Nest 1D: Optimum Steel Usage

Anyone involved in projects utilizing steel, whether Rebar or Structural Steel sections, experienced a significant shock in 2021 as prices soared month to month. This price surge created a contractual nightmare for Project Managers (I was one of them).

The SEIFSA PIPS did little to mitigate these escalations. It was a harsh lesson, emphasizing the necessity of optimal steel material usage. We could no longer afford a “we’ll look at that if we have time” approach. Although prices have since stabilized, we must remember the lessons learned. Optimal steel use is crucial not only for budgetary reasons but also for minimizing our carbon footprint, which has far-reaching consequences.

Optimizing steel usage is not a straightforward task; it needs to be integrated before the design phase begins. Initially, you need to verify the stock lengths of different sections, their local availability, and the required quantities. The cost and environmental benefits can be quickly lost if long-distance transport is necessary.

Moreover, designing to optimize stock lengths can be challenging, as it may require a larger structure to minimize offcuts. This approach might be manageable for small projects, but what do you do when dealing with thousands of individual members? (I have worked on projects with over 8,000 steel members).

This is where Nest 1D comes in. Nest 1D is a powerful tool designed to address these challenges effectively. It allows you to check thousands of beams, fit them into their stock lengths, and utilize leftover offcuts from previous projects efficiently.

This software solution provides an optimization report that highlights profile utilization and identifies areas of the design that require attention. Despite its association with Inventor, Nest 1D operates as a standalone program, enabling seamless importation of data from Excel spreadsheets.

To streamline your workflow, Nest 1D allows you to export a Bill of Materials (BOM) or schedule from Revit directly to Excel. The interface is intuitive, allowing you to specify parameters effortlessly, such as stock lengths for various sections.

With a few clicks, Nest 1D calculates the optimal use of these sections, generating a detailed report that specifies the lengths to be cut from each stock length and the total number of stock lengths required. The software even accommodates factors like cutting blade thickness and allows for input of different stock lengths for the same profile, ensuring the most efficient material usage possible.

For large-scale projects, Nest 1D can be a game-changer, potentially saving hundreds of hours in manual calculations and thousands of rands by minimizing material waste. Its versatility extends beyond steel to any element where usage optimization is measured in length, making it an invaluable tool for various industries.

Explore our comprehensive series of blogs and vlogs to revolutionize your optimization workflow. We cover everything from creating schedules in Revit to exporting data into Nest 1D, setting up projects, adding stock lengths, running calculations, and exporting detailed usage reports. Don’t miss out on optimizing your project efficiency with Nest 1D.

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