Autodesk released an update to the Inventor Nesting Utility in late November 2018 that introduced three new features and corrected some bugs from the original release. You can read about the new features and full summary of all fixed issues here, so we will focus on the bug fixes for now.
Positioning and Nesting Spacing Values Respect the Values Defined in the Process Material Library
When a material is added to the Process Material Library, two values are declared under the “Nesting” tab on the “Positioning Panel”; “Frame width” and “Item separation”.
“Frame width” is the distance the first nested part will be placed from the stock edge. The edge used is determined by a setting in the Create Nesting Study dialog box.
This value will vary by material to account for various cutting process requirements such as keeping the material from warping or burnout as well as other requirements.
“Item separation” is the minimum distance between adjoining nested parts in all directions. This separation is maintained even when parts are nested in odd angles.
In the original Nesting Utility release (and in the 2019.2 update), these values were not respected during the nesting study. The “Create Nesting Study” dialog box had similar “Global Nest Parameters” that would override the settings specified in the Project Materials Library. This override has been removed in the 2019.2.1 update.
Below are some screen captures of the Process Material Library and the Nesting Study results for two sheet metal parts, one made of 16 GA Mild Steel and one of 14 GA Mild Steel. Note that the Frame Width and Item Separation values have been maintained.
These values can still be globally changed for each material by entering override values in the “Edit Nest” dialog box for each individual nest under the Nesting Study. This process does not alter the values in the Process Materials Library.
HTML Reports Can Be Customized and Saved
In the 2019.2 Nesting Utility release, an HTML report format replaced the text reporting of individual Nesting studies. Not only was this a great improvement but it promised the ability to customize and save various HTML formats to suit the individual user. Fortunately, this capability is now present in the 2019.2.1 Nesting Utility update.
Just a reminder that the folder containing a sample HTML report (example-template-full.html) is located at: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Nesting Utility 2019\Samples\Report Templates.
This template contains full instructions on how to customize it. A suggested folder for placement of custom report templates is C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Nesting Utility 2019\My Report Templates but any desired folder may be used. This location must be declared in the “Options” dialog under the “Report” tab.
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