Best Linear Cut Optimizers

[petestrycharske]

All,

Good morning!  I was recently asked by a client what the best linear cut optimizers are out there for Inventor.  I didn't see anything in the Inventor App Store, so I some digging and found a couple of online calculators and a couple of Excel based options.  However, it dawned on me that I should reach out to the community to see what everyone else has / is using.  If you could please provide links to the optimizers below, I'd love to evaluate them.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Below is a list that I've at least taken a cursory look at:

https://smartcut.pro/

https://www.cutoptimizeronline.com/

https://www.optimalon.com/length_cutting_excel.htm

https://metalopt.com/free_optimizer.html

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!  Hope all is well and have a most blessed day!

Peace,

Pete

[petestrycharske]

Oops, I meant to ask for others to provide links.  I merely wanted to list the ones that I'd already looked at to see if others had any feedback on them.  Sorry for any confusion.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Pete,

I am sorry that I don't have much to offer here since I am ignorant of "Linear Cut Optimizer." I am not aware of an Autodesk solution. I think what you have found is much more information than I can offer.

There is a trick I use for inquiries like this. I usually search for a solution provided for our competitors. Sometimes, the same solution might be available to Inventor also. For example, there are some online viewers and robotic analysis tools. Please share what you find.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

For a single set of lengths to optimize the solutions are relatively narrow and limited to

the best combination that can be fit within a stock length to cut from.

However if the need is for multiple sets not all known at one time, now that's where there

is no absolute best as strategies come in to play. As with poker, odds and choice strategies.

I have extensive experience in this area, over 30 years and many thousands of optimizations.

Anyone with questions may feel free to contact me about some of these techniques

[Anonymous]

Hey Pete,

Another thought, would you be able to create a nesting template for bar stock(or whatever you/client is using) and use that?

[paulZKN98]

@petestrycharske Did you have any success with this search?  This would be HUGE for us, and I'm surprised that there aren't any options in the app store.  We are always generating cut lists from our BOM and manually determining how many sticks of metal would be required for ordering / cutting processes in the shop.  

@Anonymous Could you elaborate on what tools you could use for this?  

Thanks!

Paul

[swalton]

I recently used Inventor Nesting to solve this problem for rubber strips.  It is part of the PDMC subscription, but a separate install.

I followed the AU class here: https://www.autodesk.com/autodesk-university/class/Inventor-Nesting-Isnt-Just-Sheet-Metal-2020

Worked fine for my needs.

[paulZKN98]

Wow, I've played around with Inventor Nesting but thought it was only for Sheetmetal. This is big! Thankyou!