Nesting Software for Accurate Quotes from Real Material Use
steelit by figureit nests sheet metal parts automatically from the CAD file, so you see how many sheets a job really needs and what the material really costs. That figure goes straight into an accurate quote in minutes. Built for steel and sheet metal manufacturers pricing incoming RFQs every day.
What Is Nesting Software?
Nesting software arranges sheet metal parts on a raw sheet so that as little material as possible is wasted.
Nesting does two separate jobs: in production, CAM nesting turns the layout into a cutting program for the machine. In quoting, nesting works out the real material an order will consume. steelit is nesting software for quoting, nesting parts from the CAD file so material is priced on what the job actually uses.
Utilisation
The share of the raw sheet that leaves the machine as finished parts. It is the difference between a costed job and a hopeful one.
Sheet count
How many raw sheets an order consumes at your stock formats. On a short run, one sheet either way decides the margin.
Offcut
Material bought and not sold. Nesting at quote time shows it as a measured quantity rather than a percentage rule of thumb.
Sheet format
The stock sizes your company actually buys. Parts are nested on those, not on a theoretical sheet nobody stocks.
How Nesting Software Supports Fabrication Workflows
Nesting software supports fabrication workflows at two points. Before the order, calculates the real material a job will use so the quote is accurate. After the order, CAM nesting turns the layout into a cutting program for the machine.
Upload the CAD Files
Drop the STEP, DXF or DWG files that came with the enquiry into the browser. 2D and 3D both work.
steelit Nests the Parts on Your Sheet Formats
Parts are laid out automatically on the stock sizes your company buys, at the quantities on the request.
Utilisation, Sheet Count and Offcut Become the Material Cost
The layout resolves into sheets consumed and material left over, priced at your own rates.
The Finished Quote Goes Out
Material joins machine time and margin in one branded PDF, while others are still calculating.
Guessed Material Costs Are Costing You Margin on Every Quote
In most companies nesting happens in CAM, after the order is won. The price went out days earlier, built on a flat scrap percentage and somebody’s assumption about how the parts would sit on the sheet. The margin is decided before anyone has nested anything.
Does the quote know how many sheets the job really needs?
Without nesting at quote time, sheet count is an assumption carried through the whole calculation. On a short run, one sheet more or less is the difference between a job that earns and a job that does not.
The error is priced in months before anyone in production can see it.
Does the price change depending on who calculates it?
Estimators each assume a different utilisation figure, and the person pricing the work often does not know the real production steps. The same drawing can come back at two different numbers in the same week.
Two prices for one part, and no way to say which one was right.
Can you quote fast without waiting for someone to nest manually?
Asking CAM or the shop floor to nest a job for a quote takes hours and interrupts work that is already scheduled. Most enquiries are not worth that interruption, so they get a guess instead.
Whoever priced first has already sent their offer.
Nesting Belongs in the Quote,
Not Only in Production
If material is still a percentage on your calculation sheet, the margin on every job is an estimate. Give us a set of parts and see steelit lay them out on your own sheet formats and turn the result into a price.
Working with figureit, in Our Customers’ Words
“figureit has developed digital sales support tools for several of our business areas. I was thoroughly impressed by the professionalism of the team and the quality of the solutions from figureit. I highly recommend figureit.”
“figureit has demonstrated its ability to support the digital networking of industrial processes with very good concepts. What is particularly impressive is not only their understanding of processes but also their focus on delivering maximum customer benefit while ensuring the best possible efficiency. We always feel understood and optimally advised.”
“figureit has convinced us. High expertise combined with quick comprehension and professional implementation make the collaboration a pleasure.”
Quoting Software
with Nesting Built In
Upload the CAD file. steelit reads around 90% of the quoting inputs from it, geometry, material, bends and nesting, lays the parts out on your own sheet formats, and carries the resulting utilisation and sheet count into the price automatically. The material figure is finished while the enquiry is still open on screen.
Material is one input among several. CPQ software for manufacturing covers how configure, price and quote fit together, and laser quoting software sets out the cutting rules behind the machine time.
Automatic nesting and material utilisation view for every quote
steelit lays the parts out on your stock sheet sizes as part of the calculation, then shows you the layout and the utilisation it reached. You can see which parts drove the sheet count before the price leaves the building, and change quantity, material or thickness to watch the figure move.
Real sheet counts and scrap in every price, not estimated
The material line is built from the sheets the nest consumes and the offcut it leaves, priced at your own material rates. Nothing rests on a blanket surcharge, so thick plate and large parts are costed as carefully as small brackets.
Same part, same price, no matter who quotes
Sheet formats, nesting rules, material prices and margin rules live at company level instead of in an estimator’s spreadsheet. The same file run by two people returns the same material figure, which is what makes a price defensible in front of a customer.
From CAD upload to branded quote PDF in minutes
The nest, the machine times and your margin rules resolve into one document: a branded PDF with every cost line visible, ready to send. Where a company wants one, an ERP and MES integration passes the agreed quote on without anyone retyping it.
Bring a Job You Have Already Nested. Compare the Numbers.
Choose an order where you know the real sheet count and the real offcut. We load your sheet formats and material prices, nest the same parts in steelit, and put the two material figures next to each other. Thirty minutes, on an order you can check against your own records.
How Fabrication Teams Put steelit to Work
Bye, bye Excel
Key Features
- Replacement of Excel spreadsheets
- Automatic STEP file analysis
- Fast processing of large data volumes
Quote calculator for steel beams
Key Features
- Specialised steel beam calculator
- Increased quoting efficiency
- Process optimisation
Successful ERP Integration
Key Features
- Bidirectional ERP interface
- Comprehensive background calculations
- Customised to their needs
Nesting Software FAQs
What is nesting software and how does it help with quoting?
Nesting software arranges parts on a raw sheet so that as much of the material as possible leaves the machine as finished parts. In quoting it answers one specific question: how many sheets this order consumes, and what that material costs. steelit nests the parts from the CAD file during the calculation, so the material line in the quote reflects a real layout instead of a scrap percentage.
What is the best nesting software for quoting sheet metal parts?
The best nesting software for quoting is the one that reads your customer’s own CAD files, nests on the sheet formats your company stocks, and hands the result to a price rather than to a machine. That is the job steelit is built for. If what you need is a layout to cut from, a CAM nesting system is the right tool, and companies with the occasional one-off layout often manage with a free nesting utility.
Does steelit generate NC code for my cutting machines?
No. steelit does not generate NC code and does not drive cutting machines. It nests parts in order to calculate material usage and cost for the quote, and it works alongside the CAM nesting software your programmers already use. Once the order is won, the job goes to CAM exactly as it does today.