Panel Cut Optimizer: Cutting Plans for Full-Size Boards

• Edge-to-edge (guillotine) cuts. Every cut has to cross the whole piece on the saw. A layout that needs a cut to stop halfway is fine on a CNC router but impossible on a panel saw.
• Kerf. A panel saw blade removes roughly 3 to 4.5 mm per cut, depending on the blade. Over a board with ten rips that's several centimetres. Set it to your blade.
• Grain and decor direction. Woodgrain melamine and veneered boards have a direction. Doors and visible sides must stay aligned, while carcass parts hidden inside can rotate.
• Trim. Factory edges on chipboard and MDF are often chipped. Trim a few millimetres off each edge and set that trim in the optimizer, so the plan uses the clean board size.
• Several board sizes. Shops often stock two sizes of the same decor. The optimizer should pick the size that wastes least.

EZNESTING handles all five, plus per-part edge banding with a total length of banding for the job.

The calculator at the top of this page has a two-door wardrobe, 1200 mm wide and 2200 mm tall, in 18 mm melamine-faced chipboard on 2800 × 2070 mm boards with a 4 mm kerf:

• 4 sides @ 2200 × 600 mm
• 6 shelves @ 1164 × 580 mm
• 4 tops and bottoms @ 1164 × 600 mm
• 4 rails @ 1164 × 100 mm

It comes out at 3 boards, 72.4% yield: the first board is 88% used, the second 71% and the third 58%. Most of the third board is left as offcut for the next job. Change the board size or add a second size to compare.

• A cutting diagram per board, with each part labelled, to print for the saw.
• Yield per board and overall, so you can price waste into a quote.
• Offcuts listed with sizes, ready to reuse on the next job.
• Exports: PDF for the shop, CSV and Excel for ordering and pricing, and DXF if the boards go to a CNC router instead.

What it doesn't output: machine programs for a beam saw (such as PTX files) or edge-bander files. If you need a file your saw loads directly, check what format your saw's software accepts. Some optimizers, such as Cutlist Evolution's top plan, list PTX export.

The free plan gives you unlimited optimizations and up to 5 part sizes and 3 stock sizes per job, with every optimizer feature included. A shop running panels all day will hit those limits. Pro ($7.99/month or $79.99/year) removes them and adds printable part labels, share links, inventory tracking, branded quotes, and the AI cut list generator.