Limited Stock & Priority Cuts New
Limited stock mode caps the optimizer to the exact quantities of material you own — your entered quantities become a hard limit instead of a suggestion — while priority (must-cut) pieces are parts you flag with a ⚑ so they are cut first when stock runs short. Both work in 2D panel, 1D linear and wood modes, on every plan.
Most optimizers answer one question: “what is the most efficient way to cut these parts?” — assuming you can always buy another board. But real workshops often face a different question: “I have exactly these three sheets left in the rack — what can I actually get out of them, and which parts matter most?”
Limited stock and priority cuts answer that second question. Together they let you:
- Cap the optimizer to the material you actually own — quantities become a hard limit, not a suggestion.
- Flag the parts that must be cut — so your priorities go in first, even if optional filler parts have to be left for the next order.
- See exactly what didn’t fit — with a clear distinction between “out of stock” and “too big to ever fit”.
This page covers both features, plus editable piece colours and how everything appears in the cut list and PDF, across all three cutting modes: 2D panel, 1D linear, and wood.
Key facts
- Limited stock mode treats the quantity of each sheet, rod, or board as a hard cap and auto-mixes the formats you own to fit as much as possible.
- Unlimited is the default and is unchanged — Limited is opt-in via the Sheet supply (2D) / Stock supply (1D and wood) switch.
- Priority (⚑) pieces are cut first when stock is short; the flag appears only in Limited mode.
- Anything that can’t be placed is split into “out of stock” vs “too big to ever fit”, so the cause is never ambiguous.
- Works in 2D, 1D linear and wood, on every plan including free; priority marks also print on the PDF (as a
(!)prefix).
Unlimited vs Limited stock supply
At the top of the Stock section there is a Sheet supply (2D) / Stock supply (1D and wood) switch with two options:
| Mode | Behaviour | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited (default) | The optimizer uses as many of each size as it needs, cloning your stock formats to fit every part. Nothing is ever left unplaced for lack of stock. | ”How much material should I buy?” — planning a purchase. |
| Limited | The quantities you enter are treated as a hard cap. The optimizer combines the sizes you actually own to fit as much as possible, and reports anything that couldn’t be placed. | ”What can I cut from what’s in the rack right now?” — using existing stock. |
Unlimited is the default and is unchanged. If you never touch the switch, CutOptim behaves exactly as before — this is a fully additive feature. Switch to Limited only when you want your entered quantities to act as a real inventory ceiling.
Mixing formats automatically
When you list several stock sizes in Limited mode — say two 2800×2070 sheets and one 2500×1250 — the optimizer no longer just clones the single most convenient format. It respects each format’s quantity and mixes them to fit your parts, then reports the exact combination it used:
Sheets used: 2× 2800×2070 + 1× 2500×1250.
This is the behaviour a workshop expects: if you have two big boards and one offcut sheet, the plan should use all three, not four copies of the big board.
Priority (must-cut) pieces
When stock is limited, not everything may fit. Priority pieces let you decide what gets cut first.
- 1
Switch Stock supply to Limited
The priority flag only makes sense when stock is a hard limit, so the flag column is hidden in Unlimited mode. Set Sheet/Stock supply to Limited to reveal it.
- 2
Find the flag button on each part row
In the demand table, a flag (⚑) button appears on every part row once Limited mode is active. Its tooltip reads: 'Cut this piece first when sheet supply is limited.'
- 3
Click the flag to mark a priority piece
The flag fills with the accent colour to show it is active. Mark as many parts as you like — these become your must-cut priorities.
- 4
Optimize
Priority pieces are sorted to the front of the packing order, so they are placed before any optional parts. If stock runs short, it is the un-flagged filler parts that drop — never your priorities (as long as they physically fit).
Think of priority pieces as “cut these no matter what.” A cabinet’s two visible side panels might be priorities, while an internal shelf that you can cut next week is filler. Flag the side panels, and the optimizer guarantees them first.
Priority pieces vs. sheet priority (★)
CutOptim has two unrelated “priority” concepts — don’t confuse them:
| Feature | What it prioritises | Where you set it |
|---|---|---|
| Priority piece (this page, ⚑ flag) | Which parts to cut first when stock is limited | Flag button on each demand (parts) row |
| Sheet priority (★ star) | Which stock sheet / offcut to consume first (e.g. use up an old board before new stock) | Star toggle on each stock row |
They work together but answer different questions: what to cut vs. what to cut it from.
What happens when a part doesn’t fit?
In Limited mode, CutOptim carefully separates two very different reasons a part might not be placed:
Out of stock is not the same as too big. A part that would fit your boards but ran out of stock is a stock shortage — add more quantity and it fits. A part larger than any board you own can never fit and is reported separately as unplaced.
- ⚠ Not enough stock — a dedicated block lists parts that fit your sheet/rod sizes but stock ran out. The hint reads: “These pieces fit your sheet sizes but stock ran out. Add more quantity, or set Sheet supply to Unlimited.”
- Priority shortage — if a flagged priority piece couldn’t be cut, you get an explicit warning: “
{n}priority piece(s) couldn’t be cut”, with guidance to add a sheet or raise stock quantities. If all priorities were cut, you get a green confirmation: “All priority pieces were cut ({n})”.
This means you are never misled: a genuinely oversized part is not blamed on stock levels, and a stock shortage is not disguised as a geometry problem.
Editable piece colours
Every part row — in 2D, 1D and wood modes — has a colour swatch next to it. Click it to choose any colour.
That colour is used consistently everywhere the part appears:
- In the on-screen cutting diagram (the coloured rectangles / segments)
- In the cut list (a coloured dot and coloured part name)
- In the exported PDF (diagram, legend and cut list)
Colours are for you and your team — group related parts (all door fronts in one colour, all shelves in another) so the cutting plan is easier to read on the shop floor. Unlike the priority flag, the colour swatch is always available, in both Unlimited and Limited modes.
On the PDF
Everything above carries through to the exported PDF, so the person at the saw sees the same priorities you set on screen.
- Priority marks in the cut list — each placed priority piece is marked with a
(!)prefix before its name (on screen the mark is a ⚑ flag; the PDF uses(!)for font compatibility). - Legend note — a short note explains the mark: ”(!) = priority piece (cut first)”.
- Priority pieces summary block — under the “How this plan was optimized” section, a dedicated block titled “Priority pieces (cut first)” lists every priority piece and confirms whether it was cut. This appears in all three modes (2D, 1D linear, wood).
- Colours — each part’s chosen colour is used in the PDF diagram, legend and cut list.
See Exports & Downloads for the full list of what each export format includes.
Availability
All four capabilities — Unlimited stock, Limited stock, priority pieces and editable colours — work in every cutting mode and on every plan, including the free tier.
| Unlimited stock | Limited stock | Priority pieces | Editable colours | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2D Panel | ✓ (default) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 1D Linear | ✓ (default) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wood | ✓ (default) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
All of these features are available on every plan, including the free tier — they change how the optimizer runs, not how often you can run it. See Settings for the other levers (kerf, trim, tolerance) that affect the cutting plan, and Offcut Inventory for feeding leftover pieces back into future limited-stock jobs.