Cutting List Software

[DigitalM]

What a sorry bunch of software we seem to have available for this! (Correct me if I'm wrong)

Has anyone seen a summary of what's available? If they haven't I might put something together. My experience of trying to output my sketchup design to a cutlist using readily available software has been pretty terrible so far. Of the four that I tried, 3 told me I needed 3 sheets of ply, and 1 managed to get it onto 2. So much for optimization, and yes I twiddled with things to check cut alignments verus efficiency. A couple of them couldn't cope with the fact that I needed things of different thicknesses or materials, assuming everything would come out of the same base stock. There were a couple I didn't try because they were crazy prices ($100+) and maybe those are awesome, but really, it would be nice to have some really useful cut list software for >£50.

I know, many of you will now tell me "What's wrong with a pencil and the back of an envelope".

 

[Bm101]

Not me. I've quite literally just come off my pc for a fag break while trying to design some alcove units and been wondering if there was a way to calculate a cutting list for sheet materials from a sketch up extension.
Look forward to any ideas.
Was also wondering btw if there's a way to share a drawing/plan so others can open it to look and maybe pass comment or point out any glaring errors I've missed. Hope that's not too off topic.
Cheers
Chris

 

[DigitalM]

Just tried uploading a sketchup file and it wouldn't let me - "The extension skp is not allowed." That's a pity!

You could use a wetransfer link like this:

https://we.tl/UhdBirngJl

It'll only be up for a week, but if it's something you're working on that's not too bad. Shame you can't upload sketchup files permanently though as people could learn from them.

 

[Bm101]

Thanks. I'll take a look. Thought it wouldn't be ukw based sharing because of data limits. Appreciate you getting back to me. I still find the fact I can do scale drawings for free fairly amazing though. For the limited amount I use it looks like I will be using the pen and paper for the cutting list. Still far easier than doing it all from scratch though. Maybe someone will come up with some ideas.
Cheers
Chris

Edit: Just looked around the web a bit at WeTransfer. Seem to be reliable but limited to twenty people with shared email addresses. Understandable of course with data limits becoming more precious but maybe not the solution to let people 'have a gander' over a forum. Thanks for the link though, learned something new and seems a good solution on a small scale. Much appreciated. For a more personal audience it looks like a really good option.

 

[screwpainting]

What a sorry bunch of software we seem to have available for this! (Correct me if I'm wrong)

Has anyone seen a summary of what's available? If they haven't I might put something together. My experience of trying to output my sketchup design to a cutlist using readily available software has been pretty terrible so far. Of the four that I tried, 3 told me I needed 3 sheets of ply, and 1 managed to get it onto 2. So much for optimization, and yes I twiddled with things to check cut alignments verus efficiency. A couple of them couldn't cope with the fact that I needed things of different thicknesses or materials, assuming everything would come out of the same base stock. There were a couple I didn't try because they were crazy prices ($100+) and maybe those are awesome, but really, it would be nice to have some really useful cut list software for >£50.

I know, many of you will now tell me "What's wrong with a pencil and the back of an envelope".

Whats wrong with a pencil and the back of an envelope?
NOTHING!
Its just too complicated for the modern world, it requires understanding, a knowledge of the subject and the materials properties, who needs that?
All you need to know today is how to work the app isn't it? All these old geezers with their skillsets and knowledge, who needs all that nonsense when you know how to work a smartphone, bloddy stupid if you ask me.
Wanders off muttering into his phone " so, 10 of those at 10x10??? Jesus!! you would think B&Q would have made all this imperial metric malarky easier than this!

Whats the world coming to! :shock:

I know, I'll ask Dad.

 

[Jacob]

I don't think anybody needs "cut list software" unless perhaps for a really large and complicated project - even then it may not be needed.
Basically you get your cutting list sorted into descending order of size (thickness/section/length depending on your design). Then you cut out out in order of size - biggest pieces of biggest section/thickness first, from the smallest piece of stock available, and work your way down the list.
It's highly reliable - though you may have to think about orientation when it comes to sheets.
No short cuts - it may be tempting to cut say 3no 1metre pieces from a 3metre piece with no waste, but you may find you now don't have stock for the 2metre piece on your list, which you should have cut first.
It's so simple you'd probably get the whole lot efficiently cut up in less time than it would take to just set up your computer prog.
You don't even need the back of an envelope!

 

[Bm101]

Cheers Jacob. Good tip.

 

[Lons]

What Jacob said! ( That's a first Jacob, not often in agreement :lol: )

Pencil and paper job is quick for me every time, quite enjoyable as well.

Bob

 

[MARK.B.]

Can you still get envelopes :lol:

 

[Myfordman]

When it gets complicated I use maxcut free software. Designed for sheet optimisation but easy enough to force it to work with boards and narrow stock. No idea if it can import sketchup as my cut lists come from Excel usually.

A bit of googling suggests you export from Sketchup to CSV and then import the CSV into maxcut

 

[DigitalM]

Jeez screwpainting, could you get any more patronising.

 

[DigitalM]

Thanks Jacob, I'm perfectly capable of doing the process by hand on an envelope, though your post was certainly very interesting (and still on topic). I was hoping mainly for discussion about cut list software, which I assume is going to be from people who use things like sketchup frequently, and would like the convenience of hitting a button and have an organised and efficient cutlist printed in moments.

