New Microsoft Excel Add-in Automates LInear Cutting Optimization

Working out how to make the best possible use of material stocks and minimize waste has always been a time-consuming, everyday problem for industrial companies, professional contractors and hobbyists who need to cut parts according to a project’s specification. Now, Optimalon Software’s new and innovative 1DCutX add-in for Microsoft Excel makes it easy to optimize the cutting of linear material (such as bars, beams and pipes).

Traditionally, the most obvious and widely used cutting procedure is known as the “greedy” cutting approach and involves cutting the biggest parts first and the smallest parts later. Unfortunately, this cutting method produces a lot of scrap material and requires more stocks than strictly necessary. Moreover, the task of minimizing scrap becomes even more complicated as the number of different part sizes to be cut increases.

1DCutX was designed as a modern and efficient solution to this well-known problem and can save as much as 20% of material. Denis Smirnov from Optimalon Software, explains, “We took a step back and realized that while businesses of all sizes were already using Microsoft Excel extensively as an in-house inventory system, they were not using the spreadsheet to optimize their cutting procedures. By employing the latest developments in computational algorithms, we were able to develop the 1DCutX length cutting optimization add-in for Excel. This handy and easy-to-use tool allows construction and metalworking businesses to save a lot of time and money by quickly identifying the optimum cutting process for each project.”

1DCutX integrates with Microsoft Excel and reads stock sizes and part specification data from open spreadsheets. It then performs the calculations and generates the required cutting report in a matter of seconds. The software also produces graphical images of the cutting layouts and embeds them into the reports, to make things as easy as possible for the cutting operators. 1DCutX generates a summary report that outlines the used stocks, scrap produced (if any) and the total cost of the material required. This significantly simplifies the process of preparing an accurate project quotation. There are also optional settings that allow users to tune-up the calculation according to the cutting hardware features, such as non-zero saw kerf (thickness), minimal off-cut (scrap) sizes and stock trim sizes.

1DCutX saves all the settings it needs in the current open spreadsheet, which means that the user doesn’t need to worry about managing any additional files. The resulting self-contained spreadsheet can be shared with others users who have 1DCutX installed, so they can re-run the calculation without entering the necessary settings again. Such transparency completely eliminates the possibility of any errors due to incorrect loading or saving of data and settings.

The free trial version of 1DCutX and more information is available at Optimalon Software website, http://www.optimalon.com/length_cutting_excel.htm

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