Nesting sign letters before Fusion 360

Fusion 360 is a full CAD and CAM program, and many shops use it to make router toolpaths. For a sign job with many flat letters, it is often quicker to nest them in NestSigns first, then insert the finished sheet as a DXF and add a 2D contour.

The steps

1. Open your letter file in NestSigns: .ai, .cdr, PDF, DXF or SVG.
2. Type the sheet size and your bit diameter, then nest. Check the smallest measured gap shown with the result.
3. Download the sheet as DXF. NestSigns writes R12 DXF with true arcs on one layer.
4. In Fusion 360, insert the DXF into a sketch on a plane, in the same units, and extrude it to your material thickness if your setup needs a body.
5. In the Manufacture workspace, add a 2D contour for the letters and the holes, with tabs if you use them.

Why nest before Fusion

Fusion has its own tools for arranging parts, some of them in paid extensions, and they work well for parts modeled in Fusion. Sign letters usually start in a design program, though, and come in as dozens of separate outlines. NestSigns is made for that: it puts small letters inside the holes of bigger ones, uses your leftover pieces first, divides letters bigger than the sheet and numbers every part for sorting.

Check the size after import

A DXF has no fixed unit. Pick the same unit when you insert it into Fusion as the one in NestSigns. The NestSigns summary shows the size of the largest letter, so you can measure it in the sketch to be sure.

What else it does for letter jobs

• True-shape nesting by the real letter outlines: any angle, 0/180° only, or no rotation.
• Exact spacing. Type the gap or your bit diameter; every layout is checked and shows the smallest gap measured.
• Parts inside letter holes. Small pieces go inside O, A, B and D, and holes stay with their letter.
• Leftovers first. Full sheets and leftover pieces per material, smallest leftovers used first, stock updated when the job is done.
• Oversize letters left out, divided, or divided with a 1 in joining strip, pieces labeled A1, A2…
• Every part numbered on the sheets and on the original artwork in the layout summary PDF.

See also online DXF nesting, channel letter nesting and router bit size and part spacing.

Questions

Does NestSigns replace Fusion 360 CAM?

No. NestSigns only places the parts. You still make toolpaths, depths and tabs in Fusion 360 or another CAM program.

Will the arcs come in as arcs?

Yes. The DXF uses true arcs and circles where the outline has them, not short straight segments.

Is NestSigns made by Autodesk?

No. NestSigns is separate software and is not affiliated with Autodesk or Fusion 360.

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