CNC cutting, laser and nesting
How a laser cuts sheet and how a nest is built, the gases, settings and cut-quality standard that govern it, AFS's own strip nesting worked by hand, and how to diagnose, correct and record cutting and nesting defects.
4 lessons · about 39 min · 10 diagrams · 5 videos
Version 1.0.0
Builds on these modules
Lessons
0 of 4 complete
Lesson 1 · 11 min · 11 slides · 8 questions
CNC cutting, laser and nesting: principles and terminology
How a laser cuts sheet, the three ways the cutting gas works, the vocabulary of a nest from pierce to skeleton, and the laser and fume hazards with the rules and standards that govern them.
You will be able to: Name the parts of a laser cutting head and of a nest, define kerf, the three laser cutting processes, common line cutting and micro-joints, and state the laser and fume safety boundaries.
Not startedStart →Lesson 2 · 10 min · 11 slides · 7 questions
CNC cutting, laser and nesting: materials, standards and design constraints
Which gas suits which metal and edge, the settings that make a clean cut, AFS flashing stock in millimetres against the ISO 9013 laser range, coated-sheet cut edges and storage, and the AFS sheet and piece limits.
You will be able to: Match the laser cutting gas to the material and edge wanted, name the parameters that set cut quality, read what ISO 9013 does and does not govern, and state the AFS sheet, thickness and piece limits a nest works within.
Not startedStart →Lesson 3 · 9 min · 9 slides · 6 questions
CNC cutting, laser and nesting: methods and worked application
The nesting workflow from a checked drawing to recorded parts, and AFS's own strip nesting worked by hand: strips across a 48 in sheet, mixing widths by first-fit decreasing, and the kerf on a 10 ft length.
You will be able to: Run a documented nesting method on a realistic flashing job: strips per sheet, mixed widths across sheets and pieces on stock lengths, with the kerf, cut allowance, units and assumptions recorded.
Not startedStart →Lesson 4 · 9 min · 10 slides · 6 questions
CNC cutting, laser and nesting: defects, verification and case study
Edge and holding defects and their causes, nesting plan errors, an AFS case study of a planning tool that charged a kerf to every stick, an inspection checklist for cut parts, and how to record corrections.
You will be able to: Diagnose a cutting or nesting defect from its evidence, choose a correction, check cut parts against the drawing and record what changed for review.
Not startedStart →
Practical task
Produce a documented nesting job packet for a mixed flashing order cut from 48 in x 10 ft sheet: 2 underplate strips and 4 gravel stop strips, each 10 ft, plus a cut plan for a 7 ft and a 3 ft piece of trim on 10 ft stock. Show every input, the arithmetic, the assumptions and one planted defect found and corrected.
Hand in
- Decision rationale: strip nesting or a 2-D laser nest, which tool or method and version, and who confirms the real cut
- A sketch of each sheet across its 48 in width with every strip and drop dimensioned, nested width by width and mixed
- Assumptions table: blank widths and where they came from, cut allowance or kerf with units (stated even when zero), sheet size, standard 10 ft versus 126 in maximum piece
- A quality checklist for the first cut parts, drawn from the inspection checks in lesson 4
- A defect analysis of one planted error (a zero-drop strip plan or a forgotten kerf): evidence, cause, correction and re-check
Rubric
| Criterion | Meets the standard when |
|---|---|
| Arithmetic | Strips per sheet, drops, sheet counts and percentages are shown and correct: 3 sheets width by width, 2 mixed, and 10.0208 ft for the two trim pieces. |
| Sourced inputs | Every blank width, thickness and limit names its source: a profile, the AFS registers or the drawing; no value is guessed. |
| Kerf and allowance | The kerf or cut allowance is stated with units even when it is zero, and every zero-drop plan is flagged for the shop to confirm. |
| No prices | The packet speaks in material, sheets and time only; no dollar figure appears anywhere. |
| Safety | If a thermal cutting process is named, the packet notes fume ventilation for zinc-bearing coatings and leaves laser controls to the machine maker and the Laser Safety Officer. |