ProNest 2010 Version 9.2

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1 ProNest 2010 Version 9.2 What s New Released August 17, 2011

2 What s New in ProNest 2010 (v9.2) 1 Enhancements The following enhancements are available in the ProNest 9.2 release: Color-Filled Parts Parts are now filled with a solid color, in addition to the outline that is drawn normally. Color-filling provides improved visibility and contrast between parts, interior holes, and the plate. Nest with color-filled parts The part's fill color is based on the Cut color. For instance, if green is selected in the Color Legend for Cut, all parts on the nest and in the Preview of the Edit Part List will be filled with a lighter shade of green. Color-filling can be turned on or off in the color legend using the "Draw color-filled parts" setting. Separations Editor A new tool window in the main nesting window has been added, allowing you to view and edit the current separation values in your job. This provides a way of editing separations on an as-needed basis without having to change anything in your ProNest settings. Part, Pierce, and Plate separations can be edited for each material/thickness in the job. The Separations tool window

3 What s New in ProNest 2010 (v9.2) 2 For instance, if you edited the separation values for MS in., all parts/nests in your job that are using that material would use the new values that you entered. The Separations tool window, which is visible by default, can be turned on or off in the View menu. Prohibit Nesting Inside of a Part A new part property called "Prohibit filling" lets you disallow nesting inside the interior profiles of a part. If a part with a cut-out has "Prohibit filling" enabled, automatic nesting will not place smaller parts inside that part's interior profiles. If a smaller part is manually placed inside of the part, the parts will appear in conflict on the nest. Parts with "Prohibit filling" enabled have cross-hatching within their interior profiles. "Prohibit filling" can be set on a part-by-part basis on the Nesting tab of the Edit Part List or by rightclicking a part in the Part List tool window. A default value can be set on the Importing Parts page of your settings. Also, ProNest recognizes "Prohibit filling" as a part property in PNLs and BOM layers (refer to ProNest Help for more details). Check for Updates The new Check for Updates feature allows ProNest to notify you when software updates are available. This will help ensure that your software is up-to-date and contains the latest features, enhancements, and bug fixes. Your PC must be connected to the Internet to use this feature. For more information on how to use Check for Updates, refer to the ProNest Help. Collision Avoidance Performance improvements have been made to collision avoidance. ProNest can now use a more accurate border around parts that is truer to the part profile, which both reduces the number of full raises needed and makes it more likely that direct paths will be generated. This can result in significantly shorter production times. Material Database Editor The ability to edit multiple materials at the same time has been added to the Material Database editor. Using either CTRL + click or SHIFT + click, you can select multiple material records, then click the Edit toolbar button to open the Properties dialog and make changes to all of those materials at once. When a field is edited, a selected checkbox will appear next to that field, indicating that a change has been made.

4 What s New in ProNest 2010 (v9.2) 3 Plate Inventory Database Editor If you have many plates in the Plate Inventory Database, you can break the grid view up into several pages. 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. To use this feature, in the Plate Inventory Database editor, locate the "Plates per page" box in the lower right corner of the window and set the desired number of plates per page. This feature is also available in the Edit Plate List when the Inventory tab is selected. Filter box in Edit Part List In the Part Sources section of the Edit Part List, a new Filter box has been added.

5 What s New in ProNest 2010 (v9.2) 4 You can use the Filter box to filter the contents of the current folder by CAD file name. When text is entered into the Filter box, CAD file names that contain some or all of the entered text will be shown, all others will be hidden. Delete Nests by Material The ability to delete all nests of a particular material in a job has been added. The Delete All Nests item in the Nest menu and the Delete All Nests toolbar now have an arrow that will open a list enabling you to delete all nests in your job that are using a given material. Variable Cut Sequence Zones For Vertical, Horizontal, and One-Way Vertical types of cut sequence zones, the number of zones and zone placement can now be adjusted automatically by ProNest based on the position of parts on the nest. This can result in a better overall cut sequence and shorter traverse motions between cuts. Previously, these zones were placed in fixed locations on a nest, based on the number specified in the Zones setting. Two new settings have been added to the Cut Sequence settings page: "Zone type" and "Use serpentine sequencing within zones." Zone type (Variable or Fixed) When Zone type is set to Variable, ProNest will automatically adjust zones based on nested parts. Variable is the default setting. When Zone type is set to Fixed, ProNest will place zones in fixed locations, based on the Zones setting. This was the method used in previous versions of ProNest. Use serpentine sequencing within zones

6 What s New in ProNest 2010 (v9.2) 5 The cut sequence direction will alternate back and forth within a given zone, following an S- shaped or winding path. Note: This is only active when Type is set to Vertical, Horizontal, or One-Way Vertical and the Zone type set to Variable. Nest Images for the History Database ProNest can now save an image of each nest that is recorded in the History database. Nest images (.png) are saved with a file name that matches the History database NestID for a given nest (for example, if NestID=14 the image would be named "14.png"). To enable this feature, the "After output, save an image of each nest in the History Database" preference (on the General tab of Preferences) must be selected. The "History Nest Image folder" preference (on the Miscellaneous tab of Preferences) controls where nest images for the History database are saved.

7 What s New in ProNest 2010 (v9.2) 6 Import CSV File into the Plate Inventory You can now import a CSV (comma -separated values) file containing a list of plates into the Plate Inventory, providing an easy way to add multiple plates to the database or migrate inventory from a different system. When a CSV file is imported, all plates listed in the file are added as new plates in inventory. For more information on how to use this feature, refer to ProNest Help. Note: This feature is designed for adding new plates to the database. It will not update or delete existing plates and is not intended as a means of updating the Plate Inventory on a continual basis, as with an MRP system.