Get Started with Inventor Nesting

Before You Start

You will need files of shapes you have prepared for nesting. For example, parts that you plan to cut using laser, oxygen, or other forms of cutters, using materials like sheet metal, wood, composites, and more. Supported file formats include:

Start the Inventor Nesting Environment

Use your preferred method to start the Inventor Nesting environment.

From an Open Inventor File Using the Create New File Dialog Box By Going to the Nesting Tab
  1. In the Inventor browser, right-click the IPT or IAM file you want to nest and select Create Nest.
  2. In the Create Nest dialog box, select from these options.
    • Create New From Template: Select from a list of templates, including metric and imperial.
    • Add To Open Document: Add to an open nest document.
    • Add To Existing Document: Add to an existing nest document to create one collection of nested parts from different assemblies.

Inventor Nesting automatically extracts the information in the file to shapes for nesting.

  1. In Inventor, click File > New to open the Create New File dialog box.
  2. Under Nesting - Create a nest, select the INEST template you want to use.

    By default, Standard.inest is included with Inventor Nesting.

  3. Click Create.
  1. In Inventor, go to the Nesting tab.
  2. On the ribbon, click Nesting to enter the Inventor Nesting environment.

The extension for Inventor Nesting files is .inest. You cannot save nesting files to any other format. Inventor Nesting includes a sample nesting file at C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor Nesting 2020\Samples\PC Chassis\Nesting results.inest. Use this to experiment and try out the features of Inventor Nesting.

For best results, enable Automatic Update on the Inventor Nesting toolbar. This simplifies and enables update of objects in real-time while you work.

Start Working

Follow these steps to start a new nesting study in Inventor Nesting.
  1. Update the material library with the material types you will use to create your parts.

    See Working with Materials.

  2. Create packaging to define the size and form of your materials.

    See Working with Packaging.

  3. Import CAD files and extract them into shapes that can be used for your nest.

    See To Extract Files into Shapes for Nesting.

  4. Edit nesting properties for the shapes you have imported.

    See Working With Nest Properties.

  5. Create a nesting study.

    See To Create a Nesting Study.

  6. View reports, export to other applications, or generate 3D models.

    See About Nest Output Data.