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Cutting Optimizer for Bars and Sheets

Enter the pieces you need to cut (length and quantity, or width, height and quantity) and the size of the bars or sheets you buy. The tool lays the pieces out, allows for the saw kerf and the end trim, and shows how many bars or sheets to buy and how much is left over.

Pieces to cut

To buy
5
Used
82 %
Waste
18 %
Lowest possible
5
No plan can use fewer.

Cutting plan

  1. 2 × A 240 + A 240 + C 90 — Offcut: 29.4 cm

    24024090

  2. 1 × A 240 + B 180 + C 90 — Offcut: 89.4 cm

    24018090

  3. 1 × B 180 + B 180 + B 180 — Offcut: 59.4 cm

    180180180

  4. 1 × C 90 + C 90 + C 90 — Offcut: 329.4 cm

    909090

A heuristic: a good, valid plan, not a proof of the optimum. Check it against your saw and your material before cutting.

Results are provided for information. Check tax rates and legal requirements that apply to you.

How to use it

  1. Choose bars (one dimension) or sheets (two dimensions).
  2. Enter the stock length or size, the saw kerf and the trim.
  3. List the pieces: length (or width and height) and quantity.
  4. Read the number to buy, the waste and the cutting plan, bar by bar or sheet by sheet.

Examples

6 m bars, 3 mm kerf: 5 pieces of 2.40 m, 4 of 1.80 m, 6 of 0.90 m

5 bars to buy (no plan can do with fewer than 5), 82 % of the bought length used.

Frequently asked questions

Is the plan the best possible?

It is a good, valid plan found by proven heuristics, not a proof of the optimum. The tool also shows the lowest number of bars or sheets any plan could reach, so you can see how close it is.

How are the kerf and the trim handled?

The kerf is lost between two neighbouring pieces and the trim is cut off at each end of a bar or around a sheet; both are taken from the usable length.

Can pieces be turned in a sheet?

Yes, unless you tell the tool the material has a grain or a pattern that must keep its direction.

Guides to go further

BUILNORA

Stirrup and Bent Rebar Length

Cut length and weight of stirrups, L bars, U bars and straight bars, with hooks, waste and 12 m bars to buy.

BUILNORA

Aluminium Joinery Quantities

Doors (WC, stainless, steel, fire), windows, french windows, shutters and curtains, extruded profiles and cladding in aluminium, from your dimensions.

BUILNORA

Wood Joinery Quantities

Wooden doors, windows and boards (decking, cladding): timber volume and lengths, board sheets and glass, from your dimensions.