What this program is

DXNest Fabrication is a browser application for nesting and production preparation of façade panels: from a parts list and an elevation layout through sheet nesting, CNC programs, the bill of materials and printable reports.

Everything happens in a single browser window. Your data lives on the server in a private space that belongs to your account: projects, your object library and every generated file. There is no public sign-up — accounts are created by an administrator.

The usual route through the program

The main window

Quick start — your first job in 10 steps

The shortest path from an empty document to files ready for the machine. Every step has its own detailed section — this is just the order.

1. Sign in with the username and password your administrator gave you. An empty document called Web order opens.
2. Fill in the header. Right panel → Job Settings: Job Name (it becomes the name of the output folder), customer, date, PO. Set Nesting depth = 0 so the first run is quick.
3. Describe the material and the sheets. Right panel → Sheet Settings: rename the material, choose its Kind (Steel / Aluminum / ACM), enter the stock formats and how many you have. Add a second material with + if you need one.
4. Set the margins. Same place: Parts Margin is the clearance between parts, Frame Margin the distance to the sheet edge.
5. Add the parts. Part List tab → Add part. For each row pick a Type, enter W and H (the depth D fills itself in), the quantity and a name. The material is limited by the type — if the one you need is missing, widen the list in the type's definition.
6. Look at a part. The eye button in the Edit column shows the geometry exactly as the engine will build it. It is the fastest way to catch a wrong dimension.
7. Check the BOM. The BOM tab is computed without a run: it already shows profile lengths, cut angles and flat-pattern sizes. If a flat pattern is bigger than your sheet, fix it now rather than after a failed run.
8. Run the nesting — the Run ▶ button on the toolbar. The app switches to the Nesting tab by itself when the job finishes.
9. Save the project. The Save project button in the Nesting tab (or the diskette on the toolbar). This is not optional: the server only keeps generated files for a saved project.
10. Collect the files. Right panel → Project Tree: download them one by one, or press Download all (.zip) in the results window.

What a document needs before it can run

The Run button will not start a job until all three conditions hold:

The parts named in the third message are immediately flagged in the Part List with a ⚠.

Signing in

The application and every piece of data behind it are protected by a server session. There is no self-registration: the username and password come from an administrator.

The sign-in form

Username is the account name, not the display name. The password is stored encrypted on the server; only an administrator can change it.

The demo

Try the demo creates a throwaway account and signs you straight in. Everything works except taking files away — see Demo mode.

What happens after you sign in

• a session opens that lasts at most 12 hours — after that you sign in again;
• your library of panel types loads, so the Part List immediately knows what you can build;
• your personal CNC settings and machine configuration are pulled in;
• an empty document named Web order opens — start filling it in, or open a saved project.

The window frame

Four permanent strips: the title bar, the toolbar, the tabs and the status bar. They stay the same whichever tab you work in.

The title bar

Logo

The product name. Not a button.

Your name

The account's display name, not the login. It tells you which account you are working under.

AdminAdministration

Visible to administrators only. Opens the account management panel — see Administrator panel.

Sign out

Ends the session. In demo mode it reads Exit demo and also deletes the temporary account with everything it produced.

Document name

On the right is the current Job Name (a field in Job Settings). The same name becomes the output folder for the generated files.

The tabs

The status bar

• On the left — how many part rows the document holds; a warning engine offline appears here if the server did not return the list of panel types.
• On the right — the unit selector and the application state: Ready, or Running… during a job.

How dimension fields behave

Every length field — in the Part List, in the sheet settings, in the grid, in the part editor — follows the same rules:

The toolbar — every button

Thirteen buttons in groups separated by dividers: project · history · content · run · settings panel.

Project

New projectNew project

Resets the document to its starting state: no parts, one material, default fields. The undo history, the last run's results and the link to a saved project are cleared too. It does not ask for confirmation — unsaved work is lost, so save first.

Open projectOpen project

Opens your private project library. If a layout was saved with the project, the Nesting and CNC tabs come back too.

Save projectSave project

The save dialog: a project name plus the list of what you already saved. An edited layout is stored along with the document. disabled in the demo

History and content

UndoUndo

Reverses the last change to the document (parts, materials, settings, grid). Greyed out while the history is empty.

