In manufacturing industry, nesting refers to the process of laying out cutting patterns to minimize the raw material waste. Examples include manufacturing parts from flat raw material such as sheet metal, glass sheets, cloth rolls, cutting parts from steel bars, etc. Such process can also be applied to additive manufacturing, such as 3D printing. Here the advantages sought can include minimizing tool movement that is not producing product, or maximizing how many pieces can be fabricated in one build session. One difference from nesting of cut pieces is that 3D parts often have a cross section that changes with height, which can cause interference between adjacent parts as they are built up. Types The nesting process differs for different types of parts: 1D nesting - for cutting optimization of one-dimensional parts such as bars, trusses, wires, pipes, rails 2D nesting - for cutting optimization of flat parts such as sheet metal, cloth, glass, paper, leather nesting of rectangular shapes vs. nesting of multiple freeform 2D shapes (optionally with holes/isles) nesting from fixed sheets vs. nesting from infinite rolls 3D nesting - for packing optimization of 3D parts such as boxes, shipping containers, 3D printed parts nesting/packing of freeform 3D objects Process To minimize the amount of scrap raw material produced during cutting, companies use nesting software. It automates the calculation of ideal distribution of the cutting patterns to avoid waste. The process involves the analyses the parts (shapes) to be produced at a particular time. Using algorithms, it then determines how to lay these parts out in such a way as to produce the required quantities of parts, while minimizing the amount of raw material (or space) wasted. Off-the-shelf nesting software packages address the optimization needs. While some cater only to rectangular nesting, others offer profile or shape nesting where the parts required can be any odd shape. These irregular parts can be created using popular computer-aided design (CAD) tools. Here, the nesting software may be utilized as the connection between CAD drawings and the cut output. Most of the profile nesting software can read IGES or DXF profile files automatically, a few of them work with built-in converters. An important consideration in shape nesting is to verify that the software in question actually performs true profile nesting and not just block nesting (rectangular). In block nesting an imaginary rectangle is drawn around the shape and then the rectangles are