Nesting letters for an OMTech laser

OMTech CO2 lasers are a common way for sign shops to cut acrylic letters, logos and small panels. The bed is smaller than a full sheet, so the sheet is cut into pieces first. NestSigns shows how many of those pieces a job needs, and lays the letters out on them.

Size the pieces for your bed

Type the largest piece that fits on your bed, with a little room around it, and run the nest. NestSigns fills each piece by the real letter outlines, puts small parts inside the holes of bigger letters, and tells you how many pieces to cut from the sheet. If you keep offcuts, add them to your material stock and they are used first.

Spacing for a laser

A laser kerf is thin, so letters can sit closer than on a router. Set the gap you trust for your power and material; acrylic edges can melt together if parts are too close. NestSigns checks every layout and shows the smallest gap it measured. See kerf.

Into LightBurn or RDWorks

Most OMTech CO2 machines use a Ruida controller, run from LightBurn or RDWorks. NestSigns exports a LightBurn project (.lbrn2) and DXF, so the layout opens ready to set cut layers. See nesting for LightBurn and nesting for RDWorks.

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.

Cutting faces and letters in acrylic? See acrylic sheet nesting and reducing acrylic waste.

Questions

Does NestSigns control my OMTech laser?

No. NestSigns only nests the parts and exports the layout. LightBurn or RDWorks sends the job to the laser.

Can it keep letters from turning?

Yes. You can allow any angle, only 0/180°, or no rotation, for the whole job or for single parts, which helps with brushed or grained sheet.

Is NestSigns made by OMTech?

No. NestSigns is separate software and is not affiliated with OMTech.

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