RedoRedo

Puts back a change you undid. Becomes available right after Undo.

Clear partsClear parts

Deletes all part rows and empties the grid cells at the same time, keeping materials, sheets and settings. Handy when you move a new order onto an already configured template. Undo brings it back.

Import custom DXFImport custom DXF parts

Picks one or more .dxf files and adds them as CUSTOM parts — see Importing your own DXF files.

Object editorObject editor (Assembly Settings)

The parametric object builder: your own panel types, their dimensions, hole rules, BOM content — see Object editor.

GridGrid — lay out an elevation and place panels in its cells

Shows and hides the Grid tab. The button stays highlighted while the mode is on.

CNC configCNC machines, tools & materials

The manager for machines, tools and per-layer machining rules — see CNC machines, tools and materials.

APIAPI access & keys

Your disk usage, access keys and the full HTTP API documentation — see The API panel.

Run and the settings panel

RunRun nesting job

The main action: sends the document to the server and performs the full run. Greyed out while the document has no parts and while another run is in progress. Drawn in the accent colour.

Settings panelToggle settings panel

Collapses and expands the right-hand settings panel, freeing space for the table or the canvas.

The settings panel

Six accordion sections. As many can be open at once as you like; the state is remembered for the session.

Collapsed sections

Clicking a heading expands the section. The open one is marked by an accent bar on its left.

Hiding the panel

The narrow handle on the panel edge (or the gear button on the toolbar) hides the panel completely.

Project Tree — the produced files

Before the first run the section shows a structural summary of the document: the job name, the materials with how many sheet formats each has, and the number of parts.

After a run it becomes a real tree of the generated files — exactly as they sit on the server.

Folder row

Clicking it collapses or expands the branch. Folders always sort before files.

File row

The icon on the left shows the kind (DXF, NC, PDF, XLSX, image). On the right: the eye previews DXF geometry right in the browser; the down arrow downloads the file.

Job Settings — the order header

Sheet Settings — materials, sheets and margins

Margins

• Parts Margin — the minimum clearance between parts.
• Frame Margin — the distance to the sheet edge on all four sides.
• Frame margin per side — switch it on to set each side separately (Top / Right / Bottom / Left). The sides start from the previous common value.

Nesting options

• Allow part rotation — let the engine turn parts. Switch it off for directional material (brushed, patterned, anodised).
• Trim overlapping lines — remove lines that coincide on neighbouring parts so the cutter does not travel the same path twice.

Materials

Each material is its own tab. A dot “·” next to the name means no part uses that material yet (you can configure it in advance). + adds a material; the router icon on the right opens the CNC rules for that material.

Stock sheets

Profile Settings — linear stock

• Kerf Width — the saw kerf; it is subtracted at every cut.
• The bar table — name, length, quantity in stock.
• Add bar — add a stock entry.
• Export cut plan — pack the profile pieces from the BOM into these bars (first fit) and download the optimised plan as Excel. disabled in the demo

Report Settings — which reports to produce

The Edit template… buttons open the layout editors for the Packing Slip and the Labels — see Reports and the layout editor. The tag project template means this project carries its own layout, overriding your personal default.

General Settings

Shows the connection to the engine and how many panel types are loaded. If it reads Offline, the server is unreachable and the Part List cannot offer any types. The unit selector deliberately lives in the status bar so it is always within reach.

Part List

The main table of the document. One row is one line item: panel type, dimensions, quantity, name, material.

The action bar

Add part

Adds a row named Part N. The type is chosen automatically (the first suitable type with W/H/D), the depth comes from its Default Depth and angles from their defaults; width and height are yours to enter.

• Duplicate — copies the selected rows with all their dimensions and inner contours.
• Remove — deletes the selected rows.
• Set group material… — changes the material for a whole material group at once (see below).
• On the right — a counter: N parts or N selected.

The columns

The buttons in the Edit column

Pencil · Eye · Bin

Pencil — the part editor (name, quantity, dimensions, rotation, inner cut-outs). A small badge shows how many inner contours are already there. Eye — a quick geometry preview. Bin — delete the row.

