Nesting Identical Parts in Vectric Aspire for Large CNC Runs

Running 200 identical peaks (or any large batch) by hand is a nightmare. Aspire's nesting tool packs parts automatically, maximizing material yield and cutting run time significantly.

Why Nesting Matters

Without nesting: manually place parts, waste material, miss yield opportunities With nesting: Aspire auto-packs parts at optimal spacing, rotates if needed, minimizes waste

For 200 peaks at 45×118mm on a 400×400mm work area: approximately 6 parts per sheet = 34 sheets. Nesting can get you 7–8 per sheet = 25–28 sheets. That's a meaningful saving.

Setting Up the Nest

1. Draw or import your part — the peak profile as a closed vector
2. Toolpaths first — set up your profile cut toolpath on the single part
3. Gadgets → Nesting (Aspire 10+) or Job Setup → Nesting
4. Set parameters:

1. Click Calculate Nesting
2. Preview — verify spacing looks correct
3. Export toolpath per sheet

Workflow for Multi-Sheet Runs

1. Set work zero once — bottom-left corner of spoilboard
2. Use same zero for every sheet (don't re-zero)
3. Nest output gives you a toolpath file per sheet quantity
4. Run sheet 1, remove parts (cut tabs), load sheet 2, repeat
5. Keep tabs consistent — 2 tabs per part, same size, same position

Tab Settings for Nesting

• Tab width: 4mm
• Tab height: 1.5mm (leaves thin skin)
• Tab placement: middle of each long edge
• Aspire places tabs automatically based on your toolpath settings

Saving Time on 200 Parts

Tips

• Dry run first — run air above material on first sheet to verify paths
• Identical material thickness across all sheets — height varies = depth varies
• Same bit throughout — changing bits mid-run requires re-depth-calibration
• Keep a log — mark each sheet as run, track which parts cut clean vs needed re-cut