Cutting Stock Calculator
Plan how to cut stock bars or sheets into required pieces with minimal waste.
Result
3 bars needed
Waste: 2,882 (16%)
Bar 1: 2500 + 2500 (waste 997)
Bar 2: 2500 + 1800 + 1000 (waste 694)
Bar 3: 1800 + 1000 + 1000 + 1000 (waste 1,191)
Usage examples
Calculating how many stock bars a job needs
When cutting several different lengths from 6m square tube stock, instantly see how many bars you'll need and the exact cutting pattern, via the First-Fit-Decreasing method.
Planning a sheet material cutting layout
When cutting multiple part sizes from sheet stock like plywood or MDF, plan ahead how many sheets you'll need using a shelf-based layout.
Getting a more realistic result by accounting for kerf
Real cutting consumes material as the blade passes through — enter your kerf width to get a result that accounts for this material loss.
Frequently asked questions
Does this guarantee the absolute minimum number of pieces?
No. First-Fit-Decreasing (1D) and shelf packing (2D) are well-known approximation heuristics for the cutting stock problem — they give good, fast, practical results, but aren't mathematically guaranteed to be optimal. A truly optimal solution requires far more complex linear programming methods.
Why does kerf matter?
Real cutting with a saw or laser removes material equal to the blade's width, which disappears. Ignoring this can make a plan look like it fits on paper but come up short in practice, so each cut after the first consumes the kerf width too.
Does 2D mode consider rotating pieces?
No. The current 2D mode packs pieces exactly as entered, sorted by height descending, into shelves. It doesn't try rotating a piece 90° to optimize the layout further.
Is what I enter sent to a server?
No. All calculation happens entirely in your browser, and what you enter is never sent to a server.