Quoting sheet metal parts from the DXF, the STEP and your sheet stock
VenturusEQ reads a DXF or DWG for cut length, pierce count and blank area, measures a STEP model for bends, wall thickness and the flat pattern, and nests the confirmed blank on your flat stock. Your estimator confirms each value before it is costed from your own laser and brake tables.
How a sheet metal part gets quoted today
A sheet metal RFQ rarely arrives as one clean file. There is a PDF with the bend notes and the finish, a STEP of the formed part, sometimes a DXF of the flat that may or may not match the revision on the print. The estimator opens each one in a different tool and decides which to believe.
Then the arithmetic. Unfold the part or trust the customer's flat. Count the bends. Measure the cut path and count the pierces. Work out how many blanks fit on a sheet at each quantity, remember the minimum buy on that gauge, and add the powder coat from a note in the corner of sheet two.
The estimator's judgment about the brake sequence and the nest is real work. The retyping of numbers that already exist in the files is not, and it is where the errors live.
What VenturusEQ reads, measures and nests on a sheet metal part
Cut length and pierce count from a DXF or DWG
A 2D drawing is read for cut length, pierce count, blank area and contours. A DWG is converted first. When the file carries no unit, the assumption is flagged for the estimator to confirm rather than guessed.
Bends and the flat pattern from the STEP model
The geometry summary returns the bends, wall thickness and the flat pattern of a formed part, with an exact-or-estimated badge on each number. Thickness read from the print is proposed beside it.
Nesting on your flat stock
Parts per sheet, sheets per quantity break and utilisation, using the stock sizes and minimum buy on your material price list. Stock allowance is never counted twice, and a blank that does not fit is refused.
Laser and brake time from your tables
A governed laser feed table turns cut length and pierce count into minutes. A bend minutes table does the same for the bend count. Both are typed, versioned and editable with CSV in and out.
Findings that add an operation or no-quote the line
Bend radius, thin walls, tight tolerances and finish needs are among 35 manufacturability rules with your thresholds. A finding can no-quote the line or add an operation that survives repricing.
Finish and heat treat call-outs priced from the print
Finish and heat treat call-outs read from the PDF become subcontract legs per lot, piece or load once confirmed. Tolerance and inspection call-outs become in-house hours.
How a sheet metal package becomes a sent quote
The package lands
PDF, STEP, DXF and DWG files are hashed, given roles and paired. The drawing is matched to the right model by evidence, not by whichever file arrived first.
The print is read
Material, thickness, finish, heat treat, notes and the sheet manifest come back as proposals with a confidence. The estimator confirms each one against the print in the same page.
The flat is measured
From the DXF: cut length, pierce count, blank area. From the STEP: bends, wall thickness and the flat pattern. Both are computed inside the product with an open-source CAD kernel.
The estimator confirms
Confirmed values enter the geometry-driven laser and bend templates. Unconfirmed values cannot be used by a formula, so a suspicious flat never prices quietly.
The nest sets the material
Parts per sheet and sheets per break are worked out on your flat stock at each quantity, with the minimum buy applied. The material bucket shows the sheets, not a guess.
The two cost lines are compared and the quote is sent
Your worksheet in your rates sits beside the cost built from the confirmed geometry, with where each number came from recorded. Pick per line, set margin, and send a digital quote link from your own mailbox where that is switched on.
Common questions
Does it unfold a sheet metal part?
Yes. From a STEP model the geometry summary returns the bends and the flat pattern along with wall thickness, each number badged exact or estimated. From a DXF or DWG it reads the flat directly: cut length, pierce count, blank area and contours.
Does it nest parts on the sheet?
Yes, on flat stock. Nesting works out parts per sheet, sheets per quantity break and utilisation, applies the minimum-buy floor from your material price list, and refuses when a part does not fit. Bar and tube are not nested today.
Where does the laser time come from?
From your own tables. A laser feed table turns cut length and pierce count into minutes, and a bend minutes table does the same for the bend count. The product ships no rates, and a missing row refuses to price rather than pricing at zero.
What if the DXF has no units?
The DXF and DWG read flags the unit assumption instead of guessing silently. The estimator sees the flag and confirms the unit before the cut length or blank area can enter a price.
See one of your own sheet metal parts nested and priced
Bring a print, a STEP and a DXF of the same part. We read the flat, nest it on your stock and cost it from your tables, live. If you would rather look first, the interactive demo is open, with no form in front of it.