Gross, net and cutting dimensions

Three sizes, three different questions

Gross dimensions describe the piece including the thickness of its assigned edge bands. Net dimensions describe the underlying piece without that thickness. These terms concern edge bands attached to individual edges, not veneer applied to the broad face of a sheet.

Cutting dimensions describe the size used for the cutting plan. The material group selects a gross or net basis for 2D pieces, with allowance and deduction applied for processing. A finished gross size is therefore not automatically the size to cut. First identify which size your drawing or supplier file specifies.

Gross: use it to check the outside size including the assigned edge bands.
Net: use it to check the piece without edge-band thickness.
Cutting: use it to check the size required in the cutting plan, after the material-group and piece settings are taken into account.
The piece editor previews gross and net sizes. To inspect cutting sizes, use the cutting-dimension display for lists described below.

Set the cutting basis in the material group editor

These settings belong to a material group and can affect other pieces using that group. After the first practice optimization, inspect the existing group before preparing a production job.

Open Library → Material groups, select the piece’s material group and use Edit.
For 2D material, select Gross or Net for cutting.
This sets the cutting basis, not the convention for typing a piece’s dimensions.
Check the allowance and deduction values.
Allowance leaves material for later processing; deduction reduces the cutting size. Each applies at every piece edge. Stock trimming instead removes unusable edges of the source sheet.
Check whether individual pieces may override allowance and deduction.
The separate permission switches make the corresponding piece-editor fields available. Otherwise, the material-group values apply. Enable overrides only when the job needs them.
Click OK to save the material group, then close the material-group list. On the Projects tab, check a representative piece in the list’s Cutting display mode.
Changing list display does not correct an unsuitable material-group setting.
Calculate again and check the new plan before production.

Define an edge band in the library

The following fields belong to the edge-band editor opened from the library. Band width covers the material edge; band thickness is the layer added to that edge. Maximum material thickness helps you find a band suitable for the material.

The Surplus field specifies extra strip length left for trimming the ends. The entered amount is added at each end: for a 400 mm edge and a 10 mm allowance, the strip is 420 mm long. Set the piece’s own allowance and deduction separately in the piece editor.

In the main window, open the edge-band list from Library. Click Add, or select a band and click Edit.
Enter Name, Width, Thickness and Surplus. Set Maximum material thickness if that field is available.
Maximum material thickness is unavailable while the band is assigned to a piece.
Click OK to save the band. Close the edge-band list to return to the main window.

Assign edge bands in the piece editor

Here you assign existing edge bands to individual edges of a piece. The band definitions are edited separately in the library.

In the piece list on the Projects tab, select the piece and use Edit. Check its material group.
If edge banding is unavailable, close the piece editor, check the material group’s edge-banding permission, then reopen the piece.
Right-click each required preview edge and select its band. Choose no band for edges that must remain unbanded.
Check all four edge markings and compare the gross and net preview sizes.
Left/right edges affect length; top/bottom edges affect width in this preview. Check each opposite pair—bands need not match on every edge.
After changing the material group or bands, recheck the input convention and preview. Click OK.
Recalculate and inspect cutting sizes before issuing the job.

Enter a piece and handle a change of convention

The gross/net selector beside the dimension-entry fields is available for a material group that permits edge banding. It tells TonCut what the numbers you type mean. It does not choose the material group’s cutting basis or the list display.

In the piece list on the Projects tab, use Add or select a piece and use Edit. Select its material group and, if used, project.
If the Gross/Net selector is available, match it to the source drawing before typing. Check the unit and preview.
Enter length, width for 2D, and required quantity. Assign the edge bands.
Check any editable allowance or deduction, then compare the gross and net preview dimensions.
When changing Gross/Net, choose your response to the recalculation question if it appears.
Choosing No keeps the numbers and reinterprets them in the new convention; this can change the piece size.
Choose Yes to convert the displayed numbers while preserving the piece size.
Check that the preview matches the intended piece size.
If you switched Gross/Net only to compare the two sizes, accept recalculation to keep the piece unchanged. If you corrected an input that was read as the wrong dimension type, check that the resulting size is now correct.
Click OK only when the material group, bands, input convention and preview agree.
If the change was accidental, cancel the editor and reopen the saved piece to check its original values.

Compare lists and imported dimensions

A different number in a list does not by itself mean the piece changed. Compare the same piece, unit and dimension convention before editing its data.

Open Options → Configuration → Dimensions. Select Gross, Net or Cutting for lists and click OK.
On the Projects tab, select the piece by the identifier on its drawing.
Compare its list dimensions with the drawing using the same units and dimension type.
Reopen that piece with Edit.
If available, choose the matching Gross/Net convention.
If asked whether to recalculate the dimensions, accept so that the piece size stays the same.
Close the piece editor and return to the list. Use its Cutting mode to inspect cutting sizes. For material groups without the editor selector, compare in the chosen list mode.
The editor has no Cutting input choice.
For text import, match the wizard’s source unit and Gross/Net choice to the file.
These interpret incoming numbers independently of list display. The CSV exercise uses Gross input and checks the Gross list display.
For an unexpected size, check source convention, material group, assigned edges, band thickness, allowance and deduction.
Correct the responsible data or setting, save, recalculate and inspect the new result.
Do not resize a correct piece just to make different display modes show the same number.

Check dimensions on the actual output

List display, cutting-plan printing and label content are separate choices. A readable preview is not enough if the recipient interprets the number as a different size.

Cutting plans: the diagram presents the cutting layout and its main-cut dimensions. Printed piece tables use gross dimensions, with allowance or deduction shown separately where applicable. Match a table row to the same piece by identifier and compare it with the Gross list display, and inspect its cutting size separately; see the printing topic.
TonCut labels: piece dimensions are gross; reusable-offcut dimensions describe the offcut itself. In Print labels → Configuration, the piece-label dimensions switch shows or hides those values. It does not select Gross/Net. Match the label and piece by identifier, then compare the Gross list dimensions with the label preview before printing a test.
ZPL labels: {{LENGTH}} and {{WIDTH}} for pieces provide gross dimensions. For reusable offcuts they describe the offcut itself. Changing list display does not turn these piece placeholders into cutting dimensions. See the ZPL topic for the template and test procedure.
Before handing over a plan or labels, confirm with the recipient whether the dimensions are for cutting or for checking the finished part. Recheck the output after changing material-group settings, bands or input dimensions; use a newly calculated result when the job data changed.