Bar Cut 1D

Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Cons → Group Optimizer

Command ID: btnBarCut

License required

This command needs an active DVDAddin account (Standard or PRO). During the trial period it is fully available.

What it does

Solves the linear cutting-stock problem: fit a list of required pieces onto stock bars (pipe, box section, structural steel, timber, aluminium profile) using a Best-Fit bin-packing algorithm, accounting for saw kerf and end trim. Multiple stock lengths and multiple materials can be handled in one run.

Use it once you have taken off the list of pieces to cut — purlins, bracing, frame members, formwork battens — and need to know how many bars to buy and how to cut them for the least scrap. The output includes a cutting diagram per bar, a cut list and a utilization figure, ready to hand to the fabrication crew.

How to use

1. If the workbook does not yet have the input sheets, click Templates ▸ Bar Tpl to scaffold them with sample data.
2. Fill the pieces on the CatThanh_Phoi sheet: Length | Qty | Material | Label.
3. Fill the stock bars on the CatThanh_Thanh sheet: Length | Qty (0=∞) | Material | Kerf | Trim | Cost.
4. Click Bar Cut 1D. With no workbook open the add-in reports "No workbook open." and stops.
5. 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".
6. The statistics line reports bar count, utilization %, number of remnants, true scrap % and how many pieces could not be placed.
7. The toolbar offers ↻ Re-optimize, ✓ Apply to sheet, ⬇ DXF, Close and a Save remnants to stock checkbox.
8. Click ✓ Apply to sheet to write the layout and cut list onto a results sheet. With the remnants box ticked, the leftover pieces are appended to the stock sheet so the next run reuses them first.

Example

Fabricating a working platform from 50×50 box section:

CatThanh_Phoi

Length	Qty	Material	Label
2350	40	HOP50	Cross 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 and the preview draws each 6 m bar with its cutting pattern (for instance 2350+2350+950 on one bar), reports utilization and the number of bars to buy. ✓ Apply to sheet produces the printable cut list for the workshop.

Notes

• Both CatThanh_Phoi and CatThanh_Thanh must exist in the open workbook; a missing sheet or wrong column layout raises an error message.
• A stock quantity of 0 means that bar length is treated as unlimited.
• A piece is only placed on stock whose Material value matches exactly — a typo in the material name pushes the piece into the "unplaced" bucket.
• Nothing is written to the workbook until you click ✓ Apply to sheet; that write overwrites the results sheet and cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z.
• The Stages option (free cut / 2-stage) exists only in Panel Cut 2D — the 1D optimizer always cuts freely.
• Rebar with lap splices must go through the separate Rebar Cut command, not this one.

Related

• Bar Tpl — scaffolds the two input sheets with sample data.
• Panel Cut 2D — the same problem for sheet material such as plywood, glass or steel plate.
• Rebar Cut — dedicated optimizer for rebar with lap splices.
• Cutting Tpl — input template for the Rebar Cut optimizer.