Three kinds of dimension cell

A number

A normal length field. It accepts the units selected in the status bar; internally the value is always millimetres.

An angle from a list

If the type has a variable angle, the cell becomes a dropdown of the permitted values (min…max with the declared step) — an arbitrary number cannot be typed.

A fixed value

For CUSTOM (DXF) parts the dimensions are shown in italics and cannot be edited: they were read from the file.

Materials and material groups

A part's material is constrained by its type. The type declares a list of allowed materials and a group name:

• A single-material type — the cell shows it as plain text, with no choice (a Back Pan is always Steel 1mm).
• A multi-material type — a dropdown of the allowed materials only (a Standard: Aluminum 3mm or ACM 4 mm).
• CUSTOM — any material in the project.

The Set group material… list is grouped by group name (“Exterior Panels”, “Back Pan Panels”, “Custom Group”) — one pick switches every part in the group.

What happens when you change a part's type

1. Dimensions you already entered are kept — the app does not wipe W and H just because you switched type.
2. Dimensions the new type is missing are filled from its settings: depth from Default Depth, fixed dimensions, angles from their defaults.
3. If the part's current material is not allowed by the new type, it switches to the first allowed one. If that material does not exist in the project yet, it is created.
4. The set of dimension columns is rebuilt around the types actually present in the list.

Small things that save time

• Materials with no parts at all are left out of the run entirely — you can keep spare materials configured in advance.
• If a part's material was deleted, the part is not lost: it runs with the first material that does have parts.
• Duplicate copies inner contours as well.
• Row order drives the numbering in reports and labels — drag rows to get the order you want.

Selection and ordering

• click the row number to select it; Ctrl/⌘+click adds or removes;
• a row can be dragged by any part of it and dropped onto another — the list order changes (and with it the numbering in reports);
• rows that failed to place in the last run are highlighted and carry an explanatory tooltip.

Importing your own DXF files (CUSTOM)

An existing drawing can go into the nesting as it is — no parametric type required.

1. Press Import custom DXF parts on the toolbar and pick one or several .dxf files.
2. The server reads each file, works out its extents and stores it in your import area.
3. A row of type Custom (DXF) appears in the Part List, named after the file without its extension.

The part editor and inner contours

The pencil in a Part List row opens the part's card with a live geometry preview.

The basic fields

• Name, Qty — the same as in the table, only easier to edit.
• Dimensions — every one the type declares; angles are dropdowns of permitted values here as well.
• Rotate 90° — force the part to be turned when nesting (material direction, texture).

Inner contours (cut-outs)

Four cut-out shapes:

The DXF viewer

One viewer is used everywhere: for parts in the list, for files in the output tree, for object previews.

• Fit — fit the drawing to the window;
• mouse wheel — zoom around the cursor;
• drag — pan;
• on the right, the number of drawn entities.

Layer colours

Grid — the elevation layout

Instead of typing dozens of rows by hand you draw the façade: columns × rows of cells with joints between them. Every filled cell creates — and keeps in sync — one part in the Part List.

The tab appears once you press Grid on the toolbar.

How the panel size is worked out

This is the key rule of the tab; without it the numbers in the cells look puzzling.

• A column width and a row height are the module, measured from joint centre-line to joint centre-line.
• The panel in a cell = the module minus half a joint on each of its four sides. That way two neighbouring panels always leave exactly one whole joint between them.
• The outer boundaries of the elevation default to a joint of 0 — the panel runs out to the edge. They can still be given their own width like any other line.
• The default joint is 16 mm (≈ 5/8″); a fresh grid is 4 columns × 3 rows of 1000 mm.

Example: a 1200 mm column with 20 mm joints left and right gives a panel of 1200 − 10 − 10 = 1180 mm.

How a joint sets the panel angle

• An angle on a line is the turn of the wall at that joint.
• The two panels either side share the turn, so the panel angle is 90 + wall angle / 2. A flat line (0) leaves a square 90° edge; a 90° wall corner bends the panel to 135°.
• The result snaps onto the values the type allows (Min…Max with the declared Step). If it falls outside the range it is pulled to the limit and the cell is highlighted yellow — that is the “clamped” warning.

