CotanovaCotacut

The right DXF, ready to cut.

Cotacut nests your parts on your sheets, checks every gap and writes one cutting DXF per sheet: in cut order, on the layers your machine expects, with arcs and holes intact. Offline, no account, paid once.

Write for the beta
Cotacut Open Add parts Nest Export Report shop.ctcut

Sheet

Parts

Flange Ø200
4
Plate 300 × 200
3
Gusset 150
6
Washer Ø40
16
Sheet 1
Steel · 3.0 mmchecked: no overlap

A simplified demonstration, in your browser: each part sits in its bounding rectangle, washers go into the flange bores. Cotacut itself nests on the true shape of the parts and checks every gap.

0.227 sto the first image, measured at every release
94 %of the density of the best published solutions (ESICUP), in 30 s
R12 → 2018the DXF your machine reads, or an SVG
0overlaps: every result is checked on the exact geometry

Try it here.

Cutting, series, unfolding, shapes and material cost, as in Cotacut, plus rolled and formed parts. Each tab keeps a screenshot of the real software.

CotacutCutting orderatelier.ctcut

Cut length

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Pierces

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Estimated time

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Trial: 14 days of use leftHoles before outlines, the washer before the flange around it, nearest next.
See the screenshot of the real software
Numbered cutting path on a sheet in Cotacut.
The real Cotacut: numbered cutting path, holes before outlines.

Demonstrations in your browser, on sample parts; Cotacut does the same on your own files.

Three steps, no more.

  1. Add

    Drop your parts

    DXF, DWG, SVG or PDF files, a CSV list from your design office, or your sheet metal parts as STEP or IGES, bent, rolled or formed: Cotacut unfolds them. Open contours are repaired, dimensions and drawing frames set aside. The quantity is read from the file name (for example "flange_x12.dxf") or from a text in the drawing.

  2. Nest

    Set, run

    Quantities, sheets, gap and margin. Small parts go into the holes of large ones, each material on its own sheet. A part in the wrong place? Drag it, rotate it, flip it, push it into contact or type its position, lock it, then "Re-nest the rest": everything is checked.

  3. Export

    One DXF per sheet

    From R12 to 2018, or an SVG. For the shop floor: the report to print and the parts list in Excel.

What matters on the shop floor.

What Cotacut does, measured on real files where possible.

  • 0 overlap

    Every result checked

    After each run and each manual edit, the gap between parts is measured on the exact geometry, arcs included.

  • arcs kept

    Your parts' DXF, not a copy in segments

    Arcs, circles, holes, layers and colours come out as they went in, only moved and rotated.

  • 94 %

    Tight nests

    94 % of the density of the best published solutions on the ESICUP benchmark sets, in 30 seconds per set.

  • cut order

    A DXF already sorted for cutting

    Marking, then holes, then each part's outline; a part nested in a hole before its host; nearest next. The path shows on the sheet.

  • 3D unfolding

    Your bent parts, unfolded

    A STEP or IGES file from SolidWorks, Inventor or Fusion (the separate faces of an IGES file are stitched back together): Cotacut finds the thickness and the bends, and unfolds on the neutral fibre with your K-factor. Dashed bend lines for marking.

  • R12 → 2018

    The format your machine reads

    DXF from 2018 to 2000, R12 for older controllers, lines and arcs only if needed, or SVG. Outlines, holes and marking each on their own layer; part names engraved in a single-stroke font, shrunk if they do not fit.

  • ×n

    Identical sheets grouped

    Three identical sheets, one file and one report page. Common-line cutting shares the cut between two neighbouring parts.

  • grain

    Brushed stainless respected

    On a grained sheet, parts keep the direction of their drawing: half turn allowed, never flipped.

  • part in part

    Holes are not wasted

    Washers and small parts fit into the bores and windows of large ones.

  • offcuts

    Offcuts kept and reused

    The offcut at the end of a sheet, straight or L-shaped, goes to stock, from one project to the next, and is used first.

  • PDF · Excel

    Report for the shop floor

    One page per sheet with numbered parts; scrap, cut length, pierces, mass, cost and time with your own values. On-screen preview before the PDF or printing, parts list in Excel.

  • 0 bytes

    Your drawings stay with you

    No account, no cloud. Cotacut works offline.

  • FR · EN

    In English or French

    The software, its help and its reports, in your language. Material names too.

  • shells · cones

    Rolled parts

    Shells and hopper or reducing cones, whole or in sectors: exact blank on the mean diameter, with the diameters, the height, the circumference and the flat sector angle.

  • square-to-round

    Formed surfaces

    Square-to-round transitions and other formed parts, developed by triangulation on the mean fibre. A pressed part, or a closed one without a weld gap, is refused with a clear message.

  • editing

    By hand, when needed

    Rotate, flip, push into contact, lock, then "Re-nest the rest" around the parts you placed.

  • settings

    Nesting your way

    Urgent parts first, scrap side, most profitable sheet size, placement strategies, gap per material.

  • preferences

    Your starting values

    Language, dark or light background, sheet, gap, margin, computing time, size, K-factor. Autosave and backup copy.

Paid once. Nothing to cancel.

Full 14-day trial, counted in days of use, with no credit card: only the days you open Cotacut count. Refunded within 30 days, no questions asked.

€99.99Solo · excl. VAT, once · launch price

  • Everything: nesting, manual editing, DXF and SVG export, report, printing, offcuts, unfolding
  • 1 person, 2 computers
  • All 1.x versions included

VAT added at checkout · then €149 excl. VAT

Reader · €0After the trial, with no time limit: open your parts and projects, view the sheets already nested, save.
Workshop · €549 excl. VATLike Solo, for 5 reassignable computers, invoice in the company's name. About €110 excl. VAT per seat.

Write for the beta

What people ask us.

Does Cotacut drive my machine?

No. Cotacut writes one clean DXF per sheet, which you open in the software that came with your machine (laser, plasma, waterjet) for toolpaths and cutting. No G-code.

My parts are drawn in 3D, bent.

Drop the STEP or IGES file into Cotacut: it shows the part in 3D next to its flat pattern, with each bend (angle, radius, direction). Set your press brake's K-factor, then add the flat part to the nest.

I have shells and cones to lay out.

Drop the rolled part as STEP or IGES: a shell, a hopper or reducing cone, whole or in sectors. Cotacut draws the exact blank on the mean diameter and shows the diameters, the height, the circumference and the flat sector angle. A square-to-round is developed by triangulation; a pressed part, which cannot be laid flat, is refused with the reason.

My machine only reads old DXF files.

Choose DXF R12 under "Cutting files", and if needed "Lines and arcs only": no polylines, just lines and arcs.

My CAM software expects its own layers.

Outer outlines, holes and marking each come out on their own layer, with the names you type. You can also keep your files' layers.

My parts list is in Excel.

Save it as CSV: name, file, quantity, and optionally material and thickness. Drop the list into Cotacut: every part arrives with its quantity.

My parts are drawn in inches, or with no unit.

Cotacut reads the file's unit. If it is missing, it asks you, showing the part's dimensions.

Are my files sent anywhere?

No. Nothing leaves your PC.

What happens after the 14 days?

Cotacut switches to Reader mode: you can still open and save your projects. Nesting, editing and exporting need a licence.

I want to try before release.

The button opens your mail app with a ready e-mail to contact@cotanova.com. Your address is only used to answer you: no list is sold or shared.