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Version 1.5 Released 1–18 Sep 2026

More file formats, and offcuts in their real shape

Open DWG, PDF, Illustrator and LightBurn files, keep the real shape of every offcut and nest onto it, fix a part that does not fit in one click, and cut a part in a bore before the bore.

A second job nested inside the L-shaped offcut the first job left, with no new plate opened
A second job nested onto the L-shaped offcut the first one left. How remnants work. Schematic. The nested layouts are real Lapas results; their placement on this plate is illustrative.

01 · File formats

Open the file you were sent

DWG, PDF, Illustrator and LightBurn files open like a DXF. No converting first.

Upload an AutoCAD DWG, a vector PDF, an Adobe Illustrator file or a LightBurn .lbrn2 the same way as a DXF. They go through the same layers, units and repair as a DXF does.

A PDF drawing is never scaled by guesswork. When the page is a paper size, Lapas asks: What scale was this drawing plotted at? 1:1, 1:2, 1:5 or 1:10, next to the page size and how big the outlines are at 1:1. A file with several pages asks which page holds the part.

Vector drawings only: a scan or a photo has no outlines to cut. An Illustrator file needs to be saved with PDF compatibility on.

PDF scale
A PDF drawing is imported at the scale you confirm A vector PDF page arrives with a part drawn small on it. Lapas asks what scale the drawing was plotted at, offering 1:1, 1:2, 1:5 and 1:10. 1:5 is picked, and the part lands on the sheet five times larger, at its true size. PDF A3 page What scale was this drawing plotted at? 1:1 1:2 1:5 1:10 at true size
A drawing plotted at 1:5 on a paper page. You pick the scale, and the part lands at its true size.

02 · Offcuts

Keep the offcut in its real shape

The L-shaped piece a job leaves becomes stock for the next one, not scrap.

Every finished job shows the offcut it really leaves, L-shapes included, not only a strip on the right. Cut it free and it is stock, not scrap.

Press Add to inventory. It asks only for material and thickness. When a later job has parts that fit it, the settings step lists it under Offcuts you already have, and one click puts the job on that exact outline.

The shape is only ever trimmed inward, so the cut never runs through a part, and nothing is placed on the corner that is not there.

Offcut
The L-shaped offcut a job leaves is kept, and the next job nests onto it A job fills most of a sheet and leaves an L-shaped offcut, which lights up. It is added to inventory. The job's parts are cut and taken away, and the next job's parts are nested inside the L-shaped offcut. Add to inventory ✓ Saved Offcut left by this job Next job, nested onto it
The job leaves an L. Add it to inventory, and the next job nests inside it.

03 · Parts that don't fit

"Doesn't fit" now says by how much, and fixes it

One click to a job that runs, instead of a dead end before the first sheet.

Before the run, the dialog shows the usable area, the sheet less its border, and for each part what it needs against what the sheet allows, with how far over it is.

Then it offers three answers, each acting only on the parts it names: Allow any-angle rotation for parts that fit at an angle, Set border to 0 for parts that fit without the border, or Skip these parts and nest the rest. Skipped parts come back in the result marked as skipped by you, not lost.

If a "part" is really the sheet outline from your drawing, or the units look wrong, the dialog says so. Those hints never act on their own.

Fit check
A part too long for the sheet fits once any-angle rotation is allowed A long bar lies straight across the sheet and overhangs the usable area by 64 mm, shown in red. The button Allow any-angle rotation is pressed, the bar turns to a diagonal that lies fully inside the usable area, the red goes, and the label fits at an angle appears. The other parts on the sheet do not move. +64 mm Allow any-angle rotation fits at an angle
The bar is 64 mm too long laid straight. Allow any-angle rotation, and it fits on the diagonal.

04 · Cut order

A part in a bore is cut before the bore

The slug never drops out with a part still sitting on it.

Hole nesting puts small parts inside the bores of big ones. The machine files now cut them in the order that makes that safe: innermost first. Each nested part, its holes and then its outline, is cut just before the bore it sits in.

This applies to G-code, machine-ready DXF and PLT. Every part is still cut holes first, then its outline. A plain DXF for your own CAM keeps the placement order, for your CAM to sequence.

Plotter files also cut every ring as its own contour, instead of joining rings with pen-down moves across the part.

Cut order
A part nested in a bore is cut before the bore A small ring is nested inside the bore of a big ring. The cuts run from the inside out: first the small ring's hole, then the small ring's outline, then the bore it sits in, then the big ring's outline. So the slug inside the bore never drops while the small ring is still sitting on it. 1 · small ring's hole2 · small ring3 · bore it sits in4 · big ring outline A slug never drops with a part still on it
A small ring nested in a big ring's bore. The cuts run from the inside out.

Also in 1.5

Smaller changes

  • Engraved text and your layers

    Text on an engrave layer is lettered onto the part and written back to the DXF on its own layer. Each layer keeps its colour, line weight and line type, and loose lines inside a part can be set to engrave, cut or ignore.

  • A simpler export

    Export asks one question, the output target. The rest lives in Output settings, saved on your account, so two computers in the shop write the same file. New: each part as a named block for your CAD or CAM.

  • More of the order on limited stock

    When the declared sheets cannot hold the whole order, room is made for missing parts on the sheets you have.

  • Mirrored copies

    Mark a part as a mirrored copy to cut the opposite hand of the drawing, for left and right versions of one part.

  • Stubborn files open

    DWG files that failed to load, DXFs that hung on "Reading geometry", and outlines with one edge drawn twice now import.

  • Free space in one piece

    Parts are pushed into the drawing's origin corner, so free space is left as one usable piece instead of scattered pockets.

  • Honest run status

    Stopped, cancelled or failed runs say so, and a run cut short by a restart shows as Interrupted in History with Run again.

  • Your account, your data

    Delete your account or download your data from Settings, and cancel your plan from the Subscription page.

All releases

  1. 2.0 19–24 Sep 2026 Common-line cutting and kerf, done properly Set your machine up once, cut the shared line once, set the kerf once, hear about slots too narrow for the beam before you nest, and have every G-code and PLT program checked against your parts and your machine before you download it.
  2. 1.5 1–18 Sep 2026 More file formats, and offcuts in their real shape Open DWG, PDF, Illustrator and LightBurn files, keep the real shape of every offcut and nest onto it, fix a part that does not fit in one click, and cut a part in a bore before the bore.
  3. 1.4 August 2026 Fewer sheets, diagonal parts and kits Repeated parts pack onto fewer sheets, long parts that only fit at an angle now nest, kits stay whole on one sheet, and a short result tells you what is missing with a one-click fix.
  4. 1.3 July 2026 Fine-tune the nest, keep the real curves Adjust a finished nest by hand with exact moves, measuring and snapping, pack curved parts into each other, lose half-empty last sheets, and get DXF files that keep your real arcs and layers.
  5. 1.2 June 2026 Your stock, your angles, your layers Nest one job across several sheet sizes, allow your own rotation angles, and sort cut and engrave layers with rules saved on your account.
  6. 1.1 May 2026 Clearer results, safer imports A warning before the run when a part will not fit the sheet, inch files at the right size, every layout checked before you get it, and a Fast to Quality speed slider.
  7. 1.0 Feb–Apr 2026 Lapas launches: true-shape nesting in the browser Upload DXF or SVG parts, watch them nest live by their real outline with small parts inside holes, and take the layout out as DXF, SVG, PLT, G-code or a PDF report.

Don't take our word for it.

Upload one of your own DXF files and see the layout yourself. It's free and takes about two minutes.

On a phone? Book a 20-minute call and we nest your file with you on a screen share.

Nest your own file for freeBook a call
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