pronest® 2012 - hypertherm cam€¦ · pronest® 2012 what's new a listing of new features...

ProNest® 2012

What's New A listing of new features and major improvements in ProNest 2012 nesting software, since initial release.

version release date page

10.2 August 20, 2013 2 10.1 December 18, 2012 6 10.0 April 23, 2012 12

What’s New in ProNest® 2012 (v10.2) 2

© 2013 Hypertherm, Inc. All rights reserved.

ProNest 2012 version 10.2 Released August 20, 2013

Tab Improvements Developed primarily for laser applications, several tab enhancements are available:

Lead-outs on tabs Tabs added through AutoTab or manually using Advanced Edit can now have lead-outs. A new column called "Apply Leadouts" in the AutoTab settings spreadsheet will place lead-outs on tabs added during AutoTab or manually. Tabs added manually in Advanced Edit now have lead-out properties that can be set profile by profile.

Set a maximum size for tabbed profiles A new AutoTab spreadsheet column called "Profile Dimension" governs whether or not profiles will have tabs applied to them, based on their size (length or width). Profiles less than or equal to the maximum size will have tabs applied during AutoTab, while larger profiles will not be AutoTabbed. This is useful if you want to tab smaller parts to prevent them from dropping through the slats of the table or from tipping up, while leaving larger parts un-tabbed.

Lock undertravel on start point "tab" leads In past versions of ProNest, when using "At Intervals" or "Number of Tabs" strategies, AutoTab could modify the existing leads on a profile by adding undertravel, creating a sort of tab at the start point. However, this "tab" at the start point could be lost when leads were moved during collision avoidance, automatic nesting, etc.

Now, during AutoTab the undertravel added on these types of leads is locked ( ), ensuring that the tab-style lead is retained even if it is repositioned or altered on the part.

Leads specific to tabs only In the Leads settings spreadsheet (XLS), a new column called "Tab Lead" indicates whether or not a given record contains leads for tabs. This lets you use specific leads for tabs only, separate from other leads in ProNest. Tab leads will be used during Autotab or when manually adding tabs in Advanced Edit.



Scribe Text Improvements There are several improvements to scribe or mark text:

Variables in scribe text ProNest now supports the use of variables in scribe text, enabling a number of different properties (such as inventory ID number, heat number, customer, reference, etc.) to be easily added on the part for marking. Variables, which act as placeholders for actual values, can be added in Advanced Edit in ProNest or included as text in the CAD file.

A ProNest part with a scribe text variable "Customer" added. When the part is cut, the actual customer name would be scribed.

Font for scribe text added in Advanced Edit You can now select the font to use for scribe text added in Advanced Edit.

o If a CAD font folder is specified, you can select either CAD (.shx, .fnt) or system fonts o Different fonts can be used on a single part o This provides full Unicode support for text added in Advanced Edit

Scribe text fully editable in Advanced Edit You can now resize, reposition, change the font, or otherwise edit scribe text in Advanced Edit. This applies to text added in the CAD file or via Advanced Edit.

Collision Avoidance: Cut Small Bolt Holes First For certain parts, such as flanges, small bolt holes are situated near other larger interior features. These holes are sometimes sequenced so that tip-ups and torch crashes could occur.

New Collision Avoidance settings have been added which enable the cut sequence to be set based on hole size, reducing the chance of torch crashes. Based on user-defined hole size ranges, smaller holes can be cut before larger interiors on the part.



True Hole® Technology: Interior Cut Sequence The interior cut sequence of a part can be set so that all True Hole® profiles are cut before any other interiors on the part. This reduces gas purge time when compared to alternating between cutting True Hole and non-True Hole features on a part.

This is controlled by a new "Sequence all True Hole cuts first" setting on the Cut Sequence: Interior Profile settings page, which appears only when a True Hole-capable machine is loaded.