 

[DigitalM]

Not me. I've quite literally just come off my pc for a fag break while trying to design some alcove units and been wondering if there was a way to calculate a cutting list for sheet materials from a sketch up extension.

There is a cut list extension that's free and easy to install, but it did not optimise layouts correctly and is flawed. I was able to get all the parts for one project on two sheets of 8x4 where it could only manage 3. That's a difference of a third in the material costs, and I don't want to be storing excess board unless I have to. I'd also like something that can quickly work out which combination of sheet material is cheaper to buy (I dont stockpile due to space limitations).

 

[cutting42]

I have used Cutting Optimization Pro and it is pretty good, can deal with grain, thickness kerf size etc. I find it very useful for panel optimization. Does not have a Sketchup import tool to my understanding and they offer a cheaper simpler version as well. both versions have a free trial period to try before you but.

 

[Jacob]

Thanks Jacob, I'm perfectly capable of doing the process by hand on an envelope, though your post was certainly very interesting (and still on topic). I was hoping mainly for discussion about cut list software, which I assume is going to be from people who use things like sketchup frequently, and would like the convenience of hitting a button and have an organised and efficient cutlist printed in moments.

Understood - but you might be surprised at the number of people who don't know the rule of thumb method and as a result waste time and money on computer progs. NB also you don't need to work anything out by hand on an envelope - it takes care of itself - head down, brain off!

Sometimes the progs don't work as expected - I've seen this happening with lots of largish offcuts being dumped in skips because they were trusting the computer output, then finding that the computer couldn't handle input about off cuts - which would be very tedious to do even if it could. So the rule of thumb is also good for stock control.
Incidentally it doesn't usually work in reverse i.e. starting with smallest offcuts and looking for largest pieces to fit.

 

[Stormer1940]

There is software out there but it is mainly aimed at the business world and costs an absolute fortune. JoinerySoft is the firm that developed it.

http://www.joinerysoft.com/en-gb/

 

[DigitalM]

Sometimes the progs don't work as expected - I've seen this happening with lots of largish offcuts being dumped in skips because they were trusting the computer output, then finding that the computer couldn't handle input about off cuts - which would be very tedious to do even if it could. So the rule of thumb is also good for stock control.
Incidentally it doesn't usually work in reverse i.e. starting with smallest offcuts and looking for largest pieces to fit.

As you can probably tell from an earlier reply – this was exactly my experience – I was able to do the calculations to get a job on two sheets, but several of the software could only manage three, regardless of the settings.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

Do these optimisation software get you into dead ends? I mean arrange boards that cannot be cut with say a tracksaw, because the software is optimised for CNC routing, which can start and stop cuts in the centre of a board.

Not that I'm going to get this software, I work out my cuts on a drawing board, or just do as Jacob suggests. Other times I might just tolerate a bit if waste, if I'm using veneered boards and think it would be better to cut certain parts for grain positioning. Software is useless here, because it cannot tell what the board looks like and where the nice grain is positioned.

It just occurred to me that nesting parts on a sheet to optimise material may not be cuttable with saws that need to cut end to end.

Mike.

 

[cutting42]

Hello,

Do these optimisation software get you into dead ends? I mean arrange boards that cannot be cut with say a tracksaw, because the software is optimised for CNC routing, which can start and stop cuts in the centre of a board.

Not that I'm going to get this software, I work out my cuts on a drawing board, or just do as Jacob suggests. Other times I might just tolerate a bit if waste, if I'm using veneered boards and think it would be better to cut certain parts for grain positioning. Software is useless here, because it cannot tell what the board looks like and where the nice grain is positioned.

It just occurred to me that nesting parts on a sheet to optimise material may not be cuttable with saws that need to cut end to end.

Mike.

Hi Mike

Jacob's rule of thumb point is fine and I use it as well but I used software when I had a lot of parts to work out and the software really takes the pain out of it.

My experience is that most assume a saw process rather than CNC. Here are three of nine sheets from one of my projects.







One of the drawer units I was making:

 

[Jacob]

Hello,

Do these optimisation software get you into dead ends? I mean arrange boards that cannot be cut with say a tracksaw, because the software is optimised for CNC routing, which can start and stop cuts in the centre of a board.

Not that I'm going to get this software, I work out my cuts on a drawing board, or just do as Jacob suggests. Other times I might just tolerate a bit if waste, if I'm using veneered boards and think it would be better to cut certain parts for grain positioning. Software is useless here, because it cannot tell what the board looks like and where the nice grain is positioned.

It just occurred to me that nesting parts on a sheet to optimise material may not be cuttable with saws that need to cut end to end.

Mike.

Hi Mike

Jacob's rule of thumb point is fine and I use it as well but I used software when I had a lot of parts to work out and the software really takes the pain out of it.

My experience is that most assume a saw process rather than CNC. Here are three of nine sheets from one of my projects.







One of the drawer units I was making:

Interesting.
I'd guess the programme follows a sequence much like the rule of thumb - it certainly looks like it, except you don't seem to be using any offcuts, which would be easy to fit in with the rule of T.