Plywood cutlist/layout calculator??

[Jason White]

I have a measured drawing for a simple bookcase and the goal is to make all the pieces for the bookcase out of a single sheet of 4'x8', 3/4" thick plywood (except for the back which will be 1/4" ply).

Here's my problem. I have a list of the pieces I'll need to cut and their exact dimensions. What I need is some type of online calculator that will let me plug in my pieces (with their dimensions) and spit out a drawing of all my pieces laid out on a sheet of 4'x8' plywood.

Any suggestions?

Jason

[Jim Becker]

Available for download online is Cutlist Plus...excellent program. I use the "Silver" version which had a reasonable charge, but I needed/wanted capacity for more components.

[Steve Milito]

Available for download online is Cutlist Plus...excellent program. I use the "Silver" version which had a reasonable charge, but I needed/wanted capacity for more components.

Same here. Great program. I used it when I built a 14' wall of shop cabs. It more than paid for itself in saved materials.

[Keith Beck]

There's also a free version you can download here: http://www.delphiforfun.org/Programs/CutList.htm

I've haven't used it yet, so I don't know how good it works.


Keith

[Jason White]

Thanks, Jim. I downloaded and you're right -- it works great!!

I wish they had a Mac version. I don't use my little Windows XP laptop much anymore. Sigh!

Jason


Available for download online is Cutlist Plus...excellent program. I use the "Silver" version which had a reasonable charge, but I needed/wanted capacity for more components.

[Dan Racette]

double sigh on the mac version for most of the tidbits around the field of woodworking.

[Mark Unterberg]

Per Keith Beck's link re the delphi program. Tried to run it on Windows Vista and it totally wigged out my machine...had to shut it down, the window was flashing like a strobelight.
But I then bought Cut List Plus Silver for $90 with CD...awesome. I didn't even read the quick start guide and did an 8 plywood sheet, 74 parts cut list in about 20 minutes. I did it earlier today by hand on graph paper and it took 2 hours. It was tedious, and I wasn't positive that I had maximized cutting efficiency .This is a must have program for any shop. Lots of useful features. Paid for itself on this job alone (if only I hadn't already spent those 2 hours)!
Thanks to all for recommending it.

[Dave Aronson]

I tried the free version and it didn't flash and seemed to work for me. Cut List looks interesting but what $90 for a home user is pretty pricey. What makes it better than the free program?

FYI; the flashing may be related to the Windows Desktop, try turning Aero off and see if the flashing goes away.

[Jeff Bratt]

I've used the Delphiforfun free cutlist program for years. It works quite well, and it's free. I suspect that your real problem is Windows Vista, fortunately I avoided that sorry excuse of an operating system.

[John Nesmith]

I have used Maxcut on a project. It worked fine, but my needs were pretty simple.

http://maxcut.co.za/newversion/

[Don Selke]

Been using CutList plus for years and it is an asset to my shop. I now use sketchup for all my shop drawings and can use cutlist plus in conjunction with the program. Just make sure that everything is a component when drawing.

[Forrest Bonner]

And we won't be getting a Mac version anytime soon. I just got an e-mail from Todd Peterson, CutList Plus Woodworking Software, that he does "not anticipate making a Mac OS version of CutList Plus."
Forrest

[Matt Meiser]

Cut List looks interesting but what $90 for a home user is pretty pricey. What makes it better than the free program?

I've never used the free one. But I've had CutList Plus for several years now. I've paid for an upgrade once, which they let me jump to the next level at the same price. Of course now my upgrades in the future will cost me more. I'm pretty confident that my initial purchase was paid for on the first use in material savings. I've also exported Sketchup cutlists and imported into CLP for optimization. That is very handy!

[Hector M Torvisque]

I guess one obvious advantage over the free Delphi offering is that Cutlist Plus apparently does proper metric units.

[Dave Aronson]

I used it this weekend and it worked pretty well. It is slower than it should be but it is free. You also can't save the solution which is odd. So print out extra copies when you finish the solution.