Customer Experience Improvement Program The program collects information about how you use ProNest. This helps Hypertherm identify which ProNest features to improve. No information collected is used to identify or contact you. The CEIP program runs in the background as you use ProNest, without interrupting you.

You can opt in to the improvement program using a new Privacy preferences page.

Multiple Classes on a Nest Previously, ProNest allowed only one single class per nest. This was due to class being used primarily as a means of specifying amperage or assist gas, where only one class per nest was appropriate.

Certain features available in Phoenix (the embedded software installed on Hypertherm CNCs) are specified in ProNest using Class as an item in parentheses [e.g. "100Amp (Fine Feature)"]. Now parts with classes that have different information in parentheses can be nested together, so long as the rest of the class information is identical. This enables different Hypertherm features to be used on a single nest.

For example, you can now place parts with "130Amp O2/Air (Fine Feature)" and "130Amp O2/Air (True Hole)" on the same nest. However, a part with "130Amp O2/Air (True Bevel)" could not be nested together with a "200Amp O2/Air (True Bevel)" part.



Ignore Row in Settings Spreadsheets A new column called "Ignore" can now be used in settings spreadsheets. When any non-blank value is entered, ProNest will ignore that row. The major benefit of this is to hide materials that aren't used from view, making material lists throughout ProNest simpler to use.

AutoNest: Fill Interiors First During automatic nesting, ProNest will attempt to nest smaller parts inside the interior profiles of larger nested parts before filling other areas of the nest. This can be useful if your parts contain large cut-outs that can be nested on.

Common Line Cutting: Non-Crossing Sequencing By Part With the non-crossing style (used for applications where the torch shouldn't cross a previously-cut path, due to the potential for torch diving), parts that are CLC arrayed or grouped in an advanced multi-part CLC are now cut part by part. This was implemented to fix issues with part movement during cutting.

Previously, with non-crossing in use, a CLC array or multi-part CLC may have been sequenced so that the interiors on all parts in the CLC are cut first, followed by exterior profiles:

Now by default, CLC arrays and multi-part CLC groups are cut part-by-part:

Note that this doesn't affect the crossing style or any CLCs made using Pair or Quad CLC.

Mirroring Error Message Preference Using a new preference, you can elect to show or hide the "Part violates its mirror property" error message that is displayed when a part is nested in violation of its Mirror value (Never or Always).



ProNest 2012 version 10.1 Released December 18, 2012

OneClick OneClick is a powerful production module that automates various tasks in a ProNest job, from automatic nesting to cropping to creating output and printing reports. With OneClick, you can set up all the actions that are required to complete a job. Once parts are added to the part list, OneClick can do the rest of the work in your job with limited intervention.

Depending on the ProNest optional modules that you have active, you can also run optimization, generate collision avoidance paths/raises, save remnants and skeletons to inventory, and cut up skeletons during OneClick.

Variables in naming formulas For several different areas in ProNest, including material formatting, naming jobs, output files, and reports, variables

can be used in naming formulas. In fields that support it, you can click the browse button ( ) to open the new Edit Field dialog, where you can customize a naming formula.

ProNest variables (such as JobID, NestID, etc.) and environment variables are both available for use.



Bevel enhancements Significant enhancements to the bevel module have been made in many different areas, improving the quality of beveled cuts:

Improved loop geometry on bevel corners (vector macros) Previously, the size of a bevel macro was not always increased to account for possible interference with the corner when cutting top bevels, resulting in clipped corners on the part.

In cases where the size of the transition loop or lead was increased sufficiently, the macro could cause the part's region to increase too much, negatively impacting the material utilization of nests.

New bevel macros use bevel motion extensions to apply the optimal leads and transition loops based on differences in bevel cut types. This results in better quality bevel corners and increased material utilization.

Cutting techniques and kerf crossing indicator It is now possible to detect when the kerf will be crossed during beveling and apply cutting techniques when approaching a transition loop or lead-out on a beveled profile. This is especially useful in cases of multiple pass beveling. Special actions (techniques) can now be taken where the profile geometry of one pass crosses the profile geometry of an already-cut pass.

