Works with
Nesting software that works with LightBurn
LightBurn imports DXF. Lapas exports DXF. Nest the sheet first, bring one file into LightBurn, assign your cut layers, and send it to the laser.
Read this first
Lapas does not integrate with LightBurn. There is no plugin, no add-in and nothing to install.
You do not need one. LightBurn imports DXF among several vector formats, and a nested sheet is just a DXF with the parts already in the right places. Nothing is installed on either side and neither program needs to know the other exists.
How the handoff actually works
Who does what, in order. Nothing here requires either system to know the other exists.
- 1 You Get your parts out as DXF
From whatever you draw in: a CAD flat pattern, a customer file, or artwork you have already prepared. Lapas takes DXF, DWG, SVG, vector PDF and Illustrator files, and LightBurn .lbrn2 projects too, so any of them is fine going in.
- 2 You Upload the parts to Lapas
Set quantity per part, your sheet size, and part spacing. On a laser the spacing that matters is the gap you want between finished edges, so allow for your beam width rather than assuming zero.
- 3 Lapas Nest the sheet
True-shape nesting places the actual outlines rather than bounding boxes, so parts interlock instead of each sitting in its own rectangle. You watch it place parts live.
- 4 Lapas Export the nested DXF
One DXF containing the whole sheet with every part positioned. The PDF report alongside it gives you sheet count and utilization for quoting. Both are on the free plan.
- 5 LightBurn Import the DXF into LightBurn
LightBurn imports .dxf, along with .ai, .svg, .pdf and .plt/.hpgl. The nested sheet arrives as one job with the parts already arranged.
- 6 LightBurn Assign cut layers and run it
Layer colours, cut settings, power and speed, ordering and framing all stay in LightBurn. It is the tool that talks to your laser, and nothing about this workflow changes that.
LightBurn behaviour checked against LightBurn's file management documentation in July 2026. Lapas behaviour per the pricing page.
LightBurn is a trademark of its respective owner. Lapas is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or certified as compatible by them.
What stays manual
- Exporting from Lapas and importing into LightBurn. There is no sync and no watched folder.
- Assigning cut layers, power and speed. Lapas has no idea what material you are on.
- Positioning the sheet on the bed and framing the job.
- Your LightBurn material library, which Lapas cannot read or write.
- Checking scale after import. Confirm one known dimension before you cut a full sheet.
When Lapas is the wrong tool here
- You cut one or two parts at a time. At that size, arranging them in LightBurn directly is faster than a round trip.
- The job is raster engraving rather than cutting. Nesting arranges cut outlines and does nothing for an engrave.
- You need to work offline. Lapas runs in the browser and needs a connection; LightBurn does not.
- You want machine output from Lapas. Its G-code export is beta and unvalidated across controllers, and LightBurn already generates laser output properly. Take the DXF.
LightBurn nests too, so what is different here
LightBurn 2.1 added a nesting feature of its own, Quick Nest, and if it fits your parts you do not need a second tool. What it does is documented by LightBurn themselves: Quick Nest places parts by their bounding rectangles, described by a LightBurn developer on the LightBurn forum as approximating shapes as rectangles and as deliberately quick and dirty (checked September 2026). MillMage Pro 0.9, from the same forum, added a True Nest feature in September 2026.
Lapas nests true-shape: it places the actual outline of each part, so a concave part can take another part inside its cut-out instead of every part occupying its own rectangle. Whether that changes anything depends entirely on your parts. On rectangular blanks the two approaches land in much the same place. On irregular outlines, L shapes, brackets and anything with a large concave area, bounding-rectangle placement leaves the space inside the shape unused, and that is where the plate count moves.
The practical answer: nest in LightBurn when the parts are simple and already in the file, and take the round trip through a true-shape nester when the sheet is expensive and the outlines are not rectangles. Either way, LightBurn stays the tool that drives the laser. Measured nesting results for the Lapas engine are in the published benchmark.
Common questions
No, and there is nothing to install. LightBurn imports DXF and Lapas exports DXF, so the handoff is one file. That is the entire integration story and we would rather say so than dress it up.
No, do not do that. G-code export exists in Lapas in beta for simple 2-axis work, but it has not been validated across controllers or machines and it is not tested against any specific laser. LightBurn is the tool that should be generating your laser output. Import the nested DXF and let LightBurn do its job.
For vector and mixed content: .ai, .svg, .dxf, .pdf and .plt/.hpgl, per LightBurn's own documentation. It also imports raster images. The one that matters here is DXF: Lapas exports DXF, SVG, G-code (beta) and a PDF report (format list per PRODUCT-FACTS, 28 Aug 2026), and DXF is the production path into LightBurn because it carries the layer names your cut settings key on.
They should, but check it. Scale problems on a DXF round trip almost always come from units set differently in the program that produced the original part file. Measure one known dimension in LightBurn before you commit a sheet of material.
No. DXF import, DXF export and the PDF report are all on the free plan, which gives you unlimited nesting and re-nesting with no cap on parts per job, and 5 project exports a month in any format. Pro at $49 a month removes the export cap and adds full project history.
Other stacks: all CAD and CAM workflows. Measured nesting results: the benchmark.
Don't take our word for it.
Upload one of your own DXF files and see the layout yourself. It's free and takes about two minutes.
On a phone? Book a 20-minute call and we nest your file with you on a screen share.
No credit card · No install · Your files stay yours
Free · 20 minutes · No commitment