U-Nesting

2D/3D Spatial Optimization Engine - High-performance nesting and bin packing algorithms in Rust with C FFI support

Overview

U-Nesting provides domain-agnostic spatial optimization algorithms for 2D nesting and 3D bin packing problems:

• 2D Nesting - Optimal polygon placement on bounded surfaces
• 3D Bin Packing - Optimal volume arrangement in containers
• Genetic Algorithm - Metaheuristic optimization for complex layouts
• NFP/NFR Computation - Precise collision-free placement

Design Philosophy

U-Nesting is a pure computation engine with no domain-specific logic. Industry context (manufacturing, textile, logistics, etc.) is determined by consuming applications.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Consuming Applications          │
│  (Manufacturing, Textile, Logistics)    │
└─────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                  │ Domain Context
                  ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            U-Nesting Engine             │
│   Pure Geometry + Optimization Math     │
│      (Domain Agnostic)                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Features

• 🚀 High Performance - Written in Rust with parallel computation via Rayon
• 🎯 Domain Agnostic - Abstract models adaptable to any spatial optimization
• 📐 2D Support - Polygon nesting with NFP, holes, and curves
• 📦 3D Support - Box and mesh packing with physical constraints
• 🔌 C FFI Support - Use from C#, Python, or any language with C bindings
• 📦 Zero Domain Dependencies - Pure mathematical optimization

Demo

Sample Dataset

A test dataset with 9 different polygon shapes and 50 total pieces on a 500×500 boundary:

Algorithm Comparison

Optimization results using different algorithms on the same dataset:

Installation

From crates.io

[dependencies]
u-nesting = "0.1"                              # 2D only (default)
u-nesting = { version = "0.1", features = ["3d"] }  # 2D + 3D

From GitHub

[dependencies]
u-nesting = { git = "https://github.com/iyulab/U-Nesting" }

Quick Start

2D Nesting

use u_nesting::d2::{Geometry2D, Boundary2D, Nester2D, Config2D};

// Define geometries to place
let geometries = vec![
    Geometry2D::new("G1")
        .with_polygon(polygon![(0,0), (100,0), (100,50), (0,50)])
        .with_quantity(5)
        .with_rotations(vec![0.0, 90.0, 180.0, 270.0]),
];

// Define boundary
let boundary = Boundary2D::rectangle(1000.0, 500.0);

// Configure and run
let config = Config2D::default()
    .with_spacing(3.0)
    .with_margin(10.0);

let result = Nester2D::new(config).solve(&geometries, &boundary);
println!("Utilization: {:.1}%", result.utilization * 100.0);

3D Bin Packing

use u_nesting::d3::{Geometry3D, Boundary3D, Packer3D, Config3D};

// Define geometries to place
let geometries = vec![
    Geometry3D::box_shape("G1", 30.0, 20.0, 15.0)
        .with_quantity(10)
        .with_mass(2.5),
];

// Define boundary
let boundary = Boundary3D::box_shape(120.0, 80.0, 100.0)
    .with_max_mass(500.0);

// Configure and run
let config = Config3D::default()
    .with_gravity(true)
    .with_stability(true);

let result = Packer3D::new(config).solve(&geometries, &boundary);
println!("Utilization: {:.1}%", result.utilization * 100.0);

Core Concepts

Module Structure

u-nesting/
├── core/           # Shared abstractions
│   ├── traits.rs   # Geometry, Boundary, Solver
│   ├── ga.rs       # Genetic algorithm framework
│   ├── config.rs   # Common configuration
│   └── result.rs   # Unified result types
│
├── d2/             # 2D Module
│   ├── geometry.rs # Polygon, Point, Segment
│   ├── boundary.rs # 2D boundary definitions
│   ├── nfp.rs      # No Fit Polygon
│   ├── nester.rs   # Placement algorithms
│   └── io.rs       # Import/Export
│
├── d3/             # 3D Module
│   ├── geometry.rs # Box, Mesh, AABB
│   ├── boundary.rs # 3D boundary definitions
│   ├── nfr.rs      # No Fit Region
│   ├── packer.rs   # Placement algorithms
│   ├── physics.rs  # Gravity, stability
│   └── io.rs       # Import/Export
│
└── ffi/            # C FFI interface

Algorithms

2D Algorithms

3D Algorithms

Configuration

2D Configuration

let config = Config2D {
    // Spacing
    spacing: 3.0,            // Gap between geometries
    margin: 10.0,            // Boundary edge offset
    
    // Rotation
    rotation_steps: 4,       // Number of rotation angles
    allow_flip: false,       // Allow mirroring
    
    // Optimization
    strategy: Strategy::GA,
    time_limit_ms: 30000,
    target_utilization: 0.90,
};

3D Configuration

let config = Config3D {
    // Spacing
    spacing: 0.0,            // Gap between geometries
    margin: 5.0,             // Boundary wall offset
    
    // Physics
    gravity: true,
    stability: true,
    max_mass: None,
    
    // Orientation
    orientations: OrientationSet::AXIS_ALIGNED,
    
    // Optimization
    strategy: Strategy::ExtremePoint,
    time_limit_ms: 30000,
};

FFI Interface

JSON Request (2D)

{
  "mode": "2d",
  "geometries": [
    {
      "id": "G1",
      "polygon": [[0,0], [100,0], [100,50], [0,50]],
      "quantity": 5,
      "rotations": [0, 90, 180, 270]
    }
  ],
  "boundary": { "width": 1000, "height": 500 },
  "config": { "spacing": 3.0, "strategy": "ga" }
}

JSON Request (3D)

{
  "mode": "3d",
  "geometries": [
    {
      "id": "G1",
      "dimensions": [30, 20, 15],
      "quantity": 10,
      "mass": 2.5
    }
  ],
  "boundary": { "dimensions": [120, 80, 100], "max_mass": 500 },
  "config": { "gravity": true, "stability": true }
}

C Interface

extern int unesting_solve(const char* request_json, char** result_ptr);
extern void unesting_free_string(char* ptr);

// C# example
[LibraryImport("u_nesting")]
public static partial int unesting_solve(string request, out IntPtr result);

Result Structure

SolveResult {
    placements: Vec<Placement>,   // Position + orientation for each geometry
    boundaries_used: usize,       // Number of boundaries needed
    utilization: f64,             // Area/volume efficiency (0.0 - 1.0)
    unplaced: Vec<String>,        // IDs of geometries that couldn't fit
    computation_time_ms: u64,
}

Performance

2D Benchmarks (GA, 500 generations)

3D Benchmarks (Extreme Point)

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              U-Nesting Engine                │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Core: Traits, GA Framework, Config          │
├─────────────────────┬────────────────────────┤
│     2D Module       │       3D Module        │
├─────────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│  Polygon, NFP       │  Box, Mesh, NFR        │
│  BLF, GA Nester     │  EP, LAFF, GA Packer   │
└─────────────────────┴────────────────────────┘
          ▲                    ▲
          │                    │
┌─────────┴────────────────────┴───────────────┐
│           Consuming Applications             │
│  ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐        │
│  │  Sheet  │ │  Mold   │ │Container│  ...   │
│  │  Metal  │ │  Design │ │ Loading │        │
│  └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

License

Licensed under either of:

• MIT license (LICENSE-MIT)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Related Projects

• U-RAS - Resource allocation and scheduling algorithms
• U-APS - Manufacturing scheduling system

One-liner:

Domain-agnostic 2D/3D spatial optimization engine in Rust.