Manufacturing still bleeds raw materials. Fabric, sheet metal, glass, leather — across industries, 15–30% of material ends up as scrap. Not because the math is hard, but because the tools are fragmented, expensive, and locked behind legacy software stacks.
The Problem
Traditional nesting software is either:
- Expensive enterprise tools that cost tens of thousands per seat
- Basic utilities that can't handle irregular shapes or multi-material constraints
- Closed-source platforms that lock your data and workflows
Meanwhile, manufacturers run spreadsheets alongside CAD tools alongside ERP systems, with manual handoffs at every step.
What ReduceWaste.AI Does
ReduceWaste.AI is a unified, open-source platform that combines CAD editing, intelligent nesting, and ERP integration in a single system. It's powered by a custom Rust nesting engine and genetic algorithms for optimal part placement.
Key capabilities:
- Rust nesting engine — High-performance nester engineered for ERP integration and online quoting
- Genetic algorithm optimization — Evolutionary approach to find near-optimal layouts
- Photo-to-CAD conversion — Vision pipeline that converts material photos into nesting-ready shapes
- Shared-edge cutting — Reduces total cut path length, saving time and blade wear
- 19 language support — Fully localized for global manufacturing teams
Why Open Source
We believe nesting optimization shouldn't be a luxury. ReduceWaste.AI is MIT-licensed because:
- Manufacturing efficiency benefits everyone — less waste means lower costs and better sustainability
- Community validation — open code means transparent algorithms
- Faster adoption — teams can evaluate without procurement cycles
What's Next
ReduceWaste.AI is currently in development. We're building the Rust nesting core, vision-to-CAD pipeline, and ERP integration layer. If you're cutting materials and losing more than 10% to waste, get in touch — we'd love to hear about your workflow.