Where a panel takes its angles from

A panel is handed only the dimensions its type declares — anything else is dropped.

The top row of controls

Selecting cells

• Click — select one cell;
• Click and drag — a rectangular region;
• Shift+click — extend the selection to that cell;
• Ctrl/⌘+click — add or remove a single cell;
• click empty background — clear the selection;
• double-click a filled cell — jump to the Part List with that panel's row selected.

The second row of controls — contextual

It shows whatever is currently picked: either a joint, or cells.

Cells selected

The Top / Right / Bottom / Left fields set the joint for these cells specifically, overriding the default. An empty field means “as everywhere else” (the inherited value shows as the field's placeholder). Default clears the override.

A joint selected

What a cell shows

An ordinary panel

The type name, the computed panel size (module minus half joints) and the reference R1C1 — row and column.

A corner panel

The panel occupies both cells; the size reads W × H + W2, where W2 is the second leg.

Extra markers: a small dot in the corner means this cell has its own joint override; a yellow frame warns that a computed angle had to be clamped.

Hovering a cell

The cell tooltip gathers everything known about it: Cell R2C3, the panel size in your units (or Disabled), the type, where each angle came from (ANGLEA = 135° from corner line V2 (wall 90°)) and the name of the created part. A line's tooltip shows its number, the joint width and the angle with the resulting panel angle.

What happens when you resize the grid

• Growing — new columns and rows take the size of the last existing column/row.
• Shrinking — cells and line overrides that fall outside are removed along with their parts; a corner pair that lost half of itself is split automatically.

Corner panel rules

• Only two neighbouring cells can be joined (horizontally or vertically) — the control stays disabled until exactly two neighbours are selected.
• The panel “belongs” to the upper-left cell of the pair; the second becomes its continuation and has no part of its own.
• The Corner panel… list contains only types capable of a corner: those declaring W2 or having a variable angle.
• Split breaks the pair: the primary cell keeps its type, the other becomes empty.
• Placing a type in a cell (Place type…) automatically clears its Disabled state and breaks an existing corner pair.

How the grid drives the parts

• Every filled cell creates exactly one part, named after its coordinate: R1C1, R2C3…
• New parts are appended left to right, top to bottom.
• Emptying a cell (Empty), disabling it (Disable) or Clear all removes the matching parts from the list.
• The grid only rewrites geometry: W, H, W2 and angles. Quantity, name, material, depth and inner cut-outs stay exactly as you set them in the Part List.

A full example

BOM — the bill of materials

Computed by the engine from the current parts list and refreshed on its own whenever you change something. No run needed.

How the table is structured

Rows are grouped into sections with orange headings:

The columns

The export buttons

• Export BOM — the whole table as a formatted Excel file;
• Packing Slip — the packing slip in your layout;
• Labels — the label sheet;
• on the right, the number of items, or Computing… while the engine works.

Reports and the layout editor

The Packing Slip and the Labels have a full layout editor — a table with merged cells, fonts, borders and placeholders for both document fields and per-part columns.

Packing Slip

The sections of a layout

• Header — the top of the page: company name, order fields, column headings;
• Part rows — the row that repeats for every part;
• Footer — totals, signatures.

The formatting bar

Editing the content

• Click selects a cell, drag selects a range;
• double-click edits the text; Enter confirms, Esc cancels;
• green text in braces is a placeholder ({customer}, {QTY}), not literal text.

Saving a layout

The window title tells you where the current layout came from: built-in default, your default or this project, plus an unsaved tag when there are pending changes.

Labels

There are no three sections here but one label block, tiled across the page. The tiling is controlled at the top right:

• Columns — how many labels across;
• Col gap / Row gap — the spacing between them, in table cells.

Running a job

The Run button sends the document to the server: the engine builds the geometry of every part, lays them out on sheets and generates DXFs, CNC programs and reports.

The check before anything is sent

Before anything reaches the server the app validates the document locally. If something is wrong, the window opens straight away with the error and no job is created:

While it runs

The usual stages: preparing the parts → nesting onto sheets → generating DXF → CNC → reports.