Pre-kerfing bevel parts The ability to apply pre-kerf to bevel parts only, during the second stage of compensation has been added, reducing the chance of errors with the parts. This is designed for machines that do not handle incremental kerf changes gracefully.



Smoothing For pre-kerfed bevel parts, smoothing can be applied to consecutive line segments so that their end points conform to an arc. This is useful in cases where pre-kerfing would cause a jagged edge when cut and can result in a smoother cutting motion.

Gradual bevel parameters If multiple consecutive entities are selected, bevel angles will be distributed proportionately across the span of selected entities. The gradual bevel geometry will be broken up into segments that correspond to the number of bevel angles specified in the XLS within that range. This results in more accurate parameters being applied across the entire gradual bevel. Many gradual bevel transitions, including A to V (positive orientation), now have better cut quality.

Auto-select gradual bevel edge In Advanced Edit, when a gradual bevel is applied across several adjacent entities, clicking one of the entities will select the entire span of the gradual bevel.

View original bevel geometry Parts can now be drawn with color-filling in Advanced Edit, improving the visibility of beveled parts. When a part is beveled and pass profiles are applied, the original part geometry is now easily identifiable, along with the bevel passes on that part.

Data Sync: Plates Data Sync is a new module that delivers the ability to add and update plates from your MRP/ERP system to ProNest’s Plate Inventory. Initial setup, including data field-mapping and integration, is fast and easy.

Once operational, Data Sync will routinely synchronize your MRP/ERP plates with ProNest’s Plate Inventory, continuously adding and updating inventory plates. As soon as a new plate is entered in the MRP/ERP system, that plate will be available for use in ProNest. Likewise, any changes to existing MRP/ERP plates will quickly be carried over to ProNest inventory plates, ensuring that you are always using the most up-to-date plate information.

Report Destinations Report destinations provide a way to pre-define a target for exporting or printing reports or batches. When a report is sent to a destination, it is automatically saved or printed according to preferences that you’ve previously set, eliminating the need for time-consuming setup each time a report or batch is published.

Destinations for electronic output (PDF, CSV, XLS, and HTML) include a folder and file naming convention, as well as various default export properties, while print destinations include a default printer selection and numerous print properties.

Batches can now be sent to existing destinations directly from the main nesting window, without opening the Report Manager dialog.



Locking leads on a part The ability to lock interior and exterior leads is now available, allowing you to set the optimal location and properties for leads on a part and permanently keep the leads in that state.

When locked, lead position on the profile (start/end point) and lead properties (style, size, angle, etc.) will not change during any manual or automatic operation in ProNest. This includes automatic nesting, collision avoidance, manual or automatic move leads, etc.

Importing Parts Part file tokens

If you are using the Save Part File Tokens setting (on the Importing Parts settings page), you can now visually tell whether the CAD file that is loaded in the Part Sources area in the Edit Part List window is the original CAD drawing or a part token file.

o A small "TOK" icon next to the part file indicates whether or not it is a token file.

o You can choose to import either the original CAD file or the associated token file when adding a part

to the part list.

o After a part has been added, a new column indicates whether or not the part was loaded from a

token file.

Support for CAD Fonts ProNest now supports native AutoCAD® fonts (SHX) and Windows® system fonts (TrueType, OpenType, PostScript) for CAD drawings that contain text. When a CAD file with text is imported, the font referenced in the file can now be used in ProNest.

A ProNest part with marking text using the scripts.shx AutoCAD font

Using the new CAD Font preferences page, you can choose to use text fonts found in the CAD file or specify a default AutoCAD or system font for CAD text.

Previously, all CAD text was converted to a single font ( ) in ProNest, regardless of the font specified in the CAD file.

