Which one fits your product
Stay with NestLib if
- Nesting must run offline, on your customers’ own machines.
- Your customers nest sheet metal with torch, common-cut or punch rules, or glass, and you want one library with modules for all of them.
- You want to license an engine library and own the whole nesting workflow, and file handling, in your code.
Lescut and NestLib side by side
| Lescut | NestLib | |
|---|---|---|
| How you integrate it | Cloud REST API, or the Lescut app under your brand | A C library (static library or DLL), with COM, .NET and Java wrappers |
| Where the search runs | Our cloud machines, up to 16 vCPU per job | The machine running your software |
| Several jobs at once | Up to 10, each on its own machine | Share the processor of the machine running your software |
| Your software’s platform | Anything that can call HTTPS | Windows 10; also offered for Unix, Linux, Solaris and Mac |
| Engine updates | Reach every customer at once, with nothing to redeploy | Shipped with your software |
| Leather nesting | Built in | Optional module, licensed separately |
| Price | Included in Pro and Enterprise plans; partner terms on request | On request |
| Files | DXF (plain or AAMA/ASTM), SVG and hide scanner DXF in; DXF and SVG out with original layers | None: geometry passes through the API |
| Progress while searching | Best nest so far, with yield, while the job runs | Not stated |
| Several hides at once | Several sheets per order | |
| Holes and defects in the hide | Holes in the hide | |
| Leather quality levels | Prime plus grades B, C, D and E | Same or higher quality; number of levels not stated |
| Quality zones on the parts | Graded sub-zones per part | |
| Sets and batches | Prefer, strict or maximum-yield sets; hide batches and shade lots | Not stated |
| Traceability to the hide | Batch and hide per cut part | Not stated |
| Rotation and flip rules per part | ||
| Small parts in the holes of larger ones | ||
| Stripe and plaid matching | Not stated | |
| Folded markers | Folded and tubular fabric, pieces cut on the fold | Not stated |
| Sheet nesting | One size or several per job, fewest sheets or lowest cost; no toolpaths | Sheet metal, wood, glass and more, as separate modules |
| Time limit per job | Not stated |
From the public pages below, checked October 2026. NestLib is a registered trademark and product of HCL Technologies Ltd (Geometric). Lescut is not affiliated with them. Something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Cloud REST API
How nesting works through the API
The same engine that runs Lescut, behind one HTTPS interface. Create an API key from your account on a Pro or Enterprise plan; to offer nesting to your own customers, we agree partner terms and help you through the first jobs with their files.
- 01
Your software sends a job
Parts with their outlines, holes, quantities, grades and rotation and flip rules; the hides with their defects and grade zones, a roll width, or sheet sizes and counts; the number of sets and a time limit.
- 02
We nest it in the cloud
Each job runs on its own cloud machine with up to 16 vCPU, up to 10 side by side, and reports progress while it searches, so your users can watch the yield improve or stop early.
- 03
The nest comes back
Placements for your software to draw, plus a DXF and SVG per hide, sheet or marker with the original layers and curves, ready for the cutter.
Run a cutting room rather than build software?
Lescut is also a finished app: upload your hide scans, or enter your roll width or sheet size, and nest in the browser, from today.
Questions about switching from NestLib
What is NestLib?
NestLib is a library of true-shape nesting algorithms from Geometric, part of HCL Technologies, licensed to machine-tool vendors and software developers. It integrates through a C API, with COM, .NET and Java wrappers, mainly on Windows. Leather nesting is an optional module: it places the quality areas of each part on hide areas of the same or higher quality and avoids holes in the hide.
How does the Lescut API work?
Your software sends a job over HTTPS: the parts with their outlines, holes, quantities, grades and rotation and flip rules; the hides with their defects and grade zones, a roll width, or sheet sizes and counts; the number of sets and a time limit. The job runs on our cloud machines, reports progress while it searches, and returns the placements plus a DXF and SVG per hide, sheet or marker. Create an API key from your account on a Pro or Enterprise plan; offering Lescut to your own customers runs on partner terms.
Can I offer Lescut to my customers under my own brand?
Yes. The Lescut app can run under your brand, so your customers upload their parts and hides, nest and download cutting files without you building the interface. Contact us to set it up.
Can the Lescut engine run on-premise?
No. Lescut nests on our cloud machines, which keeps your customers' PCs free and every customer on the latest engine. If your product must nest offline on the customer's own machine, an engine library such as NestLib is built for that.
Does Lescut nest sheet metal?
It nests flat parts on stock sheets, metal as well as wood or plastic, on as few sheets as it can, with grain and flip rules and complete kits. It does not apply torch, common-cut or punch rules or write toolpaths; if your product nests metal plates with those, a general nesting library such as NestLib covers them.
Which one nests better?
Yield depends on the parts, the hides and the time the search gets, so published figures from different samples do not compare. The fair test is your customers' own files: we will run them through Lescut with you.