Board Cutting Calculator - Optimize Sheet & Panel Layouts

Every Wasted Board Costs You Money

Buy and cut a cabinet job’s boards without a plan and the order is padded: you round up, you cut each part type on its own sheets, and the offcuts never find a second use. How much that costs depends entirely on the job, so the numbers below come from one measured job rather than a promise.

A board cutting calculator solves this in seconds. Enter your stock board sizes, paste your parts list, click optimize — the nesting algorithm packs everything onto the fewest possible sheets and hands you a labeled cutting diagram ready for the saw.

CutOptim is a free online board cutting calculator that handles multiple board sizes, blade kerf compensation, grain direction locking, and offcut reuse. No installation, no signup for your first cuts, and full PDF/DXF export for the workshop floor.

See the Difference: One Job, Measured

A wardrobe-and-desk job in 18 mm board: 3 wardrobes and 4 desks, 52 parts, 37.15 m² of parts, cut from 2800 × 2070 mm sheets with a 3 mm kerf. Run through the same optimizer as the calculator above:

The optimizer is one sheet above the area minimum, which no layout can beat. On 2440 × 1220 mm (4 × 8 ft) sheets the same job takes 17 sheets mixed against 22 one type at a time, with an area minimum of 13. Your jobs will differ; our published benchmarks show how close the optimizer gets to the minimum across 1,200+ public test jobs.

How to Use This Board Cutting Calculator

1. Enter your stock board sizes

   Add the width and height of each board or sheet you plan to cut from. You can mix several sizes (e.g., 2800 × 2070 mm and 2440 × 1220 mm). Leftover offcuts you want to use up belong in the Offcut inventory: with Use off-cuts automatically on, the optimizer packs them before opening new stock.

2. Add every part you need to cut

   For each piece, enter its width, height, quantity, and a label (e.g., “Cab-03 Left Side”). If the board has a visible grain or veneer, enable grain-lock so the optimizer only places it in the correct orientation.

3. Set blade kerf and edge trim

   Enter your blade kerf — 3 mm for a standard panel saw, 0 mm for CNC with tool compensation. If your boards have rough factory edges, set an edge trim of 5–10 mm per side.

4. Click Optimize and review the layout

   The algorithm packs your parts across the minimum number of boards. Each piece is labeled on the visual diagram. Waste areas are highlighted so you can spot reusable offcuts at a glance.

5. Export for the workshop or CNC

   Download a PDF with labeled cutting diagrams (with a free account: add your company logo), a CSV for material costing, or a DXF for direct CNC machine import.

Standard Board Sizes — EU Quick Reference

This board calculator doubles as a sheet material calculator: enter any of these sizes as stock and it works out how many sheets the job needs. Cutting plywood only? The plywood cut calculator lists the standard plywood sheets, including 4×8 ft and 5×5 ft.

Who Needs a Board Cutting Calculator?

Cabinet makers and kitchen fitters

A standard kitchen has 15–30 cabinet boxes, each needing 5–6 panels: top, bottom, two sides, back, and shelf. That is 100–180 parts from melamine chipboard. Without optimization, workshops over-order by 2–3 sheets “just in case.” With CutOptim, you know the exact sheet count before placing the order — and parts from two concurrent kitchen projects can share sheets when schedules align.

Furniture workshops and batch producers

Wardrobes, desks, and bookcases share repeating dimensions. The optimizer groups identical parts, rotates for the tightest fit, and often saves a full sheet on every 10-unit batch. Save the project (Pro), reload it next month, adjust quantities, re-optimize — production planning in under a minute.

Shopfitters and exhibition builders

Premium boards (acrylic-faced MDF at €80+, fire-rated panels) make every wasted sheet expensive. Import your CAD cut list, optimize, and send the labeled PDF directly to the CNC operator. No ambiguity, no re-measuring, no delays. Starting from a parts list for the whole job rather than from the boards? The cut list calculator is built around that list.

DIY builders

Even a single bookcase with 12 parts benefits. The visual cutting diagram tells you exactly how many boards to buy before you drive to the hardware store — no more guessing, no return trips for “one more sheet.”

Pro Tips for Better Board Cutting Results

• One material per optimization. Run 18 mm white melamine and 16 mm birch plywood separately. Mixed-material diagrams cause errors at the saw.
• Account for edge banding. Edge tape is glued onto the cut edge, so it makes the part larger. If your list holds finished sizes, cut the panel smaller by the tape thickness on each banded edge — a 600 mm finished part with 2 mm tape on both ends is cut at 596 mm.
• Label everything. Use clear part names (e.g., “Wardrobe-02 Shelf”) — they appear on the PDF diagram and make assembly foolproof.
• Save projects for repeat orders (Pro). When a client changes quantities or a part needs recutting, reload the saved layout and re-optimize instead of starting from scratch.

Free vs. Pro — Choose Your Plan