When the run succeeds the app switches to the Nesting tab by itself, provided a layout was produced.

A successful finish

The files are grouped by kind: Report (PDF), CNC programs (.nc), DXF files, Other files. Each row shows the size, an eye for DXFs and a download button.

Warnings worth reading

When a run fails

Parts that could not be placed are afterwards flagged in the Part List with a ⚠.

After the run

Nesting — the layout editor

Whatever the engine produced can be reworked by hand: move a part, rotate it, delete it, bring one back from the queue, change the sheet format or the margins — and rewrite the files on disk.

The bar at the top

The sheet list

For each sheet: name, size, number of parts and which they are. A ×4 badge means this sheet repeats four times (the same layout, multiplied by the run quantity).

The unplaced queue

Everything that did not fit, or came back after a sheet was deleted, ends up here. The thumbnail is drawn from the part's real contour; next to it is the remaining quantity.

• click a free spot — drop one copy;
• drag — lay down an array of copies (as many as fit and as many as remain);
• Angle / Rotate 90° — the angle the copies are placed at;
• Esc or Cancel leaves the mode.

Working on the canvas

The magnet

While you drag, a part snaps to the right distance as soon as it comes close enough (about 8 screen pixels):

• onto the sheet's frame-margin lines — the part lands exactly on the edge of the working area;
• onto a neighbour's contour offset by the gap — leaving precisely the configured clearance rather than an eyeballed one.

Snapping is computed from the real contour, not a bounding box, so shaped parts nest tightly. The same magnet works when placing a new part.

When a move is rejected

• the part leaves the sheet's working area (sheet minus frame margins);
• its contour comes closer to another part's contour than the configured gap.

An invalid position is drawn red while you drag, and on release the part returns to where it was.

Rotation

• the ○ handle above the selected part — drag to rotate; with Shift the angle snaps to 15°;
• the Angle field accepts any number (normalised to 0…359°);
• R or Rotate 90° steps by 90°;
• rotation happens about the bottom-left corner of the part's footprint, as it does in the engine, so the angle on screen and in the program agree.

Arrays of copies

In placing mode hold the mouse button and drag: a grid is built out from the first copy. The step is the part size plus the gap between parts; the direction follows your drag. Only valid copies are laid down — those that would leave the sheet or clash are skipped — and the total is capped by the remaining unplaced quantity.

After hand edits

1. Edits live in the browser and are marked by a “•” on the buttons.
2. Recompute CNC rewrites the layout DXFs and machine programs to match the new arrangement.
3. Save project does the same (when there is something to recompute) and stores the project with its layout — after that it can be reopened without running again.

CNC — the machine programs

Shows the generated program for each sheet: the toolpath with its travel order, and the operation list you can reorder.

The bar at the top

• Material — switch materials; only those that produced CNC output are listed;
• a caption such as CNC Woodwork · 3mm Aluminum — the machine and the rules the engine applied;
• Edit CNC rules… — opens the CNC manager on exactly that material;
• Recompute — regenerate the program;
• Save project — write any unsaved operation edits into the .nc and save the project;
• on the right, the number of operations and the tools involved.

The toolpath preview

The operations themselves are drawn plus a travel line connecting them in execution order — so wasted rapid moves are visible at a glance. The sheet outline is drawn as a frame.

Single-point operations (drilling) are shown as circles of a nominal radius — a position marker, not the hole diameter.

The operation list

Save CNC rewrites the .nc with the new order and tool assignments; it is only enabled when there are changes.

The order of saving — important

1. Edits to the operation order and tools live in the browser until you press Save CNC (or Save project, which does it for you).
2. Save project first writes the pending operation edits into the .nc, then stores the project.
3. A layout recompute (Recompute) rewrites the .nc from scratch — every hand edit to order and tools in it is lost.

CNC machines, tools and materials

This is the brain behind the machine programs. You describe your machines, their tools and the machining rules for every layer of every material — and the engine uses them on every run.

