// FREE TOOL — CUT OPTIMIZER

Watch your scrap disappear.

Enter your stock sizes and a cut list. The same engine that plans every work order in Painless fills your remnants first, packs virgin stock by cost, and shows exactly what goes back on the rack — and what you were about to throw away.

// 3/4" PREFINISHED PLYWOOD INCHES
Cut list
PART LEN WID QTY
Stock sizes you buy
LENGTH WIDTH COST/PC
Remnants on your rack
Cutting policy
MATERIAL SAVED 54% vs cutting down the list
NEW MATERIAL COST $101.96 naive: $224.00
YIELD 93% naive: 52%
NEW PIECES OPENED 2 + 1 remnant reused
REMNANT FIRST Remnant 46" × 30"
3 cuts 2.1 sq ft waste $0 — already on hand
Offcut — charged as waste Offcut — charged as waste Side panel 34.5" × 23.25" Side panel — 34.5" × 23.25" in Stretcher Stretcher — 22.5" × 6" in Stretcher Stretcher — 6" × 22.5" in (rotated) Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this
Piece 1 — 120" × 60" stock
6 cuts 108 sq in waste 28.5" × 60" back to stock 22.125" × 37.375" offcut back to stock 22.625" × 14.25" offcut back to stock 12.125" × 25.375" offcut back to stock $62.74
Offcut — charged as waste OFFCUT Flat offcut — meets the minimum remnant size, cut free and returned to stock (22.125 × 37.375 in) OFFCUT Flat offcut — meets the minimum remnant size, cut free and returned to stock (22.625 × 14.25 in) Flat offcut — meets the minimum remnant size, cut free and returned to stock (12.125 × 25.375 in) REMNANT → back to stock Usable leftover — returned to inventory as a remnant (28.5 × 60 in) Side panel 23.25" × 34.5" ⟳ Side panel — 23.25" × 34.5" in (rotated) Side panel 34.5" × 23.25" Side panel — 34.5" × 23.25" in Side panel 23.25" × 34.5" ⟳ Side panel — 23.25" × 34.5" in (rotated) Bottom — 22.5" × 22.75" in (rotated) Bottom — 22.5" × 22.75" in (rotated) Shelf — 22" × 22.5" in (rotated) Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this
Piece 2 — 96" × 48" stock
7 cuts 119 sq in waste 22.625" × 48" back to stock 28.125" × 19.75" offcut back to stock 22.625" × 13.625" offcut back to stock $39.23
Offcut — charged as waste OFFCUT Flat offcut — meets the minimum remnant size, cut free and returned to stock (28.125 × 19.75 in) OFFCUT Flat offcut — meets the minimum remnant size, cut free and returned to stock (22.625 × 13.625 in) REMNANT → back to stock Usable leftover — returned to inventory as a remnant (22.625 × 48 in) Door blank 28" × 14" Door blank — 28" × 14" in Door blank 28" × 14" Door blank — 28" × 14" in Shelf — 22.5" × 22" in Shelf — 22.5" × 22" in Shelf — 22.5" × 22" in Stretcher Stretcher — 22.5" × 6" in Stretcher Stretcher — 22.5" × 6" in Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this Kerf — the saw blade consumes this

// THIS IS THE SAME ENGINE THAT PLANS EVERY WORK ORDER IN PAINLESS — REMNANTS FIRST, THEN THE CHEAPEST STOCK MIX.

001
001 // HOW IT DECIDES

The policy a good cut man runs in his head — on every order, automatically.

01

Remnants first

Every usable drop on your rack gets checked before a fresh stick is opened. Smallest usable piece first, so the awkward short drops finally get burned down instead of aging into scrap.

02

Cheapest stock mix

Remaining cuts pack largest-first into each stock size you buy. The size with the lowest total material cost wins — and the final partial piece re-shops to a shorter, cheaper size when one fits.

03

Remnant vs scrap, called honestly

Leftovers at or above your minimum usable size return to stock — and cost you nothing. Drops below it are charged as scrap, so the numbers you see match the material you pay for.

In production this goes further: the optimizer plans across material profiles (the same extrusion stocked in three stick lengths, the same fabric in two roll widths), tracks every kept remnant as real inventory, suggests the exact remnant piece at pick time, and splices oversize panels into seamed strips. This page is the same engine with the database unplugged.

// READY TO STOP GUESSING?

This runs on every work order. Automatically.

No spreadsheet, no cut-list math, no “ask Dave which drop to grab.” Orders come in, cut plans come out, remnants go back on the rack — tracked.