Online sheet cutting optimization
Turn a measured parts list into a practical sheet plan. This Cut List Optimizer handles plywood, MDF, melamine, acrylic, and other rectangular sheet goods—accounting for kerf while you compare free nesting and guillotine cutting layouts. The Cut List Optimizer keeps the resulting sheet plan inspectable. No signup or uploads.
The workspace
Move into a dedicated, device-aware workspace for stock, parts, nesting, guillotine sequences, and workshop-ready exports. The free Cut List Optimizer still runs locally in your browser; the separate surface simply keeps every control and result visible while you plan.
Before the first layout
Area totals cannot see blade kerf, damaged edges, grain direction, rotation rules, or whether every cut must cross the stock. A Cut List Optimizer turns those physical constraints into a plan you can inspect before buying or cutting material.
The material changes. The planning question stays the same: can every required rectangle find a valid place?
Choose the next question
The main workspace plans the whole cut list. These focused tools slow down one material decision at a time, so the assumption can be inspected before it reaches the saw.
Arrange cabinet parts on a kerf-aware MDF sheet.
02 · BLADEKerf calculatorSee when cutting width changes what fits.
03 · COSTMaterial cost calculatorTurn sheet count and waste into a purchase estimate.
04 · SEQUENCEGuillotine comparisonTest the same parts under a through-cut constraint.
05 · EVIDENCEReproducible benchmarksInspect the inputs, outputs, and algorithm boundaries.
02 · Follow the material
The starter cabinet job becomes the thread. Each chapter adds a new physical fact instead of repeating the same promise.
Ten named rectangles arrive from the cabinet drawing. Quantities and total area look complete, yet neither proves the pieces will share a purchasable sheet. A Cut List Optimizer begins where the spreadsheet runs out of spatial answers.
The 2440 × 1220 board gains an edge, 3.2 mm blade kerf, rotation choices, and a safe outside margin. The Cut List Optimizer tests those constraints together and keeps any part it cannot place visible.
Placed parts retain their names while sheet count, material yield, waste, and unplaced pieces become measurable. This layout explains what fits; the next section will test whether different cutting constraints change the answer.
The free Cut List Optimizer exports placement CSV, PNG, a copied summary, and Print / PDF. The maker still checks grain, defects, clearances, and machine setup before the first cut.
Open the Cut List Optimizer →03 · Reproducible evidence
These are not decorative success cards. Each result comes from the benchmark corpus used by the product test suite, with the same stock, parts, kerf, margin, and rotation settings supplied to both modes.
A practical 2440 × 1220 mm cabinet job with kerf and repeated parts.
A 10 × 10 case where compact geometry and through-cut reality diverge.
A high-volume repeat run with 3.2 mm kerf and 44 available sheets.
The Cut List Optimizer can report different answers for the same rectangles because “fits on a sheet” and “can be separated by through-cuts” are different questions.
04 · Same input, different constraint
A denser layout is not automatically a better cutting plan. Use the Cut List Optimizer mode that matches how the sheet will be separated.
The algorithm can place rectangles in general two-dimensional arrangements. It may produce a strong sheet count and yield, but the result is not an executable through-cut sequence.
The stricter slicing constraint produces a dependency-safe sequence, cut count, cut length, and kerf loss. It can require more stock than compact nesting for the same parts.
05 · Better input, better plan
A Cut List Optimizer can only model the constraints you describe. These five checks turn a quick estimate into a more useful workshop conversation.
Enter the real kerf so every gap represents material removed, not empty space.
Use outside margin for damaged edges, trimming allowance, clamps, or a shop-specific safe zone.
Allow rotation when grain and surface direction permit it; keep it off when orientation matters.
An unplaced count is a planning signal: add stock, inspect oversized pieces, or compare constraints.
Start with Fast, then use Deep when the job deserves more deterministic candidates before material is committed.
06 · Data path & boundaries
Trust comes from a visible path and honest limits, not from hiding the difficult details.
Standard CSV import is parsed locally. Running the Cut List Optimizer does not require an account or upload the current cut list.
Stock dimensions, parts, kerf, margin, rotation, and mode produce the current result in the browser.
Download CSV, PNG, summary, or Print / PDF. These outputs remain free and do not require cloud storage.
Sign in only when you want cross-device projects, reusable Pro libraries, offcut memory, and professional continuity.
07 · From one job to the next
The useful result is never held behind a signup. Pro begins only when a shop wants to remember projects, defaults, and production handoff across sessions.
Unlimited browser calculations with Free Nesting and Guillotine Cutting.
Save the project and the reusable knowledge around it: materials and costs, repeated part kits, offcuts, CSV recipes, grain locks, edge totals, and production-ready labels.
08 · Practical answers
The last questions are often about limits, not features. These answers keep the plan honest before material reaches the saw.
A cut list optimizer arranges rectangular parts on stock sheets to reduce waste and estimate how many sheets a project needs.
Yes. Enter any rectangular sheet size and the rectangular parts you need. CutListEngine works with plywood, MDF, melamine, acrylic, foam board, and similar sheet goods.
Yes. CutListEngine reserves the kerf value between placed parts and supports an outside sheet margin.
Usually not. Free Nesting can run a bounded exact search for up to 12 part instances and reports when it reaches the sheet-count lower bound. Larger jobs and Guillotine Cutting remain deterministic heuristics.
Free Nesting can create general two-dimensional layouts that are not necessarily possible with through-cuts. Guillotine Cutting only creates slicing layouts and includes a real cut sequence. Neither mode generates CNC toolpaths or DXF files.
No. CutListEngine currently optimizes two-dimensional rectangular sheet materials. It does not optimize one-dimensional bars, pipes, trim, or linear stock.