The sheet nesting calculator shows how many rectangular parts fit on a standard sheet, how many sheets a job needs, the material utilization and the material cost per part. It also gives the sheet weight, so it doubles as a sheet metal weight calculator.
Nesting irregular parts? Send us your DXF files and our engineers will review the layout and recommend a fiber laser bed size.
How the calculator nests parts
It treats each part as its bounding rectangle and tries every simple layout: all parts in one orientation, all rotated 90°, and mixed layouts where one area of the sheet uses one orientation and the remaining strip uses the other. The layout with the most parts is shown.
Material densities used
| Material | Density (g/cm³) |
|---|---|
| Mild steel, galvanized steel | 7.85 |
| Stainless steel 304 / 316 | 7.93 |
| Aluminum | 2.70 |
| Copper | 8.96 |
| Brass | 8.50 |
| Titanium | 4.51 |
Tips for better utilization
- Fiber lasers have a narrow kerf, so spacing of 2–5 mm on thin sheet is usually enough. Thick plate needs more to avoid heat buildup.
- Nest small parts inside the cut-outs of large parts. Real nesting software does this automatically; this calculator does not, so real utilization is often higher for parts with holes.
- Choose a sheet size that fits your part well. Changing from 1250 × 2500 to 1500 × 3000 can change utilization by several percent.
- Common-line cutting removes the gap between straight-edged parts and saves both material and cutting time.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good material utilization for laser cutting?
For mixed production with good nesting software, 75–85% is common. Single rectangular parts can reach above 90% with common-line cutting. Below 65% usually means a better sheet size or mixed nesting would pay off.
Does the calculator work for round or irregular parts?
It uses the bounding rectangle of the part, so it gives a conservative count for round and irregular shapes. True-shape nesting software will usually fit more.