Settings
Unit is a label only — all numbers stay exactly as you entered them. This tool works in inches throughout: a 4'×8' sheet is entered as 96 × 48, a 4'×10' sheet as 120 × 48.
Sizes in inches — fractions welcome, e.g. 28 1/2 (you can also type 28.5, 1/8, or 48).
Length = grain direction (runs along the sheet's length). Width = perpendicular to the grain (across the grain). This applies to both stock panels and parts.
Stock Panels
| Label | Length (in) — along grain | Width (in) — across grain | Qty |
|---|
Panels to Cut
| Label | Length (in) — along grain | Width (in) — across grain | Qty |
|---|
How it works
Algorithm: MaxRects bin packing, Best Short Side Fit. Parts are expanded by quantity and sorted largest-area first, then packed sheet by sheet in the stock order you listed.
Kerf handling: the kerf is the gap (spacing) reserved BETWEEN parts for the cut — it is not charged against the sheet's own edges, so a part as wide as the sheet still fits. The diagrams draw this kerf as the visible white gap around each part: the dashed outline shows part + kerf, the coloured rectangle is the part's true finished size (also what the placement table lists).
Trim handling: the edge trim is removed from all four sides of every sheet first; nothing is placed in the trim zone.
Grain direction: Length always runs WITH the grain; Width runs across it (perpendicular to the grain). Parts are placed with their length along the sheet's length so the grain matches the sheet. The faint lines drawn on each part in the diagrams show that part's grain direction. Turning on "Allow rotation" turns a part's grain 90° — use it only for materials where grain does not matter (for example plain MDF or particleboard).
Honest limit: this gives a good, practical layout quickly. It is not a mathematically proven optimum — a different arrangement can sometimes save a sheet.
Results
All dimensions and areas are in inches / in².
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Cut List Optimizer — v1.5 — inches