Material groups and stock

Set up a material group

The first-start wizard has already provided starting material groups. Before calculation, check the kerf in the entry used by your stock and pieces, especially if the job specifies a value. A material group connects compatible pieces and stock with their cutting settings; create another group when a different material needs separate settings.

1. Open Library → Material groups. Use Add, or select a material group and use Edit.

2. In the material-group editor, enter its name and choose its type and device.

3. Enter material properties, kerf and recovery dimensions.

   The controls described below belong to this material-group editor.

4. In standard sizes, add the usual length and, for 2D, width. Confirm and check the saved size.

5. Click OK and check the saved material-group name. Close the list before choosing the material group in a piece or stock record.

• Type: choose sheet material (2D) or linear material (1D). Thickness and, where applicable, profile width describe the material.
• Device: assigns the cutting restrictions used for this material.
• Kerf: the width of material lost along a cut. It is not the material thickness.
• Surface structure: record directional grain or pattern when orientation matters.
• Standard sizes: maintain commonly available sheet or profile dimensions. They are a separate stock source in the optimization start dialog.
• For the distinction between No structure and Structure irrelevant when entering a piece, see the guide to the piece editor. Set the stock's structure to match the actual material.

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Trimming and reusable offcuts

Recovery criteria and trimming for recovered stock are in the material-group editor opened from Library → Material groups → Edit. For a particular stock item’s trimming, close the material-group editor and list, then open the Stock tab, select the item and click Edit. Its trimming fields surround the preview, with a separate value for each side.

Stock trimming removes unusable material at its edges. Enter the actual trimming values for each side; the usable area becomes smaller. Do not confuse this with piece allowance or the margins of a printed page.

• The recovery criteria include minimum and preferred offcut dimensions. Set them to sizes worth storing and handling.
• Recovered stock can receive its own trimming allowance. Check that the remaining usable size is still useful.
• Stock quantity and stack size describe different things: available material and the grouping used for stack cutting. The material-group dialog marks stack cutting as experimental.

Record defects in stock

The defect editor takes X and Y position plus length and width in the configured units. Positions start at zero; dimensions must be positive. Position plus size must remain within the sheet in both directions. Confirm the rectangle against the stock preview and the real sheet before calculating.

1. On the Stock tab, select the sheet and click Edit. In its defect list, add a defect or edit a selected one.

2. Enter X from the preview’s left edge and Y from its top edge, then defect length and width.

3. Confirm the defect. Check that its rectangle matches the unusable area’s position on the real sheet.

4. Click OK in the stock editor. Reopen it and check the defect list and preview before recalculating.

Material permissions and recovery limits

These settings belong to the material-group editor. From the main window, open Library → Material groups, select the material group and click Edit. Save with OK and close the material-group list before returning to pieces or stock.

• Set directional structure, edge bands and color to match the actual material. The separate rotation and mirroring settings must match the material and required finish.
• The material-group editor sets allowance and deduction and whether individual pieces may override them. Inspect the resulting cutting sizes in the list’s Cutting display mode. The dimensions topic explains this separately from gross/net entry and stock trimming.
• The stock-edge-cut option explicitly permits cuts along a sheet edge. Enable it only when that operation is suitable for the device and material.
• Preferred recovery dimensions must not be smaller than the minimum recovery dimensions. These values classify reusable offcuts; they do not increase the available stock size.

Stock records, stacks and trimming

1. On the Stock tab, click Add or edit the selected row. Select its material group.

2. Choose a standard size or enter length and, for 2D, width. Add available quantity, identifier and description.

3. Enter trimming in the fields around the stock preview.

4. For stack cutting, select a standard size before entering stack size and count.

   These controls require stack cutting enabled for the material group. Further constraints are explained below.

5. Click OK. Check material group, dimensions and quantity in the stock list; reopen the record to verify trimming, stacks or defects.

• A stock record includes a material group, dimensions or a standard size, identifier, description and priority. Set its surface structure by length, by width or none to describe the actual sheet.
• Left and right trimming together must be smaller than stock length. For 2D stock, top and bottom trimming together must be smaller than stock width. Keep a positive usable area.
• Stack cutting applies only when the selected material group enables stack cutting and a standard size is selected. Stack size is the number of sheets in one stack; stack count is the number of stacks. The stored quantity is stack size multiplied by stack count.
• Use the defect list to add, edit or remove rectangular unusable regions. Verify their position and size against the physical stock before optimizing.