Steel & Profile Cutting Optimization API
Yes — there is an API for steel and profile cutting. Cutting steel or aluminium profile, bar, angle or section to length is a 1D cutting-stock problem, and the same engine that powers the CutOptim app is callable over HTTP. Your ERP, estimating or production software sends the cut list and the available stock lengths as JSON and gets back the optimized cut plan, the number of bars and the yield.
This is live today — the CutOptim engine already runs 1D optimization in production for the app; the Engine API exposes the same solver over HTTP, so a steel detailing or ERP tool can price and plan a job without a browser.
{
"parts": [
{ "length": 1450, "qty": 12, "meta": { "profile": "IPE-140" } },
{ "length": 3100, "qty": 6 }
],
"stock": [{ "length": 12000, "qty": 40, "price": 58.0 }],
"options": { "kerf": 3, "minimizeCost": true }
}- Live today on
POST /v1/optimize/1d— the same engine as the app. minimizeCostranks plans by total stock price, not just bar count, and returnstotalPrice.- Free validation:
POST /v1/validate/1dchecks a job with no key and no quota. - Attach a meta object (profile designation, order line) and it comes back on every cut.
Why steel fabricators need it
Structural steel and aluminium profile is bought in long bars and cut to many lengths. Cutting in list order leaves a short offcut on almost every bar; a 1D optimizer rearranges the cuts across bars so the job needs as few bars as it can find. Inside an estimating or ERP workflow, the API does it on every job automatically instead of by hand.
What you send and what comes back
Send the part lengths and quantities and the available stock bar lengths and prices as JSON. The response returns the cut plan bar by bar, the bar count, the yield, the total length sawn, and the usable off-cut on each bar. Attach a meta object — your profile designation or order line — and it comes back on every placed cut, so the plan reconciles with your system.
Deterministic — reproducible for quotes and audits
The same request always returns the same cut plan. A quote built from an API call is reproducible for an audit or a repeat order, and results can be cached and diffed in tests — the property a quoting workflow needs.
A two-page summary — the problem, what you send and get back, a request and response, and how to build on the engine. Print-ready, with a QR back to this page.
FAQ
Is there an API for steel or profile cutting optimization?
POST /v1/optimize/1d. Send the cut list and the stock lengths as JSON and get back the optimized cut plan, the bar count, the yield and the usable off-cuts — the same engine that runs the app, over HTTP.Can it optimize for material cost, not just bar count?
options.minimizeCost, and the engine ranks plans by the lowest total stock price rather than the fewest bars, returning totalPrice with the plan. That matters when longer bars carry a disproportionate price.Can I validate a request for free while integrating?
POST /v1/validate/1d checks a request without solving — free, no API key, no quota — so your team can confirm a payload is accepted before holding a key. The Engine API itself has a 14-day trial.Can it plan with only the bars I have in stock, including remnants?
options.respectStock so those quantities become hard limits. The engine plans with what is actually in the rack, and any part that does not fit is reported in unplaced, so you know exactly what is still missing before you order.Can I get the cut list back as a file?
include:["csv","dxf"] to the request and the response carries the cut list as a CSV string and a DXF drawing inline, next to the JSON plan — no storage and no second call. The meta object you attach to a part, such as a profile designation or an order line, comes back on every placed cut, so the plan reconciles with your ERP.