— Free tool · no sign-up

Cut list optimizer. How many sheets to buy, and where to cut them.

A cut list optimizer fits the rectangular parts of a project onto stock sheets, and this one tells you how many sheets to buy and draws a layout a panel saw or a table saw can cut.

Updated

Units
Sheet
Parts

Length runs with the grain. Up to 50 rows.

Cutting layout

3 mm kerf between parts. Hatched: offcut left whole after the last cuts.

  1. Sheet 1 of 1 · 83% used

    Sides720 × 560Sides720 × 560Top/bottom564 × 560Top/bottom564 × 560Shelves562 × 540Shelves562 × 540Doors716 × 297Doors716 × 297
    Sides · 720 × 560 mm
    Sides · 720 × 560 mm
    Top/bottom · 564 × 560 mm · rotated
    Top/bottom · 564 × 560 mm · rotated
    Shelves · 562 × 540 mm
    Shelves · 562 × 540 mm
    Doors · 716 × 297 mm
    Doors · 716 × 297 mm

Selling made-to-measure cabinets or furniture? A configurator turns each order into its cut list: 3D Furniture Configurator for furniture manufacturers and 3D wardrobe configurator for fitted wardrobe makers.

01— Method

How to plan cuts on a sheet

List the parts, pick the sheet and the kerf, decide on grain, lay out the largest first, then read the plan. Five steps, and what this optimizer does with each.

  1. 01List the parts

    Write every part as length × width × quantity, at the size you will cut it. Give each a name (side, shelf, door) so the parts can be told apart on the sheet and at the bench.

    This tool: takes up to 50 rows and 500 parts, rectangles only. It adds no trim or edge-banding allowance, so enter the size to cut.

  2. 02Pick the sheet and the kerf

    Use the full sheet your supplier sells and the width of your saw blade’s cut, the kerf: every cut between two parts turns that much of the sheet to dust.

    This tool: starts on 2440 × 1220 mm with a 3 mm kerf (96 × 48 in with 0.125 in in inches) and plans one sheet size at a time.

  3. 03Decide on grain

    Veneered, wood-grain and brushed sheets have a direction, and parts that show should keep their length along it. Plain MDF, melamine or a backer board can turn any way.

    This tool: turns parts only while “Parts can rotate” is on; off, every part’s length runs along the sheet’s length.

  4. 04Lay out the largest parts first

    The usual hand method places the big parts first and fills the gaps with the small ones, with every cut running edge to edge: rip the sheet into strips, then crosscut the strips.

    This tool: tries 12 such layouts (three piece orders, two ways to pick a gap, two ways to split what is left) and keeps the one with the fewest sheets, then the largest offcut on the last sheet. It does not prove that no better layout exists.

  5. 05Read the plan

    Cut sheet by sheet, mark each part as it comes off, and keep the largest offcut for the next job.

    This tool: draws every sheet with each part’s label and size, lists the parts under each drawing, and downloads the plan as CSV and the drawing as SVG. It does not give the order of the cuts.

02— FAQ

Questions about the cut list optimizer.

What it does, what it leaves to you, and what it costs.

Free, with no sign-up. The packing runs in your browser and nothing is sent to a server or saved; the parts list lives only in the page address, so copying the link (or Share) passes it on.

Not guaranteed. It is a fast heuristic: it tries 12 packing strategies and keeps the best result, fewest sheets first, then the largest offcut left on the last sheet. It does not prove an optimum, and a careful hand layout can sometimes beat it.

A guillotine cut runs from one edge of a piece straight to the opposite edge. A panel saw or a table saw can only cut that way, so every layout here can be cut by ripping the sheet into strips and cutting each strip across, then again. Interlocking layouts can use a sheet better, but they need a CNC router.

Once between neighbouring parts: two parts side by side take their two lengths plus one kerf. A part may sit against the sheet’s edge with no kerf, so the plan assumes the factory edges are clean and square; if you trim them first, enter the trimmed sheet size.

Enter each part’s length along its grain and turn off “Parts can rotate”: every part’s length then runs along the sheet’s length. The setting applies to the whole list; a per-part grain setting is not offered.

Up to 50 rows and 500 parts per plan, one sheet size, rectangles only. Sizes must be above 0 and the kerf smaller than the sheet. It adds no edge-banding or trim allowance, does not reuse offcuts you already have, and does not give the order of the cuts.

Either, as decimals (23.5, not 23 1/2). Switching converts every part’s size, to 0.01 in or 0.1 mm; a sheet left on 2440 × 1220 mm with a 3 mm kerf becomes 96 × 48 in with 0.125 in, and back. Areas show in m² or ft².

The sheets to buy times your price per sheet, in dollars, euros or pounds. Offcuts are paid for in full; the tool has no prices of its own. A shared link opens in the currency it was made in, and amounts are never converted.

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Drawing cut lists by hand for every order?

A product configurator turns each made-to-measure order into its own parts list and price, straight into the quote. SBFS sets it up and runs it. See configurator demos by industry.

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