The tabs

• Form — the ordinary editor with fields and tables;
• JSON (this material) — the same content as a file: handy for copying between installations;
• Guide — a reference for every field with a fully worked example;
• Import all… / Export all — a backup of the entire configuration (all machines and materials). export disabled in the demo

The machine

The list of machines, a field to rename the current one, and + Machine to add a new one (it inherits the current machine's tools).

The material library

Shared by every machine. Each entry has:

• Name — for example 3mm Aluminum;
• Kind — Steel / Aluminum / ACM. The kind is what links a project material to these machining rules;
• Default machine — which machine to use when a job does not name one.

The tool library

Per-layer machining rules

For the chosen material × machine pair there is one row per layer:

Holes

A table of its own: an any (default) row plus as many “from Ø to Ø” rules as you like. A hole takes the first rule whose range contains its diameter; if none matches, the default applies.

• Rules are checked top to bottom — keep narrow ranges above wide ones.
• A new rule is created as a copy of the default, so you only change the diameters and the tool.
• Per-diameter rules have no speed of their own: they take the RPM from the drilling block (the Holes default row). The table shows a dash for that.

G-code blocks

Only lines with recognised words are synchronised. Changing a tool number (#) or offset register (H) in the tool library updates the blocks of all materials on that machine.

What imports and exports cover

JSON and Guide

Object editor — building panel types

The most powerful part of the application: here you describe what a panel of a given type is — which dimensions it has, how its geometry stretches, where holes are drilled, what its BOM consists of and which parts are made together with it.

The three columns

Left — the library

Your objects: display name, type code and the list of dimensions. × deletes an object, + New Object starts a new one.

Right — the preview

Two modes: Reference DXF, the source drawing you mark up, and Scaled preview, the result built at test sizes.

The action bar

Form / JSON

The form with its tables, or the complete definition JSON. Note: edits in JSON are used directly for Build & Preview and Save, but the form tables are not updated from JSON.

• Load DXF… — load the reference drawing (the part at its minimum size) that you then mark up;
• Import JSON… — load a ready definition from a file;
• Build & Preview — build the object and show the result;
• Save to library — store it; the type becomes available in the Part List straight away.

General Info

The mark-up sections

Seven sections follow. Each heading carries an ⓘ icon — hovering it shows an illustrated hint inside the program; they are reproduced here.

Reference Geometry

Shows what could be read from the drawing: how many contour points, holes, inner contours and grooves.

Parameters — the dimensions

Scaling Lines — how the geometry stretches

The buttons under the table: + Add Mark for a new row, − Remove for the selected one, Pick Line to enter line-picking mode on the drawing (pressing it again leaves the mode).

Variable Angles

Pick Angle asks you to click the three points in turn: A → B → C.

Hole Rules

BOM — Profiles

BOM — Details

Non-profile items: Sheet, Screws, Blocks, Sealant, Other. The fields are the category, the name (which may contain {name}), the quantity (an expression) and the unit.

Child Objects

An object can carry other objects — a galvanised inner sheet, say. The child is chosen from the library and its dimensions are expressions of the parent's.

Picking mode on the drawing

The Pick Endpoints, Pick Line, Pick Angle and Pick 2 Holes/Points buttons put the preview into picking mode: a hint at the bottom says what to click next, and picked points stay marked on the drawing. Pressing the button again leaves the mode.

Building a new object from scratch

1. + New Object — an empty form.
2. Fill in Display Name and Type Code, choose the materials and the group.
3. Load DXF… — load the drawing of the part at its minimum size.
4. Add the Parameters and mark their end points on the drawing.
5. Add Scaling Lines so the geometry follows those parameters.
6. If needed, describe the angles, the hole runs, the BOM content and the child objects.
7. Build & Preview — check the result at test sizes.
8. Save to library. The type appears in the Type dropdown of the Part List.

Working with JSON

The project library

Your private store of projects on the server. Nobody else can reach it — ownership is checked both in the database and when files are served.

Opening

Saving

The name is proposed automatically: first the name of the project already open (so saving overwrites it), otherwise the Job Name. An edited nesting layout is stored with the document, so next time the Nesting and CNC tabs open without running again.

