1 / 9
Tap any image to enlarge, then swipe or use the arrows to page through every screen.
A cutting plan is only useful when the parts fit, the cuts are possible and the material cost is clear. Cut & Offcut Cost Optimizer connects one-dimensional and rectangular sheet cutting with stock, reusable offcuts and job costing.
Enter your materials, available stock, part sizes, kerf and grain restrictions. Compare plans by new purchasing cost or material cost, inspect the cutting sequence and see exactly what becomes a part, reusable stock or waste.
Add cutting, edging, labour and setup costs to calculate the job's cost and selling price. Confirm the completed plan to record the material used and the offcuts actually returned.
Every cut is checked against the real kerf. On a 1,000 mm bar, parts of 400, 300 and 294 mm fit with two cuts of 3 mm; with 293 mm instead of 294 mm they do not, because the last part cannot be separated without another kerf. Sizes are converted to an exact whole-number grid per material, so no rounding hides a missing millimetre.
Each plan carries an honest status: optimal within the defined model only when the exact search finished over everything the model allows; a feasible plan whose optimality is not proven when the search stopped early, when a large sheet could not be searched over every cut position, or when a price or book value is missing; impossible when no arrangement exists; or no plan found within the time limit.
What you get
- Linear stock and rectangular guillotine sheet cutting.
- Kerf, outer trims, 90° rotation and grain direction respected.
- Purchased stock and existing offcuts, each with its own value.
- Material balance: parts + kerf + trims + offcuts + waste = original.
- Numbered cut sequence with positions, diagrams and cut lengths.
- Job cost, price by margin or by markup — kept apart.
- Confirmed cuts issue the blanks and return real offcuts to stock.
- Printable plans, SVG diagrams, CSV exports and complete backups.
How it works
- Set up materials and blanks. In Materials & blanks enter each material with its kerf, outer trims, grain and the minimum size of an offcut worth keeping, then the bars, sheets and existing offcuts you have or can buy.
- Add the job's parts. In Job parts create a job and enter or import part lines with size, quantity, rotation, grain and processed edges.
- Check the cutting plan. In Cutting plan choose minimum new purchases or minimum material cost, read the status, the diagrams, the cut order and the material balance, and search longer when the plan is not proven.
- Confirm the cut and report. Confirm the plan to issue the blanks and add the real offcuts to stock, calculate cost and price in Cost & price, and print or export the plan in Reports.
Limits
Designed for linear stock and rectangular guillotine sheet cutting. It does not produce CNC machine instructions or arbitrary-shape nesting.
Questions
Does it use AI?
No. Every cut, plan and cost is calculated with fixed rules shown in the tool and in the guide. No records are sent to an AI service.
Do I need a subscription?
No subscription is required for the one-time purchase. Access through TidyCents PRO follows the current PRO terms.
What does PRO include for this tool?
The full online version for as long as your PRO is active.
Is the offline program included in PRO?
No. The downloadable offline program is part of the one-time purchase and is bought separately.
Where is my data stored?
Your working records are stored in the browser on your device. Nothing is sent to our server. Export complete backups regularly, especially before clearing browser data or changing devices.
Can I move a project to another device?
Yes. Export a complete backup and restore it in the same product on the other device.
Can several people work in it at the same time?
This version is designed for one local workspace. It does not provide simultaneous shared editing.
What happens when PRO ends?
Records already on your device are not deleted. They open read-only with backup and CSV export; editing and new calculations come back when you renew PRO or buy the tool.
Which units and currencies are supported?
Lengths in millimetres, centimetres, metres, inches or feet, entered as exact decimals and converted without rounding; areas are shown in the matching square unit. Money in any currency you set, rounded once to its smallest unit.
What does it not do?
It does not produce CNC or saw machine code, does not nest curved or irregular shapes, does not place parts inside holes, and does not add machining allowances you did not enter. It plans only straight guillotine cuts on rectangles and bars.
Which kinds of cutting are supported?
Linear stock such as bars, profiles, tubes and boards cut to length, and rectangular sheets cut with guillotine cuts — every cut runs straight across the whole piece it divides. Kerf, outer trims, 90° rotation and grain direction are taken into account.
When is a plan proven optimal?
Only when the exact search finished over every blank combination and, on sheets, over every cut position on the grid — possible for bars and for small sheets. The plan is then marked optimal within the defined model, for the objective you chose. Larger sheets are searched at the cut positions that line up with part edges and offcut minimums: that proves the parts fit, but a layout with a larger usable offcut may exist, so such plans are marked feasible, optimality not proven. The same status is used while a blank has no price or book value, or when the search stopped at its limit (you can search longer). A plan is never called optimal because it looks good.
Are existing offcuts free?
No. An offcut needs no new money, but it carries the book value you gave it. Choose minimum new purchases to use what you own first, or minimum material cost to compare by book value. A missing book value or purchase price is never read as zero: that blank ranks behind blanks with known values, the total shows as unknown, and the plan is not called optimal.
Business license for use in your own business. No resale or redistribution. Opens in your browser right after payment, on phone and computer. Your figures stay on your device. No physical item.
Cut & Offcut Cost Optimizer
Plan practical cuts, reuse valuable offcuts and see what the whole job really costs.
Plan the cuts and know the job cost before you buy material — buy once for $29.
- One-time purchase
- Full version of this tool on the site plus an offline version to download. One payment. The offline copy works without a subscription.
- Access with PRO
- Full version on the site while your PRO is active. Export of your results and backups is included. The offline program is bought separately.
Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay
- Works in any country · your own currency
- Download link on the confirmation page and by email
- What you need: Any modern browser · phone and computer · offline HTML file · CSV, SVG & printable plans · 8 languages
- Refund within 14 days, for any purchase
- Formats: Interactive tool in your browser — phone and computer; PDF & CSV export
- Interactive browser app · phone and computer · downloadable offline version.
- Lengths in mm, cm, m, in or ft converted exactly; money rounded once to the currency's smallest unit.
- Linear cutting and rectangular guillotine sheet cutting with kerf, trims, rotation and grain.
- Four plan statuses: optimal within the defined model, feasible not proven, impossible, no plan within the time limit.
- CSV (UTF-8) and XLSX imports for materials, blanks and part lines.
- Local workspace storage, complete backups and CSV exports.
- Printable cutting plans (A4 or US Letter) and SVG diagrams.
- 8 languages; any currency.
- No AI required.
- One-time purchase.
Any purchase is refunded if you ask within 14 days of payment. Files that will not open, and anything that does not match its description, are refunded in full at any time, with no time limit.