2D CAD Improvements CAD Cleanup

The CAD Cleanup feature now uses the full features of the 2D CAD program, enabling you to make quick changes to a CAD drawing before it is added to the part list. Any CAD file type that can be imported into ProNest can be edited using 2D CAD Cleanup - changes are retained in ProNest when the part is added.



Multi-drawing support Multiple drawings can be open simultaneously in 2D CAD. Each open drawing is displayed on its own tab in the main 2D CAD window; you can toggle between the drawings by simply clicking a tab.

Control points Any entity can now be moved or modified using control points. Control points ( ) appear at the start, center, and end points of a selected entity, enabling you to move the entity while preserving its size and orientation or resize the entity around a pivot point.

Work Orders Preferences

Using a newly-added Work Orders preference, you can configure ProNest not to release unnested quantities of work orders when a job is saved.

Paging If you have many work orders, you can break the grid view up into several pages in both the Work Orders editor and in the Work Orders tab of the Edit Part List window. This dramatically reduces the time needed to open the database editor or refresh data, in addition to making things easier to read. Time savings is even greater when the database is located on a network.

Delete The ability to delete work orders from the Work Orders database has also been added.

SolidWorks preferences page A new preferences page has been added, giving you control over how ProNest imports SolidWorks® features and geometry. Import preferences include support for sheet metal parts, BOM, etching/marking, including or excluding geometry by name, and more.

Part Library paging If you have many library parts, you can break the grid view up into several pages in both the Part Library Database

editor and in the Library tab of the Edit Part List window. This dramatically reduces the time needed to open the

database editor or refresh data, in addition to making things easier to read. Time savings is even greater when the

database is located on a network.

Plate Inventory If the current nest is using an inventory plate, the plate name is now displayed on the main nesting window.

Color-filled parts in Advanced Edit Parts can now be drawn with color-filling in Advanced Edit.

New Settings and Preferences Cut Sequence by Heat Dissipation: Part Interval

When using heat dissipation, a new setting called "Part Interval" lets you set the interval by which to apply the cut sequence. ProNest will cut every nth part on the nest (range 2 – 10). You can also apply the sequence at random.



Punch and scribe with multiple torches (heads) For multi-torch parts that contain punching or scribing, the punching or scribing can be done with multiple torches on the master and slave parts.

Invert torch direction The position of the master torch in relation to the nesting home will be reversed - it will be furthest away from the nesting home.

Chain overtravel On chained parts that use not-crossing leads, there is sometimes a small gap or notch left at the start point after a part is cut, causing parts not to drop. A small overtravel can be applied to these leads, eliminating the notch.

Adjust machine home to center for circular plates On circular plates, the machine home used in CNC output will be moved to the center of the plate.

Adjust machine home vertically/horizontally for remnant plates For remnants that do not have a corner at the machine home specified on the Machine settings page, the home point can be moved to an existing corner on the remnant. This can make it easier to initialize the torch head prior to cutting the nest.

CNC file extension: N# Entering "N#" as the CNC file extension will ensure unique extensions are applied to all nests. Creating output for a single nest will apply a .N1 extension to the CNC file; outputting more than one nest will apply extensions incrementally (.N1, .N2, .N3, etc.).

Crop process If your machine supports more than one cut process, you can select which process to use for cropping plates.

Radius corners before or after pre-kerfing If you are using both Cutting Techniques with Corner Radius (rounding off corners for a smoother motion) and pre-kerfing, parts may be rounded incorrectly in certain instances, depending on your machine setup. You now have the option of applying corner radii either before or after pre-kerfing is done, which can improve results. You can also disable the corner radius entirely when using pre-kerfing.

CLC Array alternate crossing torch paths When using the "Crossing" Torch path style, you can set the CLC array to either cut one part after the other, or apply torch paths based on the geometry of the CLC array and not part by part.

Pre-pierce interior profiles only Allows pre-piercing on interior profiles only and not on any exteriors.