Uploading a file

Upload JSON accepts a project file you exported earlier. Every upload gets its own working folder, so two projects with the same name never overwrite each other's files.

The API panel: disk, keys, documentation

The key button on the toolbar. It shows how much space your results occupy, it is where access keys are created, and it holds the full HTTP API documentation.

Disk usage

The bar shows how much of your account's quota is used. Below it, a breakdown by folder with tags:

• Refresh — recount;
• Free … — delete unsaved output — remove everything not attached to a saved project in one go;
• the bin in a row — delete a single folder.

Access keys

1. Type a name for the key (for example CI server) and press Generate key.
2. Copy the key immediately — it is shown once and can never be read back.
3. Afterwards the list shows only the prefix, the date of last use and a bin to revoke it.

The built-in documentation

Ten tabs, each with working examples and a copy button:

A short endpoint reference

The key is sent as the header Authorization: Bearer <key> or X-API-Key: <key>.

The administrator panel

Available only to accounts marked as administrators — the Admin button in the title bar. The rights are checked on the server as well.

Creating a user

• username — the login;
• display name — the name shown in the interface;
• password — at least 14 characters;
• admin — whether to grant administrator rights;
• MB — the disk quota; 0 means unlimited.

The user table

A user's documents

The expanded view shows the selected user's Projects, Objects and API keys. An administrator can delete an individual document or key, and issue a key on the user's behalf.

Demo mode

The Try the demo button on the sign-in screen creates a throwaway account and takes you straight into the program. Every visitor gets their own account, so parallel runs never interfere.

How to tell you are in the demo

• a Demo badge next to the logo;
• a note in the status bar: “the PDF report is the only download”;
• the sign-out button reads Exit demo.

What works and what does not

Step-by-step recipes

Ten typical tasks from beginning to end. If you are not sure where to start, find the one closest to yours.

An order from parametric panels

1. Open project — reuse a similar previous project, or New project for a clean sheet.
2. Job Settings: Job Name, customer, date, PO, Nesting depth = 0.
3. Sheet Settings: check the materials, their Kind and the sheet formats; use Priority to consume the right format first.
4. Part List → Add part for each line item; type, dimensions, quantity, name.
5. Add identical items with Duplicate rather than from scratch.
6. Check a few parts with the eye button.
7. BOM — compare Flat Pattern W/H against your sheet formats.
8. Run ▶.
9. Save project — otherwise the files disappear when you sign out.
10. Project Tree → download the DXFs, the .nc files and the reports.

An order from existing drawings (CUSTOM DXF)

1. Make sure the files have a closed outer contour.
2. Import custom DXF parts on the toolbar — several files can be selected at once.
3. Set Qty and Material for each row (the dimensions are not editable — they come from the file).
4. Check the geometry with the eye button.
5. Then as usual: Sheet Settings → Run → Save project.

A façade through Grid with a building corner

1. Switch on Grid on the toolbar.
2. Set Rows and Cols, then type the column widths and row heights straight into the grid headers.
3. Set Joint X and Joint Y — the default joint width.
4. Select a row or a block of cells and place a type with Place type….
5. Click the joint where the wall turns and set its Angle (the 90 / −90 buttons). Check the → …° caption — that is the angle the panels will get.
6. Select the two cells either side of that joint (Ctrl/⌘+click) and pick a type in Corner panel….
7. Where windows go, select the cells and press Disable.
8. For individual joints, select the cells and fill in Top/Right/Bottom/Left.
9. Switch to Part List — all the panels are already there. Set quantities, materials and names.
10. Run ▶ and continue as usual.

Creating your own panel type

1. Draw the part in CAD at its minimum size, with the contour and holes on their own layers; save as DXF.
2. Toolbar → Object editor → + New Object.
3. General Info: Display Name, a unique Type Code, Material Group, Default Depth, the Materials list, the CNC allowed checkbox.
4. Load DXF… — load the drawing. Check in Reference Geometry that the contour and holes were read.
5. Parameters: add W, H, D (and W2 and so on), enter Min; for each press Pick Endpoints and click two vertices on the drawing.
6. Scaling Lines: + Add Mark → choose Parameter and Axis, the type ray or segment, then Pick Line and click the edge.
7. Variable Angles — if the panel has a variable angle: Pick Angle, click A → B → C, then set Default, Min, Max, Step and Tag.
8. Hole Rules — for runs of holes: Pick 2 Holes/Points, click the two end holes, then set Max step.
9. BOM — Profiles and BOM — Details: describe what the panel consumes.
10. Build & Preview — inspect the Scaled preview at test sizes.
11. Save to library. The type appears at once in the Type list of the Part List.

