The default mode for many shops. The software starts at the home position, cuts the nearest part, then repeatedly moves to the next nearest un-cut part. Strategy: It feels intuitive—no wasted long traverses. Pitfall: It can lead to "thermal trapping," where the torch cuts a small part, jumps far away, then returns, causing uneven heat distribution in thin materials.
ProNest treats path planning as a multi-objective optimization problem: minimize travel time, minimize pierces, minimize thermal distortion, and maximize material yield. pronest path planning