What makes a part in a DXF?
Each closed outline is a part, and each closed shape inside it is a cut-out. Lines, arcs, polylines and splines all work, and curves stay curves in the cutting files. An outline that is not closed, or that crosses itself, cannot be nested: the import lists the part to fix.
In a DXF block, one outline owns everything inside the block, wherever it lies. Without blocks, position decides: a mark belongs to the part around its middle. Drawings are read in the units the DXF declares, millimetres when it declares none.
Which layers are cut, and which travel along?
Every layer is cut unless its name says otherwise. Layers named for features travel with their part into the cutting file and are never mistaken for cut-outs:
| Layer name contains | What happens |
|---|---|
| DRILL, PUNCH | Holes and punch marks travel with their part |
| ENGRAVE, ETCH, SCORE, V-GROOVE, CREASE | Engraving and scoring travel with their part |
| PEN, DRAW, MARK, TEXT, LABEL, INFO | Marking and text travel with their part |
| GRAIN | A grain line: sets the part’s direction on the sheet |
| DIM, ANNO, DEFPOINTS | Dimensions and notes travel along; leave them out with an import profile |
| Any other name, such as CUT or 0 | Closed shapes are parts and cut-outs |
Frames, title blocks and dimensions do not belong in a cutting file. List their layers in an import profile and they are left out of the outlines and the files, while any text options on them are still read. In the cutting files, a cutter profile sends each layer to the right tool on your machine.
How do you keep the grain and the good face?
A part is placed as drawn, or along its grain line when it has one: a line on a GRAIN layer is laid along the sheet’s first dimension, its X axis in the cutting files. Text inside the part sets how it may turn and whether it may be mirrored:
| Text inside the part | What it sets |
|---|---|
| NAME:side | The part’s name, on labels and in the report |
| QTY:2 | How many of it one set (one kit, cabinet or sign) needs |
| ROT:180 | Half turns only: veneer or decor grain stays along the part |
| ROT:90 or ROT:ANY | Quarter turns, or any angle, for grainless sheet |
| ROT:0 | Exactly as drawn |
| TILT:2 | A few degrees off each allowed angle (0 to 10) |
| FLIP:N | Never mirrored, so a laminate or printed face stays up |
A part with a grain line and no ROT: turns only in half turns. Every option can be changed after import in the parts table.
How do kits and sets work?
The parts file is one set: a cabinet, a sign, a kit. The job says how many sets to cut, so the order is every part’s quantity times the number of sets.
When the sheets cannot hold the whole order, the nesting profile decides what comes first: as many parts as fit (where new sheet profiles start), as many complete sets as fit with parts of the next sets in the space left, or complete sets only. A set may span several sheets.
How do you describe the sheets and the gap?
The nesting profile lists your sheet sizes in millimetres, each with its price, and each job takes how many sheets of each size you have today, up to 200 sheets in all; a size at 0 stays out of the job. Lescut keeps no stock: the counts are what this job may use, and nothing is booked out when it runs. The goal is the fewest sheets, or the lowest material cost, which needs a price for every size.
The gap between parts is the minimum distance the nest keeps between outlines: at least your bit diameter or kerf, plus whatever your hold-down or tabs need. Lescut writes no toolpaths, so lead-ins, tabs and cut order stay with your CAM or machine software.
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