Kitebyte Cut List Optimizer

How to use the cut list optimizer

1. Add your stock. The default is a 2440 × 1220 mm (96 × 48 in) sheet. If you are buying sheets, leave quantity blank; if you are working from offcuts, enter how many you have. Add a price per sheet to see a cost total.
2. List your parts. Enter length, width and quantity for each. The length is the dimension that runs along the sheet's length, which is normally the face grain direction.
3. Set kerf and trim. Kerf is the material your blade turns to sawdust at every cut. Edge trim lets you skip damaged factory edges.
4. Read the layout. Each sheet gets a diagram and a table with every part's size and position. Dashed outlines are parts the optimizer rotated 90 degrees.

How kerf affects your yield

Kerf looks small, but it adds up. A 1/8 inch (3 mm) kerf means that four 12 inch strips cut from a 48 inch sheet need 48 3/8 inches once you count the three cuts between them, so the fourth strip does not fit. The optimizer spaces every part by your kerf, so a layout that looks perfect on paper but ignores the saw blade never appears here. If you use a thin-kerf blade or a track saw, enter that narrower value to recover a little material.

Grain direction and rotation

Rotating a part by 90 degrees often lets the optimizer pack a sheet more tightly, but it also changes which way the grain runs. For painted cabinets or utility shelves that rarely matters. For veneered plywood, visible door panels or anything with a distinctive figure, tick Grain locked so the part keeps its length along the sheet length. Locking everything usually costs some yield, so lock only the parts that need it and compare the sheet counts.

Tips for reducing waste

• Design to the sheet when you can. A shelf 11 1/4 inches deep gets four strips from a 48 inch sheet; one that is 12 1/2 inches deep gets only three.
• Combine projects. Two cabinets cut together often fit on the sheets one cabinet would nearly fill.
• Check the unplaced list first. Parts that are too large for the sheet after trim are reported rather than silently dropped.
• Round up your sheet count if you cut by hand. Real cuts wander, and having a few percent spare saves a trip to the lumber yard.
• Keep large offcuts. Add them as a second stock size with a quantity of one the next time you build.

What kind of optimizer is this?

Kitebyte plans guillotine cuts: every cut runs edge to edge across the piece being cut, which is how table saws, panel saws and track saws work. The tool tries several sort orders, placement rules and split directions, then keeps the layout that uses the fewest sheets and wastes the least. It is a fast heuristic, not a mathematical proof of the best possible layout, so treat it as a strong starting point. For more detail see the plywood cut list calculator guide, the sheet-count worked example, and the base cabinet cut list.

Frequently asked questions