Setting up a new machine

1. Toolbar → CNC machines, tools & materials.
2. + Machine — the new machine inherits the current one's tools; rename it.
3. Tool library: + Tool for every cutter — number #, label, Ø mm, register H.
4. Material library: make sure the materials you need exist and have the right Kind.
5. In the Material block use + Add material… to attach a material to this machine.
6. Fill in the per-layer parameters: Contour, Inner contour, Grooves, Weep lines, Engraving — tool, pass depths, feeds, RPM.
7. In the Holes block set the default rule and, if needed, per-diameter rules.
8. Check the G-code blocks: the start block, the tool-change blocks and the end block.
9. Save. Subsequent runs follow these rules.
10. To apply them to an already generated program — CNC tab → Recompute.

Hand-tuning a layout

1. Open the Nesting tab and wait for the part geometry to load.
2. Choose the material and the sheet in the list on the left.
3. Move parts around; the magnet puts them at the right distance for you.
4. Rotate with the ○ handle or the R key.
5. Unwanted parts — Delete: they go back to the unplaced queue.
6. An empty sheet — Delete sheet.
7. From the unplaced queue: click a part, then click a free spot (or drag to lay an array).
8. When the layout is right — Recompute CNC.
9. Save project.

Your own packing-slip layout

1. Right panel → Report Settings → Packing Slip → Edit template….
2. Header section: type your company name and lay out the head. For order fields, select a cell and pick a value from the Field… list.
3. Use Merge, Border, Fill…, B/I/U and the W/H fields to get the look you want.
4. Part rows section: put the right column into each cell of the row via Part column….
5. Footer section: totals and signatures.
6. Export now — check the result in Excel.
7. Save as my default to apply it to every new project, or Apply to project for this one only.

Automating through the API

1. Toolbar → API access & keys → type a key name → Generate key.
2. Copy the key at once — it is never shown again.
3. The Full sample tab — download the ready bundle or the single-file request example.
4. Send POST /api/job with the header Authorization: Bearer <key> and the full document; "return": "zip" returns an archive of every file.
5. Collect the result in the same session: the API run's folder is removed after about a day.

Adding an employee (administrator)

1. Title bar → Admin.
2. In Create user fill in the login, the name, a password (14+ characters) and the quota in MB; tick admin if they need administrator rights.
3. Create.
4. Pass the login and password to the user — they can only have it changed by an administrator.
5. To cut off access temporarily, clear Active: all of their sessions end immediately.

Freeing disk space

1. Toolbar → API access & keys → the Disk usage block.
2. Refresh to recount.
3. Look at the tags: Unsaved and API run are candidates for deletion.
4. Free … — delete unsaved output removes them all at once; the bin in a row does it selectively.
5. If space is still short — delete projects you no longer need from the library (that takes their files too), or ask an administrator to raise the quota.

Units, keys and small print

Units of measurement

Storage is always in millimetres. The selector in the status bar only changes how values are displayed and parsed.

Decimal inches

Fractional inches

In fractional mode every usual notation is accepted: 23 5/8, 23-5/8, 5/8, 23.62. Rounding is to 1/16″. Switching units does not change stored values: only a field you actually edited is written back.

Keys and gestures

What is stored where

Message reference

Every caption, banner and confirmation the application can show, with what it means and what to do. Find yours with the search box at the top.

Empty states — when there is nothing yet

Before a run

During and after a run

Saving and recomputing

Confirmations

Mode hints

Demo-mode limits

When something goes wrong

Glossary

Terms that appear in the interface and in this manual.

Every screenshot in this manual was taken from the running application — this is the real interface, not a mock-up.