Cutting Lists

[James1979]

Hi All

Does anyone use an app or spreadsheet to generate cutting lists to minimise waste?

I use deepnest.io for nesting shapes on flat sheet, but I want to work out how to cut pieces out of lengths of angle the most economical way.

ie. I have 9 @ 1200mm, 4 @ 1300mm, 1 @ 2050mm, 12 @ 1700mm and so forth. One supplier can do 5m lengths and one can do 4m lengths.

I want to know how to avoid excessive waste but obviously working it out long hand is a pain in the ****, even more so when you're getting quotes for material in different sizes!

Anyone do anything similar and have a setup for doing so?

 

[mtt.tr]

Yes I have some for timber frames whole builds with less than 10% waste little more involved as it designs for wall length and height minus windows plus corners and noggins excluding stud total width. Blah blah


I would would just use linear length divided into typical lengths some other maths to allow kerf wastage plus optimisation of lengths and what not

 

[Barlidge]

I used this one, its simple but does the job, can also print a cut list and a visual representation, there is several others on the web though.

Linear cutting list calculator - optimiser - free

www.kurraglenindustries.com.au

 

[Maker]

Look up "Bin packing problem", there's lots of algorithms to solve (Or quickly approximate) the best solution.

I remember learning about it in GCSE maths (D1 module), don't remember any more than the name though.

 

[hotponyshoes]

You can use deepnest etc. for lengths as well as sheets.
Just set the sheet size to the available length plus any old number ie. 5000x10
Then add your cuts as 1200x10, 1300x10 etc..

 

[James1979]

I used this one, its simple but does the job, can also print a cut list and a visual representation, there is several others on the web though.

Linear cutting list calculator - optimiser - free

www.kurraglenindustries.com.au

Thanks. Thats just the job

You can use deepnest etc. for lengths as well as sheets.
Just set the sheet size to the available length plus any old number ie. 5000x10
Then add your cuts as 1200x10, 1300x10 etc..

I did wonder but then it can be temperamental on the Mac so wondered what else there was.


I tried it with dead reckoning plus a bit, etc, but as I have to pay carriage on it and it takes a while to get it here I wanted it as accurate as possible with no waste. Carriage isn't a lot but its the same price for 1 length or 30 so it makes sense to get it here in one go.

Thanks for the help gents

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Hi All

Does anyone use an app or spreadsheet to generate cutting lists to minimise waste?

I use deepnest.io for nesting shapes on flat sheet, but I want to work out how to cut pieces out of lengths of angle the most economical way.

ie. I have 9 @ 1200mm, 4 @ 1300mm, 1 @ 2050mm, 12 @ 1700mm and so forth. One supplier can do 5m lengths and one can do 4m lengths.

I want to know how to avoid excessive waste but obviously working it out long hand is a pain in the ****, even more so when you're getting quotes for material in different sizes!

Anyone do anything similar and have a setup for doing so?

Linear 1D Cutting List Optimiser Calculator - free Version 2

1D Linear cutting list optimiser app - calculator. The free optimizer is used to calculate the best way to cut lengths of timber, metal, steel or wood or other material that needs to be cut to length.

www.cutlistpro.com

I use this for skirting etc.

Get a nice visual of the stock and cuts

 

[James1979]

As a bit of feedback, this is from the link by @Barlidge

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

As a bit of feedback, this is from the link by @Barlidge

View attachment 376851

I may have the wrong link. That looks like the one I use.

 

[James1979]

No. Right link @eLuSiVeMiTe

Yours is a facelift of the one I did it on in the end.

Barlidge's link is an Australian site, dunno where yours is based. Probably part of the same Parent Group?

 

[waddycall]

I use excel. I adjust the column width to make it look like scrap paper. Each cell is 100mm. I use border and fill to arrange parts in the fixed lengths. Easier than it sounds.

 

[Agroshield]

As a bit of feedback...

That is poor.

On the 1700, 1700, 1300 (4700) pieces, you could use 1700, 1900, 1300 (4900) and have a smaller offcut on each. Then instead of 1900, 1900 use 1700, 1700 and have room for the orphan 1200 piece at the end.

Edit: 1700, 2050, 1200 fits on a length as well.

 

[James1979]

That is poor.

On the 1700, 1700, 1300 (4700) pieces, you could use 1700, 1900, 1300 (4900) and have a smaller offcut on each. Then instead of 1900, 1900 use 1700, 1700 and have room for the orphan 1200 piece at the end.

Edit: 1700, 2050, 1200 fits on a length as well.

That would work but is the overall number of lengths the same? That’s the thing I need to know most. How many lengths to order.

 

[8ob]

Hi All

Does anyone use an app or spreadsheet to generate cutting lists to minimise waste?

Interesting stuff, not sure about minimising the off cuts though. I would be more interested in having offcuts/waste of a useable length .

Bob

 

[James1979]

Interesting stuff, not sure about minimising the off cuts though. I would be more interested in having offcuts/waste of a useable length .

Bob

Is that a hint about needing some off cuts of aluminium angle

 

[Agroshield]

That would work but is the overall number of lengths the same? That’s the thing I need to know most. How many lengths to order.

Start on the left of your picture. Change to 1700, 1900, 1300 twice. That leaves you two 1700 left over and the right hand 1900, 1900 length empty. Put 1700, 1700 onto the length with the lonely 1200 on it. One length fewer to buy.

What I am saying is that the calculator cannot be much good if a donkey (me) looking at it for 30s comes up with a better solution than the computer.

8ob's point is a good one. The calculator above does not even maximise the length of the unused offcut. As above, you could swap two 1700s twinned with 1200s for the 2050s and then only 3400 of the length the 2050s are currently on would be used instead of 4100. The offcut becomes 1600 instead of 900.

 

[Agroshield]

Is that a hint about needing some off cuts of aluminium angle

If you optimise the layout, you will have 16 offcuts of the following nominal domenstions: 2 x 50mm; 4 x 100mm; 2 x 200mm; 5 x 400mm; 3 x 1600mm.

[17,19,13] x 4
[17,19,12] x 2
[17,12,20.5] x 2
[17,17,12] x 5
[17,17] x 3

 

[James1979]

Cheers. That’s a good way of thinking about it.

I was sort of being lazy and sort of trying to work out how many lengths to order in. At the price of them (£17) I’m going to order 17 to account for fk ups and ‘can you justs’. It’s pence when you allow for carriage. Bringing one length on its own would make it almost 10 times that!

Worst case ill have a paid for length I can hold as stock or sell.