Panel Cut 2D

Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Cons → Group Optimizer

Command ID: btnPanelCut

License required

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

What it does

Nests rectangular pieces onto stock sheets using a panel-saw model — every cut runs the full width of the offcut (guillotine), which is how a real panel saw works. It supports piece rotation, saw kerf, edge trim, several stock sheet sizes and several materials in one run.

Use it to plan cutting for plywood formwork, MDF, glass, metal sheet or plasterboard: how many sheets to buy and how to cut them with the least waste. The output is a layout diagram per sheet, a cut list and utilization/scrap percentages.

How to use

1. If the workbook does not yet have the input sheets, click Templates ▸ Panel Tpl to scaffold them with sample data.
2. Fill the pieces on the CatTam_Phoi sheet: Length | Width | Qty | Material | Rotate | Label.
3. Fill the stock sheets on CatTam_Tam: Length | Width | Qty (0=∞) | Material | Kerf | Trim | Cost.
4. Click Panel Cut 2D. With no workbook open the add-in reports "No workbook open." and stops.
5. The Cutting preview — 2D window opens and optimizes immediately: each stock sheet is drawn as a layout, every piece coloured with its label and size, leftovers labelled "rem".
6. On the toolbar pick Stages: Free cut or 2-stage — changing it re-runs the optimizer. The toolbar also has ↻ Re-optimize, ✓ Apply to sheet, ⬇ DXF, Close and a Save remnants to stock checkbox.
7. Read the statistics line: sheet count, utilization %, number of remnants, true scrap % and unplaced pieces.
8. Click ✓ Apply to sheet to write the layouts and cut list onto a results sheet, or ⬇ DXF to export a DXF file for a CNC saw.

Example

Cutting film-faced plywood formwork for one floor:

CatTam_Phoi

Length	Width	Qty	Material	Rotate	Label
1200	600	18	PLY18	1	Column C1 form
900	450	24	PLY18	1	Beam D2 form
2000	300	10	PLY18	0	Edge board

CatTam_Tam

Length	Width	Qty (0=∞)	Material	Kerf	Trim	Cost
2440	1220	0	PLY18	4	5	520000

Click Panel Cut 2D, set Stages = 2-stage to match the workshop's panel saw, check the utilization figure, then ✓ Apply to sheet to print the cutting diagram for the carpentry crew.

Notes

• Both CatTam_Phoi and CatTam_Tam must exist; a missing sheet or wrong columns raises an error message.
• The Rotate column decides whether a piece may be turned 90° — set it to no for grained, ribbed or single-side-coated material.
• A stock quantity of 0 means that sheet size is treated as unlimited.
• The algorithm is guillotine-based, not free-form nesting, so every result is actually cuttable on a real panel saw.
• 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.

Related

• Panel Tpl — scaffolds the two input sheets with sample data.
• Bar Cut 1D — the same problem for linear stock such as pipe, box section and timber.
• Rebar Cut — dedicated optimizer for rebar with lap splices.
• Cutting Tpl — input template for the Rebar Cut optimizer.