What is 3D nesting and why the 3D build will save you up to 60%?

If you are a professional who prints many parts in PA12/PA11 nylon or polypropylene PP with HP Multi Jet Fusion technology, nesting on 3D build can help you to obtain savings of up to 60%. How? Let's see it together.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 3D NESTING AND 3D BUILD

• What is 3D Nesting?

Technologies like Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) print large "builds" filled with hundreds of items: since each build costs the same amount to print regardless of how many parts are inside, the more parts that can be squeezed into a single build the better the value of the build.

3D nesting in progress on the 3D build, still a lot of empty space to fill in this case.

Consequently, a 3D Nesting software translates and rotates automatically a collection of 3D parts inside the printing space (the 3D build) in order to minimize empty space and optimize the quality of the printed parts.

As it is easy to understand, even if it is possible to make builds of smaller dimensions, you can obtain top advantages from printing a 3D build only if you print enough parts to efficiently fill the build at is maximum size: if you are only printing a single part or a too small 3D build nesting will not be useful.

1. HP 5210 MJF 3D Printer, 2. Build unit, 3. Natural cooling station (it contains the 3D build), 4. Processing station

• 3D Build Nesting guidelines

The 3D build nesting is easy because the guidelines are the same as for normal 3D printing, and any of the nesting software that we suggest below will automatically avoid interlocking and trapped parts. In fact, these are errors that can be made only with manual 3D nesting that we do not recommend.

• 3D Nesting sizes and materials

• 380x284x380mm (15x11.2x15 in) (X, Y, Z) on PA11 and PA12
• 370x274x370mm (14.5x10.8x14.5 in) (X, Y, Z) on Polypropylene PP

You can get more informations and suggestions at this link.

• How to easily nest your 3D build

Although there are many software with which you can carry out a manual nesting (for example you could use any 3D CAD software) we tend to not to recommend them because the optimization is too complex to be done properly and without errors by hand. This is why we recommend the following automatic software:
• Netfabb by Autodesk - instant free trial available
• Materialise Magics
• Fabpilot- instant free trial available
• Dimension 4 - instant free trial available
• 4D additive
• Polydevs

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT PRINTING A BUILD FULL OF PARTS INSTEAD OF SEPARATED PARTS

If you make hundreds of parts in nylon pa11, pa12 or polypropylene PP with MJF technology 3D build printing is essential because it not only allows you to make huge savings but also allows you to perfectly control the inclination and positioning of the parts according to their importance.