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Learn to nest and quote, from the first DXF to a priced job.

Our guides in the order a shop needs them, the controller pages, the comparisons, the free tools and the words of the trade. Free, no account needed.

  1. 01Set up your controllerStart hereGuides: 2 · 12 min
  2. 02Your first clean nestGuides: 4 · 22 min
  3. 03Speeds and piercesGuides: 2 · 11 min
  4. 04Price the jobGuides: 2 · 12 min
  5. Machines and controllers
  6. Glossary
01 · Guides: 2 · 12 min

Set up your controller

What a controller-ready DXF looks like, how to map Zorocut's layers in CypCut or FSCUT once, and the plasma route through SheetCAM.

  1. Export DXF for CypCut and FSCUT: map the layers onceWhat a controller-ready DXF for CypCut, CypCutE and FSCUT looks like — R2000, mm, lines, arcs and circles on fixed layers — and how to map Zorocut's ZC_ layers to CypCut layers once.Getting started · 6 min
  2. Plasma tables: from Zorocut's DXF to SheetCAM, FireControl, Mach3 or LinuxCNCLangmuir FireControl and other hobby-class plasma controllers run G-code, not DXF. The route is Zorocut DXF → SheetCAM, one operation per layer → post-processor → controller, with Hypertherm chart values for speed and pierce delay.Getting started · 6 min
02 · Guides: 4 · 22 min

Your first clean nest

Drawings that import clean from CAD, units that come in at the right size, the spacing between parts and when sharing a cut line pays.

  1. Clean DXF from AutoCAD, Fusion, SolidWorks and Inkscape: what breaks and how to export itOpen contours, splines, bend lines, mirrored arcs and unitless files: the problems each CAD program leaves in a DXF for laser cutting, and the export settings that avoid them.DXF files · 7 min
  2. DXF units: mm or inch, and why parts come in 25.4× too big or too smallA DXF stores plain numbers; its unit lives in the $INSUNITS header, which is often 0 or missing. How to spot a unit error before it reaches the quote or the machine, and how to fix it.DXF files · 5 min
  3. Part spacing for laser cutting: how much gap to leave between partsStart with a gap of 3 mm or the sheet thickness, whichever is larger, then adjust for kerf, heat and tip-up. What the spacing does, how the kerf eats into it, and how it changes the quote.Nesting · 5 min
  4. Common-line cutting: when sharing an edge pays, and why Zorocut leaves it to the controllerCutting two parts along one shared line saves pierces and cut length on arrays of identical straight-edged parts. How CypNest, ProNest and PrimeCut do it, where it is risky, and why the DXF should still keep a gap.Nesting · 5 min
03 · Guides: 2 · 11 min

Speeds and pierces

Starter cutting speeds by material, thickness and power, and why every pierce costs time and money.

  1. Fiber laser cutting speed chart: mild steel, stainless and aluminium by powerPublished fiber laser cutting speeds in m/min at 1 kW, 3 kW and 6 kW from the Raycus and IPG tables, plasma for comparison — and why the charts disagree by up to 2× and you should build your own.Speeds and materials · 6 min
  2. Pierce time by thickness, and why every pierce costs moneyFiber pierce times from 0.1 s on thin sheet to 9 s at 20 mm, plasma pierce delays from the Hypertherm chart, what each pierce adds to a quote, and practical ways to need fewer of them.Speeds and materials · 5 min
04 · Guides: 2 · 12 min

Price the job

Machine time, per metre and per pierce, and what to do with the offcuts the nest leaves.

  1. How to price laser cutting: machine time, per metre and per pierceA laser cutting price is material plus machine time plus a share of setup. The formula, the starting values and a worked example: 100 plates of 3 mm mild steel at €90 an hour come to about €1.02 each.Quoting · 7 min
  2. Remnants: keep, label and reuse sheet-metal offcutsHow to leave a usable offcut instead of scrap, which strips are worth keeping, how to nest the next job on them first, and how to bill the material fairly.Nesting · 5 min

Machines and controllers

All machines →

What Zorocut exports for each controller, how to import it there and what is still untested.

Comparisons

Zorocut next to CypNest, ProNest LT, Deepnest and the rest: every cell sourced and dated, with where they are better.

Free tools

Free tools →

Nest a DXF online, work out a cutting cost, check a file before it reaches the machine.

From the blog

Blog →

Benchmarks and buying guides, measured and sourced.

What changed

The dated list of changes in the app, the online nester and the site.

2026-10-31What changed →

Glossary

The words of nesting and quoting, in one line each.

Nesting
Arranging parts on a sheet so they use as little material as possible. True-shape nesting follows each part's real outline, not its bounding box.
Part-in-part
Placing small parts inside the holes of bigger ones, so the hole's material is cut into parts instead of scrap.
Part spacing
The gap left between two parts on the sheet. Zorocut measures it between the drawn contours and never lets it reach zero.
Edge margin
The strip kept free along the sheet's edges, which are often not square and are where the clamps sit. Zorocut starts at 10 mm.
Kerf
The width of material the beam or arc removes. Plasma kerf is wide (1.4–2.1 mm on a Powermax45 XP); the controller or CAM compensates for it, not the DXF.
Lead-in
The short path from the pierce to the contour, so the pierce mark stays off the part. Added in the controller or CAM, never by Zorocut.
Micro-joint
A tiny uncut bridge that holds a part in the sheet until it is knocked out. Also added in the controller.
Pierce
The hole the beam or arc makes before it can cut a contour. Every pierce costs time and wears consumables, so quotes count them.
Common-line cutting
Two parts sharing one cut edge, cut once. It saves a cut but needs care; Zorocut leaves it to the controller's co-edge tool.
Remnant
An offcut big enough to keep. Labelled with material, thickness and size, it is nested first on the next job of the same material.
Pre-cut check
Checking a DXF before it reaches the machine: open contours, duplicate lines, units, tiny features and parts outside the sheet.
Utilisation
The share of the sheet the parts cover. Benchmarks call it density; a real sheet's figure also depends on spacing and margin.
Controller
The machine's control software — CypCut, CypCutE, Phoenix, or a G-code controller behind SheetCAM. It imports the DXF, adds leads and drives the machine.
$INSUNITS
The DXF header value that says the drawing's unit. When it is missing or wrong, parts arrive 25.4 times too big or too small.

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Stuck on something the guides don't cover?

Ask in the community. Shops who have cut it before answer, and so do we.

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The app does what the guides explain

The spacing rule, the unit check, the starter speeds and the quote formula are built into Zorocut Nest and the free online nester.

Nest a DXF online