3D Nesting of Complex Shapes

In application areas like Layered Manufacturing, there is a continuous struggle to optimize the filling degree of the production batches. This publication proposes an algorithm for the 3D nesting of complex shaped objects. The algorithm starts with the determination of the preferred orientation of a part, and uses a non-deterministic approach, closely related to the “Brazil Nut Effect” to do the actual nesting. The publication describes the algorithm and its steps, and describes case studies to demonstrate the validity of the approach.