# Iterative Shrink-Fill Design ## Problem `StripNestEngine` currently picks a single "strip" drawing (the highest-area item), shrink-fills it into the tightest sub-region, then fills remnants with remaining drawings. This wastes potential density — every drawing benefits from shrink-filling into its tightest sub-region, not just the first one. Additionally, `AngleCandidateBuilder` does not include the rotating calipers minimum bounding rectangle angle, despite it being the mathematically optimal tight-fit rotation for rectangular work areas. ## Design ### 1. IterativeShrinkFiller New static class in `OpenNest.Engine/Fill/IterativeShrinkFiller.cs`. **Responsibility:** Given an ordered list of multi-quantity `NestItem` and a work area, iteratively shrink-fill each item into the tightest sub-region using `RemnantFiller` + `ShrinkFiller`, returning placed parts and leftovers. **Algorithm:** 1. Create a `RemnantFiller` with the work area and spacing. 2. For each multi-quantity item (sorted by priority ascending, then area descending), provide a fill function to `RemnantFiller` that internally: - Calls `ShrinkFiller.Shrink` with `ShrinkAxis.Height` (bottom strip direction). - Calls `ShrinkFiller.Shrink` with `ShrinkAxis.Width` (left strip direction). - Returns the parts from whichever direction produces a better `FillScore`. 3. Collect any unfilled quantities into a leftovers list. 4. Return placed parts, leftovers, and the `RemnantFinder` state for a subsequent pack pass. **Interface:** ```csharp public class IterativeShrinkResult { public List Parts { get; set; } public List Leftovers { get; set; } } public static class IterativeShrinkFiller { public static IterativeShrinkResult Fill( List items, Box workArea, Func> fillFunc, double spacing, CancellationToken token); } ``` The class composes `RemnantFiller` and `ShrinkFiller` — it does not duplicate their logic. ### 2. Rotating Calipers Angle in AngleCandidateBuilder Add the rotating calipers minimum bounding rectangle angle to the base angles in `AngleCandidateBuilder.Build`. **Current:** `baseAngles = [bestRotation, bestRotation + 90°]` **Proposed:** `baseAngles = [bestRotation, bestRotation + 90°, caliperAngle, caliperAngle + 90°]` (deduplicated) The caliper angle is pre-computed and cached on `NestItem.CaliperAngle` to avoid recomputing the pipeline (`Program.ToGeometry()` → `ShapeProfile` → `ToPolygonWithTolerance` → `RotatingCalipers.MinimumBoundingRectangle`) on every fill call. This feeds into every downstream path (pruned known-good list, sweep, ML prediction) since they all start from `baseAngles`. ### 3. CaliperAngle on NestItem Add a `double? CaliperAngle` property to `NestItem`. Pre-computed by the caller before passing items to the engine. When null, `AngleCandidateBuilder` skips the caliper angles (backward compatible). Computation pipeline: ```csharp var geometry = item.Drawing.Program.ToGeometry(); var shapeProfile = new ShapeProfile(geometry); var polygon = shapeProfile.Perimeter.ToPolygonWithTolerance(0.001, circumscribe: true); var result = RotatingCalipers.MinimumBoundingRectangle(polygon); item.CaliperAngle = result.Angle; ``` ### 4. Revised StripNestEngine.Nest The `Nest` override becomes a thin orchestrator: 1. Separate items into multi-quantity (qty != 1) and singles (qty == 1). 2. Pre-compute and cache `CaliperAngle` on each item's `NestItem`. 3. Sort multi-quantity items by `Priority` ascending, then `Drawing.Area` descending. 4. Call `IterativeShrinkFiller.Fill` with the sorted multi-quantity items. 5. Collect leftovers: unfilled multi-quantity remainders + all singles. 6. If leftovers exist and free space remains, run `PackArea` into the remaining area. 7. Deduct placed quantities from the original items. Return all parts. **Deleted code:** - `SelectStripItemIndex` method - `EstimateStripDimension` method - `TryOrientation` method - `ShrinkFill` method **Deleted files:** - `StripNestResult.cs` - `StripDirection.cs` ## Files Changed | File | Change | |------|--------| | `OpenNest.Engine/Fill/IterativeShrinkFiller.cs` | New — orchestrates RemnantFiller + ShrinkFiller with dual-direction selection | | `OpenNest.Engine/Fill/AngleCandidateBuilder.cs` | Add caliper angle + 90° to base angles from NestItem.CaliperAngle | | `OpenNest.Engine/NestItem.cs` | Add `double? CaliperAngle` property | | `OpenNest.Engine/StripNestEngine.cs` | Rewrite Nest to use IterativeShrinkFiller + pack leftovers | | `OpenNest.Engine/StripNestResult.cs` | Delete | | `OpenNest.Engine/StripDirection.cs` | Delete | ## Not In Scope - Trying multiple item orderings and picking the best overall `FillScore` — future follow-up once we confirm the iterative approach is fast enough. - Changes to `NestEngineBase`, `DefaultNestEngine`, `RemnantFiller`, `ShrinkFiller`, `RemnantFinder`, or UI code.