PNL delimiter A custom separator can be set for PNL files. Choices include Tab (the default), Comma (,), Semicolon (;), and Vertical Bar (|).

New Preferences Folders You can now specify a folder for the following:

Part Library folder

Tooling folder

Macros folder

CIF folder



ProNest 2012 version 10.0 (initial release) Released April 23, 2012

2D CAD Program ProNest's 2D CAD application provides all of the basic features needed to create or edit a detailed CAD drawing. With the CAD program, you can:

Add, edit and delete simple and complex geometry

Insert pre-defined shapes such as rectangles, ellipses, etc.

Add chamfer, fillet, notches, or folds

Manage layers and colors

Save drawings as DWG or DXF files

2D CAD is a standard feature that is included with the ProNest installation. It can be opened directly from the Edit Part List window in ProNest.

Work Orders A new optional module, Work Order Processing, provides a way of automatically entering job data from an ERP/MRP system into ProNest. Work orders that are created in the ERP/MRP system are immediately available in ProNest, where parts in an order can be sorted, added to the part list, nested, and output to NC code. Once an order is completed, part and job tracking information can then be sent back to the ERP/MRP system.

Job Naming Job naming preferences have been added, enabling ProNest to automatically generate unique Job names whenever a new job is started. Typically, automatic job naming is based on an incremental counter, which names jobs in ascending order. You can also select a naming convention that uses the current date plus an incremental number for that day, or enter your own customized formula.

Interior Remnants The new Interior Remnants feature enables cut-outs to be saved as remnants in the Plate Inventory Database. This is useful if you have parts with large interior profiles on a nest and want to save the cut-outs in plate inventory so that they can be nested on at a later date.

Nest with two interior remnants (shown in gray)

Users and Permissions For multi-user environments, ProNest now supports user accounts. When activated, users sign in to ProNest with their user name and password during start up.



An administrator sets up each user account with customized permissions, so that user rights can be assigned based on organizational roles. Using permissions, access to database editors and certain preferences can be restricted, which can enhance data security, eliminate user error and ensure consistency.

Part List Improvements The Part List task pane has been redesigned with an updated look and feel that gives you greater flexibility and control over parts from the main ProNest window. Improvements include:

Editing part properties A new Properties pane can be opened directly in the main ProNest window (right-click any part and select Properties). All part information that can be viewed and edited in the Edit Part List window is now editable in this new pane.

Sorting parts Parts can be listed alphabetically or by nesting order (by size and/or quality).

Easily access the Edit Part List, importing and exporting PNLs A new button in the Part List provides easy access to the Edit Part List. You can also quickly import or export a PNL directly from the part list.

Quality on Leads All leads, including leads on tabs, can now have a unique quality value assigned to them. Assigning a quality value to a lead can be used to apply specific cutting parameters to that lead. You can set a default quality for interior and exterior leads in settings, or change the quality of leads on parts on an individual basis.

Material Grade Grade has been added as an optional property of ProNest materials which can be used to further differentiate materials beyond type and thickness. Grade can be found in the Material Database as well as the Part Library (Part Inventory), Plate Inventory, PNLs, BOM, plus the part and plate lists.



Previously, grade had to be entered in the material type (e.g. "SS 403"), resulting in complex material names and Process Parameters spreadsheets with many identical rows – differing only by the material name. The addition of a grade field eliminates these problems.

Grade is also used to limit nesting. For instance, parts of the same material type and thickness but different grades can't be placed together on the same nest.

Material Gauge Gauge is an optional field that has been added to the Material Database. Users who work with gauge materials can now add gauge information to a given material type and thickness in the database.

Gauge is used for informational purposes and does not limit nesting or affect settings.

Customize Material Formatting You can now customize how ProNest displays material names throughout the application. If your organization uses a different material naming convention than the default in ProNest, you can change preferences to match this convention. Materials can be formatted to use any arrangement of material name, thickness, grade, and gauge.

