Production
Optimize profile cutting
What this does
Arranges the required pieces along stock lengths so that as little profile as possible ends up as offcut. On an aluminium job, this is usually the biggest single saving available.
Steps
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01
Start from the cutting list for the batch you intend to cut.
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02
Set the stock bar length you are actually cutting from.
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03
Allow for the saw kerf and any end trim your machine needs.
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04
Run the optimisation.
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05
Review the result: pieces per bar, bars required, and the waste left over.
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06
Issue the pattern to the saw with the bar sequence intact.
Getting a better result
- Optimise in batches, not per window. Pieces from several units of the same profile nest far better together.
- Use real stock lengths. Optimising against 6 m when the rack holds 6.5 m throws away the difference on every bar.
- Keep usable offcuts. A long remnant is stock; treating it as scrap buys the same metal twice.
Example
Twelve identical windows cut one at a time leave a short remnant from every bar. The same twelve optimised as one batch pack their pieces across fewer bars, and the leftover arrives as one long piece that goes back on the rack.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring the kerf, so the last piece on each bar is short by a few millimetres.
- Re-sequencing the cuts on the floor, which breaks the pattern the optimisation depends on.
- Optimising a job that is about to change. Do it once the design is frozen.
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