Your first flat-plate job, step by step
One job, start to finish: from New Job to a saved program. The names used here match the buttons and dialogs you'll see in GCnester, and the questions people ask most are at the bottom.
Click New Job and set the units, material, thickness and machine. A job saves as a .gcmjob file, which keeps the parts, layout and job settings together in one place.
Pick a one-off rectangular plate, or open Plates to choose from your stock or a saved remnant (inventory comes with Pro, Business and the demo). Check the dimensions and the program origin before you move on.
Click Import and choose your files: DXF, DWG or SVG, saved .gcmprt sketch profiles, or a planar face from a STEP or IGES model (Pick the Face to Nest). Answer the unit prompts, review each outline and hole, then set Quantity and Rotate (Free, Locked, 0/180 or Quarter) for each item.
Set Part Spacing and Edge Spacing. Run Auto Nest and choose a fill strategy: Fill left to right, Fill left, then up, or Smallest rectangle. Review the result and the unplaced count before accepting it. Move, Rotate, Delete, Undo and Redo adjust placements; Nest All Remaining carries leftover quantity onto the next plate.
Open the Lead In/Out Overcut Editor to set lead-in, lead-out and overcut for the job, and right-click a contour to override it. Click Create Tool Paths and resolve any composition or clearance error it reports. Then pick a Strategy for the cut order, or use Manual Reorder. Chain Cutting and Bridge are in the Cut Order pane.
Use the playback under the plate to watch the cut sequence; the demo includes it. The G-Code Animator window, which shows the program text alongside the animation, needs a paid license. Open Job Process Time Estimates for cut length, rapids, pierces and estimated run time; the cost figures need Business or the demo. Playback is a way to review the program, not a safety check for your machine.
Save the job. With a paid license, export the G-code using the post you chose under Machine Settings. The demo generates G-code and plays it back, but it won't show the code text, export it or send it to a machine. Before you cut production parts, put the machine setup and post through your normal commissioning.
If the job came from a work order, Complete Nest records the placed quantities against it. For inventory stock it also takes the sheet out of inventory, unless this job has already recorded that; if you see a warning that fulfillment was recorded but the plate wasn't consumed, read it. Save Remnant is a separate action. It keeps the true outline of what's left for a later nest (Pro, Business or the demo). Use both after the real cut, not to preview a layout, and save the job when you're done.
Questions people ask
Yes. The demo lets you save jobs, generate G-code and watch the embedded playback. Opening the G-code text, exporting G-code files and sending code to a machine are disabled.