Is the sheet optimizer free?

Yes. It runs in the browser without an account, within daily PDF export limits. Saved projects, stock inventory and DXF export need a paid plan.

Does it work for metal plate as well as wood?

Yes. Sheet optimization is the same packing problem regardless of material - set the kerf for your process and lock rotation only where the finish has a direction.

What sheet sizes can I use?

Any rectangle you actually purchase. Enter the size from the delivery note rather than the nominal label, since 2440 × 1220 mm and 8' × 4' are not identical.

Can it nest irregular shapes?

No. It nests rectangles. Profiled or curved parts need a true-shape nester in CAM.

Why did adding kerf change my sheet count so much?

Because your part sizes divide the sheet almost exactly. When a row only just fits at zero kerf, a few millimetres removes it entirely.

Calculator page · 5 min read

Sheet optimizer

A sheet optimizer takes a list of rectangular parts and works out how to fit them onto as few pieces of sheet stock as possible, accounting for the material the cut itself destroys. The material barely matters to the arithmetic - plywood, MDF, melamine, mild steel plate, aluminium, acrylic, polycarbonate and glass all present the same packing problem, with different kerf values and different rules about which parts may be rotated. What changes between industries is the vocabulary, not the algorithm.

Open free sheet cut list optimizer 2D nesting optimizer guide

What sheet optimization actually decides

Given your parts and your stock, the optimizer chooses a position and rotation for every part, keeps neighbouring parts a kerf apart, and reports how many pieces of stock the job consumes.

The number to read first is that stock count, because it is what you buy. Yield percentage is a useful secondary signal but a poor target on its own - it can always be improved by producing a layout nobody wants to cut.

Part positions and rotations, subject to grain or directional-finish locks
Kerf spacing between parts, set from the tool doing the cutting
How many of each stock size to consume when several are available
Which offcuts are large enough to be worth keeping
Cut sequence implied by the layout, which decides how pleasant it is to run

Same problem, different materials

The reason one tool covers wood and metal shops is that the constraints differ in value rather than in kind. Set kerf correctly and lock rotation where the material has a direction, and the rest is identical.

Sheet metal nesting layout with rectangular parts packed onto a plate — Plate and panel work are the same packing problem with different kerf values.

Material	Common stock size	Typical kerf	Rotation locked?
Plywood	2440 × 1220 mm / 8' × 4'	3.2 mm saw	On visible faces (grain)
MDF	2440 × 1220 mm	3.2 mm saw	No
Melamine / chipboard	2800 × 2070 mm and 2440 × 1220 mm	3.2-4.8 mm	Only on woodgrain decors
Mild steel plate	3000 × 1500 mm	1.5-4 mm plasma, 0.2-0.4 mm laser	No
Aluminium sheet	2500 × 1250 mm	0.2-0.4 mm laser	On brushed finishes
Acrylic / polycarbonate	3050 × 2030 mm	2-3 mm saw, 0.3 mm laser	No
Glass	By supplier	Score and snap, effectively 0	On coated glass

Stock sizes vary by supplier and region - always enter the size on your delivery note rather than the nominal name.

Sheet optimization workflow: stock, parts, kerf, run

Four inputs, in this order, and the order matters because each one changes what the next is worth doing.

Stock: enter the sheet size you purchase, per SKU, including any oversize on the delivered sheet
Parts: length × width × quantity, at finished sizes, one row per part type
Kerf: blade width for a saw, cutter diameter for a router, process kerf for thermal cutting
Constraints: grain locks on visible parts, edge margin if the machine needs hold-down room
Run, read the stock count, then look at the diagram as the person who has to cut it
Try a second layout strategy and keep whichever you would rather run

The free sheet optimizer runs entirely in the browser: 20 part rows per session, CSV or XLSX import up to 5 rows, and 3 PDF exports a day with unlimited editing and re-running in between.

Open the free sheet optimizer

One material group per layout

The most common way to get a misleading result is to nest several materials together because they are all sheets. An 18 mm carcass panel and a 6 mm back cannot share stock, so a layout that mixes them promises a sheet count you cannot buy.

Split by thickness, finish and supplier SKU, then optimize each group on its own stock. The sheet counts that come out are the lines on your purchase order, which is exactly what you want them to be.

Material grouping Sheet goods optimizer

Rectangles only - and when that is not enough

This optimizer nests rectangles. For panels, plate, casework, glass and shelving that is the whole job, and rectangular nesting has the useful property that its layouts are often cuttable in straight passes on a panel saw.

It is the wrong tool for irregular profiled parts - brackets, gussets, curved components - where the point is to fit parts inside each other's concavities. That is true-shape nesting and belongs in a CAM package. Feeding profiled parts to a rectangular optimizer will produce a valid layout and waste material on every one of them.

Rectangular vs true-shape nesting Guillotine cutting

Reading the result honestly

Two layouts with the same yield can be worth very different amounts. Before accepting one, check the offcuts and the sequence, not just the percentage.

Offcuts that come out as a few large rectangles are inventory; offcuts that come out as many thin strips are scrap with extra steps. And a layout requiring parts to be lifted from the middle of a sheet costs saw time that easily exceeds the value of the material it saved.

Cutting plan efficiency

Reading	Means	Do
Stock count higher than expected	Part sizes fit the sheet badly	Try another strategy, then check the design
Yield high, offcuts thin	Material saved on paper only	Prefer the layout with fewer, larger drops
Parts trapped mid-sheet	Slow on a panel saw	Use a rips-and-rows strategy
Zero kerf set	Layout is optimistic by a row	Set real kerf and re-run
Everything grain-locked	Rotation disabled for no benefit	Lock only visible parts

FAQ

Is the sheet optimizer free?: Yes. It runs in the browser without an account, within daily PDF export limits. Saved projects, stock inventory and DXF export need a paid plan.
Does it work for metal plate as well as wood?: Yes. Sheet optimization is the same packing problem regardless of material - set the kerf for your process and lock rotation only where the finish has a direction.
What sheet sizes can I use?: Any rectangle you actually purchase. Enter the size from the delivery note rather than the nominal label, since 2440 × 1220 mm and 8' × 4' are not identical.
Can it nest irregular shapes?: No. It nests rectangles. Profiled or curved parts need a true-shape nester in CAM.
Why did adding kerf change my sheet count so much?: Because your part sizes divide the sheet almost exactly. When a row only just fits at zero kerf, a few millimetres removes it entirely.