1DCutX Online Help.
The main purpose of the 1DCutX is to simplify the cutting optimization process as much as possible and make such optimization available to the Excel's users.
1. Select "Tools..." in the main menu.
2. Click on the "Length (1D) Cutting Optimization..." menu item as shown on the picture.
1. Select "Add-Ins" in the main menu.
2. Click on the "Length (1D) Cutting Optimization..." ribbon element as shown on the picture.
Cutting of any one-dimension (1D) stock material (bars, pipes, wires, etc.) is widely used by handymen, hobbyists and professionals.
Cutting the baseboards for the home renovation or cutting the paper rolls at the factory have one common purpose - minimize the waste and
quantity of used stocks and therefore reduce the cost of the project.
The problem statement is very simple - there are linear stocks with their length, quantity and cost and there are parts that have to be cut
from the stocks. Parts are defined by their lengths and quantity. The purposes of the calculation are following:
- Define the length and quantity of the stocks required to cut all parts.
- Generate the parts location layout which indicates the stock and the coordinate of every part.
- Generate the sequence and the coordinates of the cuts for each layout.
- Utilize as much as possible of the cheaper stocks and therefore minimize the total project cost.
Sometimes the cutting involves knives or saws and the latest case the saw kerf (thickness) has to be taken into consideration during the optimization.
Another variety is incomplete optimization when the stock supply is limited and only some parts can be cut from the stocks.
1DcutX reads the linear stocks and parts definitions (lengths and quantities) directly from the Excel spreadsheet and defines the optimization task.
Next it solves the task and detects how many different cutting layouts required and creates a separate spreadsheet for each layout with name "1D_n"
where n denotes the index of the layout. These spreadsheets contain the list of used stocks, parts and detail list of cuts.
The graphical image of the layout placed on the spreadsheets for the user's convenience. The image displays the parts their IDs and sizes and the offcut (if exists).
Also 1DCutX creates the summary spreadsheet "1D_report" that contains the quantities of used and unused stocks and parts, and statistic about each created layouts.
1DCutX supports numbers specified in decimal, scientific or fractional formats.
Examples of the same numbers specified in different formats:
| Decimal: | 23 | 4.75 | 0.05 |
| Scientific: | 2.3e1 | 0.475e1 | 5e-2 |
| Fractional: | 23 | 4 3/4 | 1/20 |
In addition 1DCutX supports Feet/Inch numbers like 5' 8 1/8", which means 5 feet and 8 1/8 inches.
The dialog specifies the range of cells containing stocks and parts definitions and some
additional settings such as saw kerf and minimal waste size. Some ranges of cells are optional and some are mandatory.
All ranges are specified in Excel format as following examples:
- Sheet1!$A$7 specifies one cell locates on the column "A" and row 7 on the worksheet "Sheet1".
- Sheet1!$B$2:$B$5 specifies cells on the column "B" from row 2 to row 5 inclusive on the worksheet "Sheet1".
- Sheet2!$C:$C specifies all cells from the column "C" on the worksheet "Sheet2".
- Sheet1!$8:$8 specifies all cells from the row 8 on the worksheet "Sheet1".
Mandatory ranges:
1. Length of the linear stocks.
This range specifies the cells that contain length (size) of the linear stock pieces. These pieces will be cut by smaller pieces, so-called linear parts.
2. Length of the linear parts.
This range specifies the cells that contain length (size) of the linear parts that will be cut from the linear stocks.
3. Quantity of the linear parts.
This range specifies the cells that contain quantity (number) of the linear parts that have to be cut from the linear stocks.
Optional ranges:
1. Linear stock IDs.
This range allows specifying the cells that contain text identifiers for each linear stock piece. If this range is omitted then default identifiers "1", "2", etc. are used.
2. Quantity of the linear stocks.
If this range left blank then 1DCutX will calculate how many pieces of linear stocks are required to cut all linear parts.
If you specified this range it means you already know how many pieces you have and you need to utilize them.
3. Price of the linear stocks.
If you specified this range then 1DCutX will try to use the cheaper stocks first that results in cost minimization of the project.
If this range left blank then the smallest stock will be used first.
4. Linear stock IDs.
This range allows specifying the cells that contain text identifiers for each linear part. If this range is omitted then default identifiers "1", "2", etc. are used.
The range of cells can be specified using the mouse or entered directly into the edit boxes.
If you want to specify the range by the mouse you have to press the "..." button on the right side of the edit box and
select the range on the current workbook.
You can specify different spreadsheets for different ranges or they can be one the same spreadsheet.
If you didn't specify all mandatory ranges then 1DCutX would ask you to specify it before you could run the calculation.
When all necessary ranges of cells are specified you can run the optimization by pressing "Run" button.
The dialog closes, the ranges get saved and the result spreadsheets get created.
If you don't want to run the calculation now you can press "OK" button and all information you
entered will be saved.
If you don't want to run the calculation and don't want to save any changes you made you can press "Cancel" button.
The third tab "Settings" allows to tune-up the cutting optimization according to some specific requirements:
Minimal offcut / waste size.
This parameter specifies the minimal size of the waste part (offcut) that can be cut from the stocks.
It plays an important role for the glass or slab cutting when it's hard or impossible to cut a tiny piece from the
stock, because of the tools limitations.
Saw kerf / thickness.
When stock gets cut by a saw and high degree of accuracy is desired then this parameter is important.
It defines the size of the gap between the parts that is a result of material removal by the saw.
If there are no enough stocks to cut all parts then you can uncheck "All parts must be cut from the stocks".
The fourth tab “Options” allows to select what information will be included into the output reports.
Include Layout Spreadsheets.
1DCutX can generate separate spreadsheets for each cutting layouts with names “1D_x” where x – number of layout.
If such information is not required then you can turn off the layout generation by un-checking this box.
If you unchecked it then only summary report spreadsheet “1D_report” will be generated.
Cut List.
This checkbox allows including the list of cut locations for each cut on the stock.
Graphical Image of the Layout.
1DCutX can generate the image of the layout and insert it into each spreadsheet.
The image is very helpful tool for the visualising of the actual cuts and parts placement.
Parts Info.
This checkbox includes a table for a each layout that describes the part IDs, the length and location of the part on the layout.
Include Layouts Matrix.
This checkbox includes a table / matrix of the stocks and number of the parts cut from these stocks. It helps the cutting operator to know at a glance how many parts to cut from each stock.
There are two choices to select the orientation of the matrix. The first orientation has list of stocks along Y axis that means each row has one stock and all parts are in columns.
The second choice provides list of stocks along X axis that means each stock is located in a separate column and parts are in rows.
Sort Order of the Summary Report.
The summary report is very helpful for the financial assessment of the cutting job.
Report contains a table that summarises the stock usage, number and size of the layouts, waste and cost.
You can select the column and the order that the table will be sorted.
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