Nesting methods and computer-controlled machine tools for cutting objects from a workpiece

A computer-controlled machine to fabricate a plurality of objects from a workpiece, the machine comprising:

• a cutting table defined by an X-axis and a Y-axis;
• a controller configured to direct a cutting tool along a cutting path such that each object in the plurality of objects is cut from the workpiece, each object having a stacking order;
• and
• a data processing device having a memory with a plurality of instructions stored therein, the plurality of instructions, when executed, configured to:
• group the plurality of objects into two or more groups such that each object is a member of a single group;
• and
• create the cutting path by creating a nested arrangement of the plurality of objects by assigning each object a unique nested location on the workpiece such that a perimeter of each object is fully defined on the workpiece and non-overlapping with another object;
• wherein the respective location of each object is assigned by nesting the objects such that the stacking order is nondecreasing in the X-axis direction, the stacking order of any pair of objects whose X-axis locations are within a predetermined distance from each other is increasing in the Y-axis direction, and the objects in a single group of the two or more groups are proximate each other;
• and
• wherein an overall length of the nested arrangement in the X-axis direction is minimized.