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What does a part really cost in material?
Dividing sheet price by part count ignores the offcut. This counts the sheets you actually have to buy — and shows you what tighter nesting would be worth.
Stock
Your part
Material per part
$0.50
3 sheets · $12.00 of stock for 24 parts
Parts / sheet
8
Waste
41%
Turned 90°
0
Packed in rows this takes 3. On area alone a perfect nest couldn't beat 2, which would be $0.33 a part — so nesting tightly is worth about $0.17 each.
One sheet — 12 × 18 in
2 across × 4 down. Straight rows, so you can check it against the sheet in front of you — a real nester will usually beat this, which is why it errs toward buying too much rather than under-charging.