated annealing: thousands of placement orders explored in parallel, with several alternative layouts proposed (densest, largest remnant, balanced)
- Reproducible results: same job, same layout — every time
In practical terms: denser layouts than the historical free tools, in seconds, in the browser, with nothing to install.
Try it on your own DXF files
The free plan includes 10 nestings per month, no credit card required: multi-sheet, adjustable kerf, hole nesting, layout alternatives, DXF/SVG/ZIP export. The fastest way to judge a nesting engine is to feed it your most awkward parts.