Cutting Optimizer

The Optimizer group on the DVD Cons tab solves the problem every site knows: given a list of pieces to cut, work out how to use the fewest stock bars or sheets with the least scrap, then print a cutting list for the fabrication shop.

There are three commands for three different problems — picking the right one is half the job:

• Rebar Cut — reinforcement bars with lap splices, on commercial 11.7 m stock.
• Bar Cut 1D — linear stock in general: pipe, box section, steel profiles, purlins, timber, aluminium extrusions.
• Panel Cut 2D — rectangular pieces on stock sheets: film-faced plywood, MDF, glass, metal sheet, plasterboard.

Commands in this group

Command	What it does
Rebar Cut	Optimizes rebar cutting with lap splices, grouping identical patterns as ×N
Bar Cut 1D	Packs linear pieces onto stock bars with a Best-Fit algorithm, allowing for kerf and end trim
Panel Cut 2D	Packs rectangular pieces onto stock sheets under a guillotine (edge-to-edge) model
Cutting Tpl	Opens the RebarCutOptimizer.xlsx template used by Rebar Cut
Bar Tpl	Creates the CatThanh_Phoi + CatThanh_Thanh sheets with sample data
Panel Tpl	Creates the CatTam_Phoi + CatTam_Tam sheets with sample data

The three optimizer commands need a valid DVDAddin account (Standard or PRO; Trial covers them). The three template commands are free.

Working through a 1D bar cut

1. Create the input sheets. Click Optimizer → Templates → Bar Tpl. The add-in scaffolds two sheets with sample data straight into the workbook; clear the samples before entering real figures.
2. List the pieces on the CatThanh_Phoi sheet in column order Length | Qty | Material | Label. The Label is the component name and appears on the cutting diagram so the fabricator knows where each piece goes.
3. List the stock bars on the CatThanh_Thanh sheet: Length | Qty (0=∞) | Material | Kerf | Trim | Cost. Setting Qty = 0 means that bar type is effectively unlimited.
4. Click Bar Cut 1D. The Cutting preview — 1D window opens and optimizes immediately: each stock bar is drawn horizontally, every piece in its own colour with its length, and the leftover tail labelled "rem".
5. Read the statistics line: bar count, utilization %, number of remnants, true scrap % and how many pieces could not be placed. Unplaced pieces are usually a material-name typo.
6. Commit the plan. Tick Save remnants to stock if you want the leftovers appended to the stock sheet so the next run reuses them first, then click ✓ Apply to sheet to write the layouts and the cut list. Need a file for the CNC saw? Click ⬇ DXF. Clicking Close cancels — nothing is written.
7. Print the cut list for the fabrication crew.

Panel Cut 2D follows the same route but uses Panel Tpl (CatTam_Phoi: Length | Width | Qty | Material | Rotate | Label; CatTam_Tam: Length | Width | Qty (0=∞) | Material | Kerf | Trim | Cost) and adds a Stages choice on the toolbar: Free cut or 2-stage.

For Rebar Cut (bars with lap splices) you fill in the Cutting Tpl workbook and then run the command; the Rebar cutting preview window reports the number of patterns, the total bar count and the scrap percentage, and you click ✓ Apply (write sheets) once the plan looks right.

Example

Fabricating the perimeter frame and bracing from 50×50 box section for a working platform:

CatThanh_Phoi

Length	Qty	Material	Label
2350	40	HOP50	Horizontal bracing
1800	24	HOP50	Uprights
950	30	HOP50	Diagonals

CatThanh_Thanh

Length	Qty (0=∞)	Material	Kerf	Trim	Cost
6000	0	HOP50	3	10	148000

Click Bar Cut 1D — the preview draws each 6 m bar with its cutting pattern (for example 2350 + 2350 + 950 on one bar) and reports utilization and the number of bars needed. Click ✓ Apply to sheet to print the cut list for the shop; the bar count in that table is exactly what the procurement team should order.

Tips and caveats

• Material names must match exactly across the two sheets. A piece is only packed onto stock with the identical Material value; one wrong character and it lands in the "unplaced" group.
• Keep the sheet names and column order produced by the template commands — the optimizer reads by position. If the two sheets already exist, the template command restores the structure, so back up old data first.
• Clicking Close in the preview cancels everything — nothing is written. Conversely, ✓ Apply to sheet overwrites the results sheet and Ctrl+Z will not bring it back.
• The Rotate column in the 2D problem decides whether a piece may turn 90°: grained plywood, corrugated sheet and pre-oriented glass must not be allowed to rotate.
• The 2D algorithm follows the guillotine model (every cut runs the full width), so the result is always cuttable on a real panel saw — it is not free nesting.
• For Rebar Cut, the kerf comes from the configuration per diameter and steel grade, defaulting to 4 mm; a wrong kerf makes the last piece on each bar come up short in real life.
• Pick the right command: rebar with lap splices must go through Rebar Cut, not Bar Cut 1D.

See also

• Rebar Cut — the preview window and how to read each bar's diagram.
• Panel Cut 2D — the Stages option, DXF export and handling grained material.
• QS Tools — turn the quantities you took off into payment applications and variation registers.
• Gantt Chart — tie each fabrication batch back into the construction programme.