After nesting, how do I know which part is which? Labeling and identifying nested parts

What the software does and does not do

The Nest Parts tool itself has no label printer and no part-numbering command. If you import cabinet cut lists with the Advanced Machining Module (a paid add-on), its Cabinet Cut-List Import has an optional Labels step that generates a label for each part: part name, unit number, sheet number and material, with an optional QR code, barcode or Data Matrix code. Shops that need printed stickers from other sources often use dedicated cabinet or nesting software. For ordinary nesting with the standard Nest Parts tool, the software gives you two reliable ways to identify parts: a label that travels with each part through the nest, and a printable map of every sheet.

Method 1: a label that nests with the part

The Nest Parts tool accepts closed vectors, text, components, and open vectors that sit inside closed ones. Anything contained in or overlapping a part's outline is treated as the same part, so it moves and rotates with it.

1. Before nesting, place a short text label inside each part outline (part name, cabinet number, order number).
2. Put the labels on their own layer, for example Labels.
3. Select outlines and labels together and nest. Each label stays with its part.
4. Choose what to do with the label layer: leave it as a screen and print reference only, or engrave it with a shallow toolpath that runs before the cutout. Using the Vector Selector on the Labels layer lets that toolpath pick up every label on every sheet.

Method 2: a printed nest map

File > Export offers PDF. In the PDF Export form you choose which sheets and which layers to include, and each sheet becomes its own page. Check Export Job Bounds so the sheet outline is drawn around the parts. Print it and keep it at the machine, or mark parts from it as they come off the table.

The Job Sheet (Toolpaths > Create Job Sheet) is a second map: it includes a Job Layout thumbnail of the vectors on each sheet and is created once per sheet that has toolpaths.

Where published advice is out of date

Older public forum threads say there is no way to print the nest and suggest screenshots, exporting each sheet as a DXF, or a monitor mounted above the machine. The current documentation describes the PDF export with one page per sheet, so try that first.

Pro tips

• If an engraved label would show on the finished product, place it on a face or edge zone that gets hidden, or keep labels print-only.
• Keep label text small enough to sit fully inside the outline. A label that crosses the outline still counts as part of the part, but it will change the space the part needs.
• See the entry on multi-sheet nested jobs for moving between sheets.