Primary focus
Cutting-Stock Optimization
Exploring more efficient cutting patterns for metal tubing, bar stock, aluminum extrusions, and other linear materials, accounting for stock lengths, saw kerf, reusable remnants, and multiple customer orders.
Less wasted material. Better cutting plans.
Exploring practical ways to improve cutting-stock utilization, manage reusable offcuts, and simplify production planning for fabrication shops.
Share Your Experience240 in stock length
Where Optimization Meets the Shop Floor
Figure 1. The same 4 orders, cut two ways
15 parts from 4 customer orders, cut from 20 ft bars.
Cut in the order received
3 bars. Scrap: 14.875, 12.125, 12.125 in. No offcut long enough to keep.
Planned as one set
3 bars. Scrap: 0.5, 2.125 in. Kept for reuse: 36.5 in.
Both cutting plans use the same amount of stock. The difference is that planning across orders preserves one larger remnant that may be useful for a future job.
Parts ordered
- A 68 in × 2
- B 52.5 in × 5
- C 39.75 in × 5
- D 27.25 in × 3
Stock
240 in (20 ft)
Saw kerf
0.125 in per cut
Offcuts
- Scrap, under 24 in
- Remnant kept, 24 in or longer
Conceptual illustration — not actual production results.
Related areas
Secondary focus
Material Waste & Remnant Reuse
Investigating how shops manage leftover material and whether practical optimization could improve material utilization beyond existing workflows.
Exploratory
Production Scheduling
Exploring how shops coordinate machine availability, setup times, urgent jobs, and delivery deadlines when planning becomes difficult.
About the Researcher
I’m Greg, the independent researcher behind Applied Ops Lab, based in Morris County, New Jersey.
I’m interested in how mathematical optimization can address practical manufacturing problems—particularly cutting plans, reusable material, and production constraints.
Right now, I’m learning from local fabrication shops about the planning challenges that existing software doesn’t fully address.
Does Your Shop Still Adjust Cutting Plans Manually?
I’m speaking with local fabrication professionals to understand how they handle multiple orders, different stock lengths, and reusable offcuts.
Does your cutting software handle these situations well, or are there still cases where someone on the shop floor finds a better arrangement?
I’d welcome a brief exchange—no sales pitch, just a practical conversation about what works and what doesn’t.
Send an Email
Or write directly to greg@appliedopslab.com