Assembly Nesting

Assembly Model:

In CAMWorksNesting, your part model is a solid created with SolidWorks/CAMWorks Solids or imported into SolidWorks/CAMWorks Solids from another CAD system via an IGES, STEP, Parasolid, SAT or other neutral translators.

Similarly, an assembly is a group of inter-related parts created with SolidWorks//CAMWorks Solids or imported into SolidWorks from another CAD system.

Nesting of Assemblies:

CAMWorks Nesting also facilitates the nesting of an assembly comprising flat or 3D sheet metal parts as well as solid parts.

Both SolidWorks assemblies and imported assemblies can be nested.

Additionally, assemblies containing multi-body parts (parts containing multiple bodies) too can be nested. To know more, read: Nesting of multi-body parts and assemblies.

Solid Parts as well as sheet metal parts in the assembly can be nested using CAMWorksNesting commands that automatically nest multiple instances of the part on a pre-defined sheet and generates a best fit resulting in high sheet utilization and minimal scrap.

CAMWorksNesting provides the facility to nest either a single part or multiple parts in a single Nesting job. Based on the user-input number of instances of the part to be nested and the sheet size(s) defined, either a single nested layout or multiple layouts are generated.

CAMWorksNesting supports assemblies comprising parts with multiple configurations.

Steps to generate Nested layout for an Assembly:

1. Load the CAMWorksNesting Add-In in SolidWorks/ CAMWorks Solids.
2. The CAMWorksNesting Menu will be added to the SolidWorks/ CAMWorks Solids menu bar.
3. Model or open a sheet metal / solid assembly in SolidWorks/ CAMWorks Solids.
4. The assembly to be nested will be displayed in the SolidWorks Graphical User Interface.  
5. Select ‘Create Nesting Job’ from the CAMWorksNesting menu bar.
6. The ‘Create Nesting Job’ dialog is displayed. Under the Part Data tab, all the parts comprising the assembly are displayed. Modify or assign the Part parameters for these parts as required. These parameters include thickness, material, grain direction, quantity, Step angle and Normal Face Selection.
7. Under the Sheet data tab, select the required sheet size(s) to nest according to the varying thickness and material of the parts.. Modify or assign the sheet parameters such as sheet name, sheet thickness, sheet material, sheet quantity, grain direction, sheet length and width as  required.
8. In the ‘Nesting Data’ section (bottom section of the dialog), assign appropriate values to the parameters of Part-to-Part distance and Part-to-Sheet distance.  Use the browse button  to assign a new location for the output file rather than the default location given in the Output Assembly File field. Fast Nesting and Optimal Nesting indicate the two different sets of algorithms used to implement Nesting. Select the option that best suits your requirements.
9. After all the parameters are set, click ‘OK’ to execute the Nesting Job.
10. This sets into motion the process to generate a nested layout. Generating the layout might take some time depending on the complexity of the part.

• Two files will be generated during the nesting process, namely a text file and an assembly file.

• After the Nesting process is completed, CAMWorksNesting will display a message indicating the location of the text file containing the summary of the Nest Results. Click OK to close the message. The Text file will be displayed.

• The Nested layout assembly will be displayed in the Graphics area. Both these files are saved in the location indicated Output Assembly File path stated in the Apply Nesting dialog.

Note:

• CAMWorksNesting does not support multiple assemblies in one single nesting job.

• Only one assembly can be nested at a time.

• To understand how to nest an assembly which contains one or more multi-body body parts, read: Steps to generate a nested layout for an assembly containing multi-body parts.