U-Nesting

A high-performance 2D/3D spatial optimization engine for nesting and bin packing problems.

Features

• 2D Nesting: Optimal placement of irregular polygons on sheets
• 3D Bin Packing: Efficient box placement in containers
• Multiple Algorithms: BLF, NFP-guided, Genetic Algorithm, BRKGA, Simulated Annealing
• High Performance: Written in Rust with Python bindings
• Type Hints: Full type annotation support

Installation

pip install u-nesting

Quick Start

2D Nesting

import u_nesting

# Define polygons to nest
geometries = [
    {
        "id": "part1",
        "polygon": [[0, 0], [100, 0], [100, 50], [0, 50]],
        "quantity": 5,
        "rotations": [0, 90, 180, 270]
    },
    {
        "id": "triangle",
        "polygon": [[0, 0], [80, 0], [40, 60]],
        "quantity": 3
    }
]

# Define sheet boundary
boundary = {"width": 500, "height": 300}

# Configure solver
config = {
    "strategy": "nfp",      # Options: blf, nfp, ga, brkga, sa, gdrr, alns
    "spacing": 2.0,         # Gap between parts
    "time_limit_ms": 30000  # 30 second timeout
}

# Solve
result = u_nesting.solve_2d(geometries, boundary, config)

print(f"Utilization: {result['utilization']:.1%}")
print(f"Placed: {len(result['placements'])} items")
for p in result['placements']:
    print(f"  {p['geometry_id']}[{p['instance']}]: ({p['position'][0]:.1f}, {p['position'][1]:.1f})")

3D Bin Packing

import u_nesting

# Define boxes to pack
geometries = [
    {
        "id": "small",
        "dimensions": [20, 20, 20],
        "quantity": 10
    },
    {
        "id": "large",
        "dimensions": [40, 30, 25],
        "quantity": 5,
        "mass": 2.5  # Optional weight
    }
]

# Define container
boundary = {
    "dimensions": [200, 150, 100],
    "max_mass": 50.0,    # Optional mass limit
    "gravity": True,     # Stack from bottom
    "stability": True    # Require stable placement
}

# Configure solver
config = {
    "strategy": "ep",       # Extreme Point heuristic
    "time_limit_ms": 10000
}

# Solve
result = u_nesting.solve_3d(geometries, boundary, config)

print(f"Utilization: {result['utilization']:.1%}")
print(f"Containers used: {result['boundaries_used']}")

API Reference

solve_2d(geometries, boundary, config=None) -> dict

Solve a 2D nesting problem.

Parameters:

Nothing a request asks for is raised as an exception: every refusal comes back in the result dict, with success False, a stable code and the values behind it in details -- the same codes and paths the C and WebAssembly bindings give. Branch on code, not on the error text.

• Keys are read strictly: an unrecognized key in geometries, boundary or config, or a value of the wrong type -- a count given as a fraction (2.5) included -- is malformed_input with details parameter the path of the field (config.stratgy, geometries[0].quantity). A typo can never silently fall back to a default.
• A number that is not finite (float("nan"), math.inf) is value_not_finite: parameter is the path of the value (config.spacing), or of the list it is in with its position as index (geometries[0].polygon[2], index 1 for the y coordinate), and id names the geometry. A value JSON cannot hold (a set, a non-string key) is malformed_input.
• A value outside its range (a negative one included) is parameter_out_of_range: a geometry's quantity below 1 has parameter geometries[i].quantity and the geometry's id; a config setting (population_size below 2, seed below 0, ...) has parameter config.population_size; a boundary side, dimension or max_mass of 0 or below names it (boundary.width, boundary.dimensions[i], boundary.max_mass, with exclusive_min 0).
• An empty geometries list is empty_input (parameter geometries); a strategy the dimension does not offer is invalid_option (parameter config.strategy); a boundary given as both a rectangle and a polygon, or half of a rectangle, is invalid_boundary.

