Sheet Layout Software

[trvlnmny]

Does anyonne know of any Sheet Layout software that is actually free, has no time limit and has a capacity for about 50 parts. Thanks for all your help.

[B A R R Y]

You can use the demo version of Cutlist. Once you do, you may see the value in buying it.

[Thom]

Someone suggested this one ..

is free and works pretty well. Not as good as Cutlist Plus but more than good enough for a good competion.

Thom

[Leon]

IIRC CLP does have a piece limitation just like SheetLayout.

[Leon]

Only the demo, which has it limitations. If you want to benefit from the program you need to purchase a license that is appropriate to your needs. As Barry pointed out, Cut List Plus is also an excellent program to consider, similarly priced, and also has a limited demo version.

[HeyBub]

Looked at CUTLIST but it seems to require that the bits be rectangular. What if they're curved? Reminded me of a story from the Wall Street Journal.

Several years ago a chap had a similar problem - how to get the most parts out of material. His company made women's undergarments for institutional sales - his largest customer was the federal womens' prison system (on the subject of largest, his largest bra was 56DDDD). Anyway, no matter how he fiddled with his laser-guided cutting machines, he still ended up with about

20% silage (waste) that he had to sell as scrap.

This bothered him. Very expensive linen going for $5/ton. Oh well.

Then one day his nephew took him duck hunting.

After the hunt, they sat around cleaning their shotguns and this guy was struck by how crappy the cleaning patches were.

BINGO!

He went back to the factory and had his machine cut up 500 2x2" patches. He put 'em in a ziplock bag and beats-feet for Bentonville, Arkansas to see if he could sell his patches to Walmart. He figured if he could get 87 cents, he'd make a decent profit.

Buyer for Walmart looks his patches over, vets the guy's bona-fides, compares the patches to the current product, and announces: "We can give you $1.77 per 500-pack pouch. We'll take as many as you can make."

Today, every time I lubricate my rod and ram it home, I think of how close I am to a 56DDDD!

[Lew Hodgett]

free,

Depends.

If all you want to do is screw around with your computer, that's one thing.

If you want a quick and dirty solution, that's another.

I keep a pad of 8x8 graph paper, a pair of scissors, and some pencils handy.

Jobs done before the puter warms up.

Lew

[B A R R Y]

I used to think the same, Google is probably full of messages from me stating so. I made customized "board grid" sheets, similar to your graph paper, in MS Excel, and had a stack of blanks printed and ready to go. I'd color in boxes and label the parts.

One of the most useful characteristics of layout s/w is the ability to use different sizes of raw materials and instantly recalculate changes.

I never saw the true value of this until I started installing lots of trim and molding. I can order the job as say... 10 footers, and when a combination of 8, 14, or 12 foot sections show up, instantly get the best use of the material. This took a lot more time on paper. The idea same goes for partial sheets of ply, it even minds the grain.

For decent numbers of ply parts, CLP also generates handy stick-on label sheets. The part layout can be optimized to do cross cuts or rips first.

If you ever charge for work, CLP easily generates very impressive reports for your customer, including labor hours and taxes, if applicable.

I still use paper, pencils, and chalk for hardwood furniture parts, as software can't see figure, and it can't know I'm bandsawing a diagonal section from the middle of a board.

[Lew Hodgett]

If you are doing this job for money, all bets are off.

First things first, you BUY a good software package, just as you would expect to do for any good tool, if this is a commercial application.

Asking for a freebie indicates to me a hobbist who maybe only wants to investigaate the subject.

For a one shot hobbist deal, software requires more data entry than it's worth, IMHO.

Lew

[Dave]

Get yourself a good pad of graph paper and lay out your 4X8 sheet or board/s on the paper according to scale and save your money for more tool toys. IMHO.

[Lowell Holmes]

I use AutoCAD.