Nesting and Cutting Optimization

Hi,

We have created a short movie showing how to work with edge banding in Cutting Optimization pro 5.

Here it is:

enjoy

We have improved the loading of Excel and CSV files starting with version 5960 of Cutting Optimization pro.

Recall that loading of the parts (the demand) can be done by pressing the Open button from the toolbar of the Parts / Demand table. There you can specify Excel xls/xlsx/csv file type. Loading an Inventory can be done from menu File | Inventory.

From now you can:

– specify columns from which the data are loaded. For that purpose just press the arrows which are in the header (first row) of the table. For instance, if your first column in the Excel file contains the quantity, just select the “Quantity” word to appear in the top of the first column of the “Import data” table.

– ignore some rows which do not contain valid data. For this purpose uncheck the checkboxes from the first column of the table. Ignoring some rows is compulsory if your excel file contains some header rows and some other rows at the bottom of your data (like Date, Signature, etc)

A movie exemplifying these 2 cases is here:

Cutting Optimization pro saves a backup copy of its almost all files.

These copies are placed in the “backup” folder from the working directory (you can find the working directory by pressing menu Settings | Working directory).

In the backup folder are other folders for inventory, materials, edge bands, extra components etc.

Copies of the inventory are saved in the “stock” folder. The name of these files have the following structure:

initial name_year_month_day_hour_minute_second.extension,

where year, month, day, hour, minute, second specify the date and time of saving.

You can easily restore any of the previously saved inventory by taking one of the old files and by copying its content to the existing inventory file.

Now, you can restore an old inventory with few clicks.

– Go to menu History | Inventory. A list of files should appear. There is a table which has the file name on the first column and date of creation on the second column.

– Select the desired file. At the right (in the preview table) you may see its content.

– Press button Restore.

that is all … below is a short movie:

Starting with version 5.7.0.0 we can export diagrams to dxf format. Just run an optimization and then press the “DXF” button found in the main toolbar.

Currently we save everything (the sheet, the pieces and their sizes) in a single layout … but soon we will introduce more options so that the user can customize to output.

Starting with version 5601 of Cutting Optimization pro we have introduced the ability to move parts from one sheet to another.

There is a temporary panel (placed in the right side of the image) which is used for this purpose.

Here are the steps:

– Run the optimization.

– Drag any piece (from a sheet) to the right panel (in is a grayed area at the right of the sheet). A label with size of the piece (i.e. 100×200) should be created there. Drop the piece on the panel.

– Switch to another sheet where you want to place the piece.

– Drag the piece from the temporary panel to the new sheet. Drop it in the waste where you want to have it.

that is all!

here is a short movie with this operation:

I have just created a short movie showing how to work with products. You may watch it here:

Products in Cutting Optimization pro is a feature that will reduce the time spent to enter repetitive data in Cutting Optimization pro.

Imagine that you created a chair, or any other furniture. You know its components. You know that it has a part of 1000×500 size and 2 parts of 500×500.

If your customers want that chair, you have to introduce its sizes multiple times (once for each customer).

If you use products, you could introduce the sizes only once … and then you may added it to demand each time you need it.

Here are the steps for creating and using a product.

1. Go to menu Products | Show products.

2. Create a new product by pressing button “+”. Give a name to product.

3. Add the components of product in the table below. This has a similar structure with the Demand table from the main window of the Cutting Optimization pro.

4. Press ok. The product has been created and we can use it.

5. Now, assume that a customer wants 2 chairs (your product). Go to menu Products | Add product to demand.

6. From the list of the products select the one that you want to add it.

7. You may specify the quantity (how many copies of that product you want).

8. You may also re-assign the materials that are used to create that product.

9. Press Ok, and the product will be added to the current demand. You will see the sizes of the product’s parts added to demand list.

10. Start the optimization…

In version 5 of the Cutting Optimization pro we have introduced fractional input (i.e. you may introduce 100 1/2 instead of 100.5). The rules are the same as those outlined for our Simple Cutting Software. Please check this post for more details:

http://optimalprograms.com/blog/2012/05/11/fractional-input-in-simple-cutting-software/