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Cut Long Products (Optimization)

Table of Contents

The Cut Long Products section (also called Optimization) helps you plan how to cut your steel bars efficiently. This reduces waste and saves money by finding the best way to cut what you need from what you have.

What is Cutting Optimization?

When you have long steel bars in inventory and need to cut them into shorter pieces for orders, there are many ways to do it. Some ways waste more material than others.

The optimization tool automatically finds the best cutting pattern that:

  • Uses the bars you have in stock
  • Produces the pieces customers ordered
  • Creates the least amount of waste
  • Minimizes the number of cuts needed

Example:

If you have 12-meter bars and need pieces that are 3.5 meters and 4 meters long, the system figures out how to cut them to waste as little as possible.

Viewing Your Cutting Plans

The main page shows all your optimization runs (cutting plans).

What you’ll see

  • Name - Description of the cutting plan
  • Date Created - When you ran it
  • Status - Complete, in progress, or failed
  • Waste % - How much material will be unused
  • Actions - View details, download, delete

Running Optimization

Step 1: Prepare Your Data

Before running optimization, make sure you have:

  1. ✅ Current inventory entered in the system
  2. ✅ Orders entered with correct quantities and lengths
  3. ✅ Matching material types and diameters

Tip

The optimizer can only use bars you have in inventory to fulfill orders you’ve entered.

Step 2: Start a New Optimization

  1. Click the + New Optimization button
  2. A setup form appears

Step 3: Select What to Include

Choose what inventory and orders to use:

Inventory Selection

  • Select the material grade (e.g., Grade 250)
  • Select the diameter (e.g., 20mm)
  • The system shows you how many bars you have available

Orders Selection

  • Select which orders to include in this cutting plan
  • Check the order numbers and quantities
  • You can select multiple orders at once

Step 4: Run the Optimization

  1. Give your optimization run a clear name (e.g., “Order 101-105 Grade 250 20mm”)
  2. Click Run Optimization
  3. The system calculates the best cutting pattern
  4. This usually takes 10-30 seconds

Step 5: Wait for Results

A progress indicator shows the optimization is working. When complete, you’ll see:

  • ✅ Success message
  • Results summary
  • Option to view details

Understanding Results

Viewing the Cutting Plan

  1. Click on a completed optimization from the list
  2. The details page opens

Summary Section

  • Total bars to cut
  • Total pieces produced
  • Waste percentage
  • Material utilization

Cutting Patterns

Each pattern shows:

  • Which bar from inventory to use (by position/ID)
  • What lengths to cut from it
  • How many times to repeat this pattern
  • Waste remaining from each bar

Reading a Cutting Pattern

Example pattern:

Bar #1 (12,000mm) → Cut: 3,500mm, 3,500mm, 4,000mm = 11,000mm used
Waste: 1,000mm (8.3%)
Repeat this pattern: 5 times

This means:

  • Take bar #1 from your inventory
  • Cut one piece 3,500mm long
  • Cut another piece 3,500mm long
  • Cut one piece 4,000mm long
  • You’ll have 1,000mm left over as waste
  • Do this same pattern on 5 different bars

Downloading Results

Downloading the Cutting Plan

To save the plan or print it for the production floor:

  1. Open the optimization details
  2. Click the Download button
  3. Choose format:
    • Excel - Spreadsheet with all patterns
    • PDF - Printable cutting instructions
  4. The file downloads to your computer

Tip

Print the PDF and give it to the operator who will be cutting the bars.

What’s in the Download

The downloaded file includes:

  • List of bars to use (by inventory reference)
  • Exact cutting measurements for each pattern
  • How many pieces of each length to produce
  • Total waste calculation
  • Summary statistics

Comparing Optimizations

If you want to try different approaches:

  1. Run optimization with different inventory selections
  2. Run optimization with different order combinations
  3. Compare waste percentages
  4. Use the plan with the lowest waste

Example:

  • Run 1: Using only 12-meter bars = 12% waste
  • Run 2: Using mix of 12-meter and 6-meter bars = 7% waste
  • Choose Run 2 - saves material!

Managing Your Optimizations

Renaming an Optimization

  1. Click the Edit button (pencil icon)
  2. Change the name to something more descriptive
  3. Click Save

Good naming examples:

  • “Week 42 Grade 500 16mm”
  • “Customer ABC Order 101-103”
  • “Urgent Orders Oct 21”

Deleting Old Optimizations

To keep your list clean:

  1. Find optimizations you no longer need
  2. Click the Delete button (trash icon)
  3. Confirm deletion

Danger

Deleted optimizations cannot be recovered. Download them first if you might need them later.

Common Questions

What if the optimization can’t use all my inventory?

The system only uses bars that can efficiently produce the required pieces. Leftover inventory stays in your stock.

What if I don’t have enough inventory to fulfill my orders?

The optimization will show what it can do with available inventory. You’ll need to get more stock for the remaining orders.

Can I adjust the cutting patterns manually?

The patterns are optimized by the system. If you need different patterns, try running optimization with different inventory or order selections.

How accurate is the waste calculation?

Very accurate. However, add a small allowance for saw blade width (kerf) when cutting in real production.

Can I save multiple optimization runs?

Yes! Keep different scenarios saved so you can compare them and choose the best approach.

What if two patterns have similar waste percentages?

Other factors matter too: number of cuts, bar handling, operator convenience. Choose what works best for your situation.

Tips for Best Results

  1. Keep inventory accurate - The optimizer can only work with what it knows you have
  2. Group similar orders - Optimizing orders with the same material together gets better results
  3. Consider bar handling - Sometimes a plan with slightly more waste but fewer cuts is more practical
  4. Save your plans - Keep successful plans for reference when similar orders come in
  5. Download before cutting - Always have a printed plan for the shop floor

Next Steps

With your cutting plan ready:

Tip

Smart cutting planning saves material, time, and money!