How do multi-sheet nested jobs work in VCarve Pro & Aspire: Nest Parts, Sheet Management, and multi-sheet toolpathing?

Overview

The Sheets system lets you lay out multiple physical sheets of material within a single project file. Each sheet can have its own dimensions and properties, and toolpaths are associated with specific sheets. This is the foundation for efficient production runs where the same job spans multiple sheets of plywood, MDF, or other material. It is available in both VCarve Pro and Aspire.

The Nest Parts Tool

Nest Parts automatically fits vector shapes within a defined area in the most efficient way it can calculate. By default the area is the current Job Size, but you can also select a vector as the nesting area.

Object selection: Select closed vectors, text, components and open vectors contained within closed ones. The selected objects form parts, with the part outer boundary highlighted with a thicker line. If one selected object contains or overlaps another, they are treated as the same part.

Workflow:

1. Draw or import all your part outlines (the shapes to be cut)
2. Select all vectors to nest
3. Open Nest Parts from the Drawing tab
4. Set Tool Dia.: the diameter of the tool you will use to profile the parts. It is the minimum distance left between shapes
5. Set Clearance: added to the Tool Diameter to give the final minimum spacing (for example 0.05" clearance plus a 0.25" tool = 0.3" gap)
6. Set Border Gap: added to the Clearance around the edge of the nesting area
7. Choose the Part Nesting Options (below) and where the nest starts (Nest From corner and Nest Direction, Along X or Along Y)
8. Apply the nest

Part Nesting Options:

• Rotate Parts to find best fit: allows rotation in increments set by the Rotation step angle, which can improve packing
• Mirror parts to find best fit: only use it if the cutting direction of the parts does not matter
• Allow parts inside other parts: nests parts into the internal areas of shapes with gaps in the middle
• Nest two-sided parts: double-sided projects only, nests both sides at once
• Remove original parts: removes the originals instead of duplicating them in the nest
• Filler Part: fills any leftover sheet space with as many copies of a chosen vector as will fit

Tip: Nest before you create toolpaths, since toolpaths depend on where the vectors end up. If you need to change the settings, undo (Ctrl+Z) and try again rather than nesting an already nested layout.

Sheet Management

The Sheets tab lets you add, edit, and delete sheets:

• Add New Sheet: creates a new sheet. If a sheet is selected, it duplicates that sheet. If not, it duplicates the active sheet's dimensions. You can select several sheets and add that many duplicates
• Edit / Rename: right-click a sheet to open the Edit Sheet form (sizes, Z Zero position and datum for that sheet) or to rename it
• Make Active: double-click a sheet name in the list (or its gray outline in the 2D view). The active sheet title is shown in bold, and its outline is shown in the 2D view. You can also switch from the Toolpath Tree filter list
• Delete Sheet: removes the selected sheets (you must keep at least one)
• Duplicate: duplicating a sheet carries across all contents, including vectors, 3D components and toolpaths. Duplicated toolpaths show a red "!" and an italic name until you check and recalculate them
• Visibility: hide sheets you are not using to clear up the view

Only one sheet at a time is displayed in the 3D view.

Applying Toolpaths to Multi-Sheet Jobs

Toolpaths are associated with sheets. The Toolpath Tree's Sheets Filter dropdown lets you:

• View only toolpaths for the active sheet
• View All Sheets (toolpaths of inactive sheets appear faded but all operations can still be performed on them)

Toolpath groups are associated with the sheet they were created on, and toolpaths on different sheets cannot be grouped or merged.

The efficient workflow for identical toolpaths across sheets:

1. Set up toolpaths on Sheet 1 with layer-based Vector Selectors
2. Save those toolpaths as a Toolpath Template
3. Load the template into the project (Toolpaths > Templates > Load Template). The software offers to apply the template to all sheets in the project. Hold Ctrl when clicking Open to apply all the toolpaths to all sheets even if the layer is empty on some sheets
4. Use Recalculate All Toolpaths

The layer-based approach (recommended for production):

• Put all vectors of the same operation type on a dedicated layer (for example "Profile Cut", "V-Carve", "Pocket")
• Assign Vector Selectors in toolpath templates that target those layers by name
• The templates then select the right vectors on any sheet

Saving Toolpaths for Multiple Sheets

When saving toolpaths, use the Sheets Filter in the Toolpath Tree to make sure you are saving the right sheet's toolpaths. For large multi-sheet jobs:

• Save each sheet's toolpaths separately (different files)
• Name files clearly, for example "Sign_Sheet1.tap", "Sign_Sheet2.tap"
• The Visible Toolpaths To Multiple Files option in the Toolpaths menu saves each visible toolpath to its own file