Bevel Improvements Bevel can now be used effectively with skeleton cut-up, automatic nesting, and costing. The geometry of beveled parts is now more accurately modeled in ProNest, which resolves a number of outstanding issues with bevel parts, including inaccurate costing figures, skeleton lines that cut through beveled parts, and bevel parts that were not nested correctly during automatic nesting.

View skeleton lines on nest Skeleton lines can be viewed on a nest, even when you are not in Skeleton Cut-up mode. To display skeleton cut-up lines:

On the View menu, select Skeleton Lines.

Cut Sequence: Interior Profile Interior cut sequencing (generating the cut sequence of profiles within a single part) has been substantially improved.

When using "Horizontal" or "Vertical" strategies in the Cut Sequence: Interior Profiles settings, parts with many holes are now processed faster.

When using "Lead to Lead" or "Center to Center" strategies, interior profiles are now sequenced faster with shorter traverse motions. Performance tests show that the new interior cut sequencing method reduces traverse distances 95% of the time when compared with the previous method.

Collision Avoidance Collision avoidance now uses a more accurate border around parts that is truer to the part's geometry. Also, as a result of improvements in interior cut sequencing, large parts and parts with many holes are sequenced more efficiently. This results in better avoidance paths in the majority of cases, with fewer full raises and shorter traverse paths.

Pre-Pierce The ability to pre-pierce interior profiles only has been added. This is designed for users who have to clean the slag after pre-piercing and are only concerned about the pierces on interiors.

Solidworks Interface

ProNest can now recognize more than one scribe feature in a drawing.



All BOM information specified in a Solidworks file (File > Properties) is now fully supported during import. This includes Solidworks parts with non-English BOM key information.

Modules and Standard Features

Part Inventory has been renamed to Part Library and is now a standard feature (along with Assembly). The Part Library is useful for storing a list of parts that need to be cut more than once.

Other Part Library improvements include:

BOM information is now supported when importing CAD files into the Part Library. Multiple parts containing BOM info can be added simultaneously.

Library parts can now have a token file saved instead of referencing a CAD source file.

The Part Library Database editor has been updated with new toolbar buttons.

When importing a part, all licensed CAD file types are now available in the "Files of Type" field.

The Rectangular Nesting and True Shape Nesting modules have been consolidated into a single optional module called "Automatic Nesting".

The Pattern Array module is now a standard feature. Pattern Array automatically determines the best spacing and orientation to use when arraying parts in order to maximize plate usage.

The Nest Background Image module is now a standard feature. The feature is only shown in ProNest when a waterjet machine is loaded.



The DXF Output module is now offered as a standard feature at no additional charge. For more information on acquiring this setup, please contact your regional representative.

Miscellaneous

The Properties item on the right-click menu of nested parts has been simplified (there is now only one Properties item, which shows all properties).

The file path of an added part's source file is now shown in the Edit Part List window (in the Properties pane) as well as the Properties pane in the main ProNest window.

Clicking the mouse wheel button will now activate Pan mode.

AutoCrop and Delete Crop toolbar buttons have been added to the Nest toolbar by default.

Notes

ProNest now installs to the "Hypertherm CAM" directory instead of "MTC Software". All default installation paths now use "Hypertherm CAM", for instance:

o C:\Program Files\Hypertherm CAM\ProNest 2012\ o C:\ProgramData\Hypertherm CAM\ProNest 2012\

In addition, the Start menu path for ProNest is now:

o Start > All Programs > Hypertherm CAM > ProNest 2012 Nesting Software

The default SQL database instance is still "MTCSOFTWARE" but the following databases have changed: ProNest 2010 ProNest 2012 ProNest9 ProNest10 PN9History PN10History During installation, you can use the Migration Utility to migrate data from ProNest 2010 to ProNest 2012. Note that after installation and migration, there will be two sets of databases on your PC (ProNest9/PN9History and ProNest10/PN10History). These databases are separate and will not interfere with one another as you use ProNest.

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