October 2026 - Nesting improvements

MasterShip 10.15 is all about the nesting. The part information now places itself on the nested parts, and a new report shows for every part how it was marked and when it was exported. On top of that, the F1 help works in every MasterShip command, and this release contains a long list of stability fixes.

Here below the most important changes are listed. The full list is in the release notes, in the Downloads section of this knowledge platform.

1. Part text that places itself

Until now, the part information was printed with a fixed size. On small or narrow parts it could run over the edge, over a hole or over a marking line. SHIPSETTEXTINPLATE now does the fitting for you:

• The size and position are chosen automatically, so the text fits inside the part and stays clear of holes, edges, marking lines and existing text. The text is turned when that gives a better fit.
• Parts that are nested mirrored are corrected automatically, so their text is readable.
• Small parts get only their part number, or a single marker letter. A legend of the marker letters is written to the Nesting folder. Parts where nothing fits are listed, so you can mark them by hand with SHIPFREEPARTTEXT.
• A new dialog sets which part data is printed, the format of the text and the minimum and maximum text height, with a preview.

Figure 1: Part information placed automatically by SHIPSETTEXTINPLATE

SHIPPARTS2DXF uses the same fitting and the same dialog. The DXF file now contains the marking that you see in the drawing, so what the engineer sees on screen is what the cutting machine receives. Mark first, then export.

The default part text is now: identification, section number and thickness. Both commands share the settings sPutPartIdFormat, dPartIdTextHeight and dPartIdTextHeightMin. The old DXF settings sDxfOutputFields and dDxfOutputSpacing are no longer used.

2. Parts nesting status in the reports

A new report in the Organiser, under Part Reports – Parts Nesting Status, shows one row per nested part: the plate, part ID, thickness, production unit, how the part was marked, its marker letter, the date of the last DXF export and the nesting drawing. Export it to Excel and use it as a checklist in the workshop.

Figure 2: The Parts Nesting Status report, exported to Excel

The column Marked tells you what to do with a part:

The report is kept up to date by SHIPSETTEXTINPLATE, SHIPPARTS2DXF, SHIPPLATES2DXF and SHIPFREEPARTTEXT.

3. Help in every command

Press F1 during any MasterShip command and the help page of that command opens. This also works in dialogs and on the ribbon buttons. Every command line prompt with options now also offers the option Help.

The help itself has grown: 77 help pages are new and 131 have been updated.

At the start of each command, a short tip about F1 is shown. Set bShowF1Tip=0 in the [GENERAL SETTINGS] section of the settings to switch it off.

4. Smaller improvements and fixes

• Stability: at start-up of MasterShip and Organiser, and when closing AutoCAD 2025 or 2026.
• A more stable database connection, for example when making a saw list. The Organiser message “Unable to read main database version information” had a hidden cause, which is fixed.
• SHIPMARKADJACENT places the marking text better along the plate edges, and sets ‘Marking other side’ automatically when most of the marking lines of a part are on the other side.
• When you set the base point of a stiffener cross-section, MasterShip asks whether to use the center of gravity.
• SHIPEDITCUSTOMITEM no longer accepts MasterShip parts as custom items.
• The thickness direction of parts that are copied or mirrored over the center line is now correct.

Upgrading

Download the installer that matches your AutoCAD version from the Downloads section and run it over the existing installation. MasterShip 10.15 is available for AutoCAD 2019 and 2020 (R23), AutoCAD 2021 up to and including 2024 (R24), and AutoCAD 2025 and 2026 (R25).

📢 A point of attention: this release adds columns to the project database. The first time you mark or export a nesting in a project (or create parts), MasterShip asks “Project Database needs updating. Update now?”. Choose Yes. Older MasterShip versions can still open an updated project, but they do not record the marking status. We recommend updating all workstations that work on the same project at the same time.

The full release notes are in the Downloads section.

Questions or feedback? Send it to support@mastership.nl. It is much appreciated!

Next up: support for AutoCAD 2027.