• geometries: List of geometry definitions
  • id (str): Unique identifier
  • polygon (list): Vertices as [[x, y], ...]
  • quantity (int): Number of copies (default: 1)
  • rotations (list): Allowed rotation angles in degrees — at least one; omit it for a fixed orientation (an empty list is refused)
  • allow_flip (bool): Allow horizontal flip
  • holes (list): Interior holes as list of polygons
• boundary: Sheet definition
  • width, height (float): Rectangle dimensions, OR
  • polygon (list): Custom boundary shape
• config: Solver configuration (optional)
  • strategy (str): "blf", "nfp", "ga", "brkga", "sa", "gdrr", "alns"
  • spacing (float): Gap between geometries
  • margin (float): Gap from boundary
  • time_limit_ms (int): Timeout in milliseconds, at least 0 (0 = no limit; default 30000)
  • target_utilization (float): ga, brkga, sa stop once every part is placed at this utilization or more, in [0, 1]
  • population_size (int): GA/BRKGA population, at least 2, run as given. Omitted, each search uses the size it is tuned for: 30 in 2D
  • max_generations (int): GA/BRKGA generation budget, at least 0, run as given. Omitted, 50 in 2D
  • max_iterations (int): SA/GDRR/ALNS iteration budget, at least 1; a seeded run that ends on it rather than on the time limit is reproduced exactly
  • A setting only some strategies read (target_utilization, population_size, max_generations, max_iterations, crossover_rate, mutation_rate, seed) is refused as invalid_option under a strategy that does not read it, not ignored
  • crossover_rate / mutation_rate (float): GA crossover and mutation probabilities, in [0, 1] (default 0.85 / 0.05)
  • seed (int): RNG seed of ga, brkga, sa, gdrr, alns and hybridexact. The same problem with the same seed returns the same layout when the run ends on its own budget rather than on the clock (with time_limit_ms 0 a search runs to its own budget, max_generations / max_iterations)
  • multi_sheet (bool): Distribute overflow across multiple sheets (default: False). When True, parts that do not fit on one sheet spill onto extra sheets instead of becoming unplaced; boundaries_used reports the sheet count and each placement's boundary_index selects its sheet with sheet-local coordinates.

Returns: Dictionary with:

• success (bool): Whether solve succeeded
• placements (list): Placement results (instance-level)
• utilization (float): Area utilization ratio
• boundaries_used (int): Number of sheets used (>1 only when multi_sheet=True)
• total_requested (int): Σ of every geometry's quantity (instance-level total). Unplaced instance count = total_requested - len(placements)
• unplaced (list): Deduplicated IDs of items that couldn't be placed (not per-instance, so len(unplaced) under-reports the failed-instance count)
• unplaced_count (int): Instance-level count of unplaced instances
• all_placed (bool): Whether every requested instance was placed -- prefer it to success, which only says the solve was not refused
• used_bounding_box (list): [width, height] of the placed parts' footprint (2D; [0, 0] for 3D)
• used_utilization (float): Part area over used_bounding_box (2D; 0 for 3D)
• stop_reason (str): Why the run stopped — completed (the method ran to its own end), optimal (an exact method proved it), target_reached (every part placed at target_utilization or more), iteration_limit, no_improvement (the search stalled), time_limit (time_limit_ms ran out; the layout is the best found by then) or cancelled. None on a refusal
• computation_time_ms (int): Solve time
• error (str | None): Readable text when the request was refused
• code (str | None): Stable reason for that refusal (invalid_geometry, duplicate_id, parameter_out_of_range, ...)
• details (dict | None): The values behind code (id, first, index, parameter, got, ...). A range gives each bounded side as min / max when the bound itself is accepted, or exclusive_min / exclusive_max when it is not

solve_3d(geometries, boundary, config=None) -> dict

Solve a 3D bin packing problem.

Parameters:

• geometries: List of box definitions
  • id (str): Unique identifier
  • dimensions (list): [width, depth, height]
  • quantity (int): Number of copies
  • mass (float): Weight, at least 0 (optional)
  • orientation (str): "any", "upright" or "fixed" (optional)
• boundary: Container definition
  • dimensions (list): [width, depth, height], each above 0
  • max_mass (float): Weight limit, above 0 (optional)
  • gravity (bool): Enable gravity constraint
  • stability (bool): Enable stability constraint
• config: Same as solve_2d but multi_sheet, which is refused (invalid_option, config.multi_sheet: one container, no sheets), and:
  • strategy: "blf", "ep", "ga", "brkga", "sa"
  • population_size / max_generations omitted: 100 / 500 for ga, 50 / 100 for brkga

Returns: Same structure as solve_2d

available_strategies() -> dict

The strategies each dimension offers and the settings each reads: {"2d": [{"name": "blf", "reads": ["spacing", ...]}, ...], "3d": [...]}. A setting the chosen strategy does not read is refused (invalid_option), not ignored; this is the table that refusal is made from, so a caller can offer only the settings that change the run:

import u_nesting

catalog = u_nesting.available_strategies()
reads = {s["name"]: set(s["reads"]) for s in catalog["2d"]}
assert "target_utilization" in reads["ga"]
assert "target_utilization" not in reads["nfp"]

Strategy Selection Guide

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• No additional dependencies

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Links

• GitHub Repository
• Issue Tracker
• Documentation