Common Grid
At a glance
- Right-click a qualifying part on the sheet or in the Parts browser → Common Grid… — set X Qty, Y Qty, and Lead Padding to build a rectangular array with shared common-line separator cuts between finished cells
- Qualifies when the part has one sharp-cornered rectangular or square closed outside contour, any number of closed holes, and no open contours; unsupported shapes leave the command disabled
- The grid stays one nestable part for move, rotate, mirror, lock, nesting, and posting; dashed previews show where separators will cut (visual only — not pickable contours)
- Toolpaths run duplicated holes first, then the aggregate outside profile, then open centerline separator cuts extended by Lead Padding — separators use pierce and feed from the active recipe but skip kerf offset and lead-in/out
- Cell spacing follows active kerf from your cut chart and recipe; change material, thickness, or cut parameters and the gridded geometry rebuilds
- Parts browser shows a finished-cell badge; sheet totals and quotes count delivered cells while pierce count, cut length, and time reflect the actual toolpath
Common Grid turns a rectangular part into a gridded array where neighboring pieces share a single separator cut instead of each getting its own profile — one pass of the torch makes the right edge of one piece and the left edge of the next. On a stack of gussets or blanks that saves serious cut length and pierce count. Right-click a qualifying part (one sharp-cornered rectangular outside contour, any number of closed holes, no open paths) and choose Common Grid…; set X and Y quantities, or turn on Fill Sheet X / Fill Sheet Y to max out the owning sheet automatically.
Kerf-aware geometry
Cell spacing is the finished cell size plus one kerf width on each axis, so every piece comes out at drawing size after the common line burns away. The kerf comes from the sheet's active cut chart, which means changing material, thickness, or cut recipe rebuilds the grid automatically. Holes in the original part are duplicated into every cell, and dashed lines in the scene preview exactly where the separators will cut — they move, rotate, and mirror with the part but are never selectable contours.
Cut order that keeps parts flat
Generated toolpaths anchor the blank to the sheet skeleton as long as possible: all duplicated holes cut first, then the common separator lines, and the aggregate outside rectangle cuts last as the drop cut that releases every piece at once. Separators are open centerline cuts — recipe feed and pierce settings apply, but there is no kerf offset and no lead-in/out. Lead Padding (default 0.125") extends each separator past the outside rectangle so the pierce and cut-off happen in scrap, not on a finished edge.
One part, many pieces
The grid stays a single part for dragging, rotating, locking, nesting,
and posting — the nester sees the aggregate outline and can never split the cells apart. Counting
works the other way: the Parts browser shows a Grid xN badge, and sheet totals and quotes report
finished cells (a 3 × 2 grid quotes as 6 delivered parts) while cut length, pierces, and time come
from the actual generated toolpath. Edit the grid through the same right-click menu at any time.