CAD / CAM / Nesting integration

Odoo and SigmaNEST Integration

Nesting decides your real material yield. If that number never reaches the ERP, your job costing is an estimate pretending to be a fact.

Written by the Kalk Solutions Odoo team · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Quick answer

There is no official connector between SigmaNEST and Odoo. Integration is built around SigmaNEST's reporting and data-exchange capabilities on one side and Odoo's External API on the other, typically exchanging nest results, sheet consumption and cut times so material usage and machine time land against the right work order. Confirm which exchange options your SigmaNEST licence and version include before scoping.

Native connector?: No. Scope depends on your SigmaNEST version and licensed modules.
Highest value data: Actual sheet consumption and remnant, not just part counts.
Usual direction: Demand out of Odoo, nest results back in.

Can Odoo integrate with SigmaNEST?

Technically yes, but the honest answer has a condition attached. SigmaNEST is a licensed product whose data-exchange options vary by version and by the modules a customer holds, so the first task is not architecture, it is confirming with your SigmaNEST reseller exactly what your installation can export and accept.

Once that is known, the pattern is conventional. Odoo publishes demand, parts required against sales or manufacturing orders. SigmaNEST does what it is good at, producing an optimised nest. The results, sheets consumed, remnant created, cut time per part, come back into Odoo against the originating work order.

The value is in the numbers that are otherwise lost. Most fabricators quote on a theoretical yield and never compare it to the actual yield the nesting software calculated. Closing that loop is usually worth more than the integration costs, because it changes how the next quote is priced.

How the integration can work

01
Confirm the exchange surface
Establish with your SigmaNEST reseller which import and export mechanisms your version and licence support. Everything else depends on this answer.
02
Define the demand handoff
Which Odoo document triggers a nest request, what part identifier travels with it, and how material grade and thickness are expressed on both sides.
03
Match the part identity
One stable part number shared by both systems. Where the CAD file name and the ERP product code differ, that mapping table becomes permanent infrastructure.
04
Return the nest result
Sheets consumed, remnant produced, cut time and scrap percentage written back against the work order so costing reflects reality.
05
Reconcile against stock
Sheet stock in Odoo is decremented from actual nest consumption rather than a theoretical per-part figure.

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What data may be synchronised

Scope is a decision, not a default. Everything below is possible; almost no project should do all of it in phase one.

Data	Direction	Notes
Part demand and quantities	Odoo to SigmaNEST	Driven by manufacturing or sales orders.
Material grade and thickness	Odoo to SigmaNEST	Requires an agreed material naming convention on both sides.
Nest results and sheet usage	SigmaNEST to Odoo	The core value. Actual consumption instead of estimated.
Remnant and offcut	SigmaNEST to Odoo	Only worth syncing if remnant is genuinely managed as stock.
Cut time per part	SigmaNEST to Odoo	Feeds machine time costing and future routing standards.
Scrap percentage	SigmaNEST to Odoo	Turns quoted yield into measured yield.

One-way or two-way?

One-way

Results only: nest data flows into Odoo, programmers keep working as they do
Fastest route to accurate job costing
No change to the programming workflow, so adoption is easy
A sensible first phase for almost every fabricator

Two-way

Odoo drives the nest queue and priority as well as receiving results
Requires disciplined part numbering across CAD, nesting and ERP
Higher payoff where nesting is a scheduling bottleneck
Only attempt once the results path is stable in production

Our view: Start with results flowing back into Odoo. That alone fixes costing. Add demand-driven nesting later, once part identity is genuinely consistent across all three systems.

Architecture and data flow

The shape is consistent across every serious integration: a source of truth, a layer that maps and protects, and a target that consumes.

Source

Odoo

Sales orders
Manufacturing orders
Material stock
Job costing

Between

Exchange layer

Part number mapping
Material naming rules
Scheduled or event trigger
Error queue

Target

SigmaNEST

Nest optimisation
Sheet consumption
Remnant tracking
Cut time per part

Kalk reference architecture for an Odoo and SigmaNEST integration.

Key implementation considerations

Licence and version first

Do not scope this integration before your SigmaNEST reseller has confirmed in writing what your installation can exchange.

Part numbering discipline

If the CAD file name, the drawing number and the ERP product code disagree, the integration will inherit that disagreement. Fix it first.

Material master alignment

Grade, thickness and sheet size need one naming convention. Two conventions guarantee mismatched consumption postings.

Remnant policy

Decide whether remnant is tracked as stock before syncing it. Untracked remnant data creates noise, not insight.

Programmer workflow

The programming team must not lose time to the integration. If it slows them down, they will bypass it.

Limitations and things to verify

No official Odoo or SigmaNEST connector. Capabilities differ by SigmaNEST version and licensed modules, so verify with the vendor before committing.
Odoo's standard manufacturing model does not represent nesting natively. Sheet-level consumption typically needs configuration or a small custom layer.
Real yield only improves costing if someone acts on it. The integration surfaces the number, it does not change quoting behaviour by itself.
Machine-level scheduling remains a separate problem. Nesting integration is not MES.

Who this is suitable for

A good fit

Sheet metal fabricators running laser, plasma or waterjet where material is the dominant cost
Job shops quoting on estimated yield and unable to compare it to actual yield
Fabricators managing remnant seriously and wanting it visible in stock
Operations already live on Odoo manufacturing and now closing the costing loop

Probably not worth it

Shops with low material cost relative to labour, where the yield gain is marginal
Companies that have not yet standardised part numbering across CAD and ERP
Operations still deciding on their ERP. Integrate after the core rollout is stable.

Primary sources

Vendor capabilities change by version and licence. Verify against current documentation before making a commercial decision.

Frequently asked

Odoo and SigmaNEST: common questions

Can SigmaNEST integrate with Odoo?

There is no official connector, but an integration can be built where your SigmaNEST version and licence support data exchange, paired with Odoo's External API. Confirm the available exchange options with your SigmaNEST reseller before scoping the work.

What is the biggest benefit of connecting nesting software to ERP?

Accurate material costing. Actual sheet consumption and scrap from the nest replace theoretical per-part estimates, so quoted margin and achieved margin can finally be compared.

Does this apply to ProNest or Lantek as well?

The pattern is the same, but the exchange mechanisms differ by vendor and version. Each needs its own verification against the vendor's own documentation.

Do we need this before or after our Odoo rollout?

After. Stabilise manufacturing, inventory and costing in Odoo first. A nesting integration on top of an unstable configuration multiplies the problems rather than solving them.