Cutlist Programs for woodworkers
- Thread starter matthere
- Start date
alexfranke
Senior Member
I'm surprised Woodworks hasn't chimed in with Cutlist Pro....
I typically just use Alibre Design by creating a "layout assembly" with a part the size of the sheet and then arranging parts on top of it by hand. I compare the layout partlist with the design part list to make sure I have everything. The drawing of the layout assembly comes out nicely.
This gives me full control of the process, it doesn't cost anything, but it takes a heck of a lot longer. Plus the part limitation in Xpress gets in the way.
If I could spare the cash, though, I'd probalby go with Cutlist Pro based on Woodworks' recommendation...
-Alex
Chime!! I must have missed a day or two reviewing the digest.
After extensive research I purchased Cutlist Plus (http://www.cutlistplus.com) to prepare my woodworking cutlists. It only does rectangular parts, which is all most affordable cutlist programs will handle. It gets quite expensive to handle anything with irregular edges. Most standard cabinet contain mostly rectangular parts. An internet search for cutlist or sheet optimization and layout programs will provide quite a list to choose from.
For non-rectangular parts, I do manual layouts of parts over a standard 4x8 rectangle simlar to Alex. My standards orient parts with the grain running horizontally so that I do not have to rotate parts to line up the grain. The horizontal orientation is also keeping with the standards Cutlist Plus uses for edgebanding specifications. I also have Alibre BOM templates available from my website, as well as the import template for Cutlist Plus.
Cutlist Plus is well written, reliable, and can handle not only lumber and sheet good but other material and labor as well. I even use it for outsourced parts such a drawer boxes by defining the box size, and including it in the exported BOM data. The sheet goods layout diagrams are fabulous, with optimization options as well as prefered first cut direction.