By Cyber Era NG Special Correspondent

A US -based manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, Hypertherm Associates today announced a major version update to ProNest® 2025 version 16.0 nesting software. There is a collection of new features and ongoing updates designed to help customers improve their operational efficiency while reducing non-value-added tasks.

New features include the following:

• Enhanced integration with Tekla® PowerFab® Connector – this optional module provides seamless data exchange between ProNest and Tekla PowerFab

[https://www.hypertherm.com/en-US/products/software/pronest-optional-modules/#enterprise-modules–tekla-powerfab-connector]

• Library parts updates– this ensures the latest revision is always available

• Job auto recovery –this helps save work in progress from being lost

• Collision avoidance – this, now included by default in ProNest LT for OMAX waterjet setups, ensures an optimized cut path is applied in ProNest, eliminating the need for secondary steps in IntelliMAX

Other recent features and enhancements:

• Crop line improvements – include multiple crop lines per nest with capabilities to cut empty plates using crop lines, change cut direction and apply XY coordinates

• Small entity detection – identifies motions that are smaller than kerf width or other length value, which can cause errors at the machine or may result in poor cut quality

• Machine home movement – moves for remnants that do not have a corner at the standard machine home

• Settings improvements – to vaporize protective film for laser machines that support this capability

“Tekla is a powerhouse in the structural steel industry,” said Tom Stillwell, product marketing manager for Hypertherm CAD/CAM software products. Now, with this latest release, customers using both ProNest and Tekla PowerFab will benefit from having the most accurate, real-time data at their fingertips. This integration connects ProNest directly to the Tekla PowerFab API for automated bi-directional communication.”