Cutting software like OptiCut can be used for a vast range of materials that include sheet materials, bars and profiles.
2D and 1D Optimization
Note that OptiCut is not only 2D cutting software, that will enable you to optimize the cutting of sheet material, but is also a very high performing 1D cutting software that enables the optimization and stock management of materials that are sold in lengths like bars/profiles, boards, batons, mouldings, steel profiles, and any other similar material.
High performing cutting optimization whether it be in 2D or 1D is extremely important when cutting expensive raw materials like steel or aluminium profiles.
This is specially true for certain industries like steel construction, shipbuilding, aluminium curtain walls and so on that use enormous quantities of material for each project.
Optimized cutting of 1D material, that is in bars and profiles, can be carried out very effectively using a program like OptiCut.
Cutting Software versus Nesting
On the other hand it is important to realise that 2D cutting plan software is not always applicable to all sheet cutting. Linked to this we also need to know that 2D solutions are not the same as nesting software.
OptiCut will optimize the cutting of sheet material on a saw, which is not the same as a nesting program like OptiNest, which should be used when optimizing the cutting of sheet material on a CNC router or CNC laser cutter or water cutter.
The difference lies in either the constraints in the way the material must be cut, like in glass cutting, or in the machines used to cut the material… the saw, laser, plasma or water jet.
Cutting optimization software is designed to optimize the cutting of sheet material into rectangular parts of varying dimensions with the specific constraints linked to cutting with a saw. That is that the parts must be cut using straight lines that must completely cross a given piece of material, i.e. as in the case of a circular saw cutting wooden panels.
Nesting solutions are also designed to optimize the cutting of sheet material.
However, with nesting software it is not obligatory to have a straight cutting line that crosses any given part. And so it can optimize parts that are not necessarily rectangular, and the parts can in fact be of any shape.
This makes nesting applicable to applications where cutting is non-linear on cutting machines like CNC Routers and CNC laser, plasma or water cutters.
Further Information
Click here for more details on OptiCut, or download your demo version for free in the sidebar on the right.
Click here for more information on OptiNest.
