Optimization from basic to advanced

Choose what to calculate

For your first optimization, leave the supplied profiles and result criterion unchanged. Follow the steps below to choose the pieces and stock and start the calculation. Try copying profiles and changing detailed settings later, after checking your first result.

For a first trial without a specific comparison goal, you can keep Optimal when it is already selected. The name alone does not show whether the plan is suitable for your workshop: check that the plan includes the required quantity of every piece, then check material use and the cutting sequence.

When working with projects, select a new project in the project list and click Ready for optimization in its panel. Check that its status is ready before selecting pieces and starting the calculation.
To calculate only part of a job, select the required rows in the piece list on the Projects tab. Then click Start.
Choose the projects and material groups, or check Only selected to use the pieces you selected in the list.
The start dialog offers all or selected projects and material groups.
Choose which stock to use and whether the plan may use more stock than is currently available.
For the first run, leave the best-result criterion unchanged and click OK.
Other criteria can be compared later.
Watch calculation progress. Before accepting a result, open the first tab below its layout preview and compare placed and unplaced piece quantities.

Select all or selected projects and material groups. To calculate only selected pieces, select them before opening optimization.
Choose all stock, standard sizes only or reusable offcuts only. Check that this source contains enough suitable material.
Allowing more stock than is available is useful for estimating purchases. For a job to be cut from current inventory, check that the calculation respects available quantities.
For a later comparison, choose the smallest-stock-area criterion when reducing the material used matters most, the smallest-waste-area criterion when reducing waste matters most, or the fastest-production-time criterion when cutting time matters most. Compare the same pieces and stock, and check that the whole job is included. Production time concerns cutting work; it does not mean the calculation will finish sooner.

Keep a working profile for comparison

An optimization profile stores calculation settings. The controls below are in the search-profile editor; always select the intended profile in its list before changing a page. The restore-defaults action opens the configuration wizard and can replace the profile list, so use Copy for an ordinary comparison instead.

Open search profiles from Options. Select an enabled profile used for this calculation and use Copy.
Enter a new name for the copy, confirm it, then select the copy in the profile list.
Check the box beside each profile you want to use. Note which profiles are enabled, and keep the same job, stock, device and criterion for comparison.
Change one setting in the copy and click OK to save. Start calculation from the main window and compare complete results.

Check automatic best-result selection and removal of worse results before comparing profiles; these options affect which alternatives remain available.

Limit calculation time

In the selected profile, open the limits page. Enable the checkbox for the limit you want to use, then enter its value in the adjacent field. Save the profile settings with OK before starting the next calculation.

Use time limits when the plan must be ready by a deadline. A longer calculation can help a difficult job, but does not guarantee lower waste or a complete plan.

Separate limits apply to one cutting layout, one variant and one optimization profile. A limit for one layout does not bound the whole job, especially when several profiles are enabled.
Time values are in seconds. The limit labelled as the number of combinations restricts how much calculation is attempted. It is entered in thousands: 10 means 10,000. You can use a time limit without interpreting that counter.
Use the satisfactory-waste setting when you want an acceptable plan without waiting too long. Compare the time spent calculating with the material saved. Always check actual waste and confirm that every required piece has been placed; the chosen percentage is not a guarantee.
After any limit ends a calculation, check remaining pieces and required quantities before using the result.

TonCut screenshot: Limit calculation time — Limit calculation time

Choose which stock sizes to try first

In the selected profile, open the stock-order page. Choose large-first, small-first or random order. The other controls on this page are optional comparisons; leave them unchanged while comparing the main order choices.

Stock order matters when several sizes are available. It concerns the sheets or profiles you cut from, not the order of material groups in a list.

Large first is worth comparing when the job includes large pieces. Small first is worth comparing when you want to use smaller stock or reusable offcuts. Size alone does not tell you whether a stock item is an offcut.
Random order provides another comparison when a fixed size order gives poor material use. More trials can take longer; compare the whole job rather than one attractive layout.
If you later change other controls on this stock-order page, change only one at a time in a copied profile. Compare calculation time, the stock actually used and reusable offcuts.

Grouping and waste prediction

In the selected profile, open the page for individual optimization methods. Grouping and waste prediction have separate checkboxes; change only the one being compared.

These individual optimization options are intended to shorten calculation. Treat them as settings to compare on your own work, rather than a promise of better material use.

Grouping is worth trying when calculations take too long. Compare elapsed time and total waste with your working profile, and check that every required piece is still included.
Waste prediction, also described as deduction, is another speed option. Try it when waiting time is the main problem. It can worsen the result, so check used stock and the final layouts as well as calculation time.

Faster plans and the last sheets

The first-hit, fast-search and last-sheet-analysis checkboxes are on the selected profile's individual-methods page. Save the changed profile with OK and calculate the same job again.

Try the first-hit option when you need a preliminary plan quickly. Compare material use for the complete job with your working profile. A promising individual layout is not enough to judge the whole result.
Fast search is useful for a quick preliminary plan. It can save calculation time at the expense of material use. Before production, compare it with your usual profile if the material saving would justify the extra wait.
Compare last-sheet analysis if a calculation takes too long. Before keeping the change, check completion time, the last layouts and useful offcuts. Faster completion may require more material.

Reduce material use across the whole job

To compare the option for reducing the number of sheets, open the selected profile's individual-methods page. Save with OK, recalculate the same job and compare total used stock and unplaced pieces.

The individual method for reducing the number of sheets is worth comparing when the first layouts look efficient but the whole job still uses too much stock. Check total consumption and unplaced pieces; this option does not replace the production priorities you assign to projects and pieces.

Adaptive optimization and AI

In the selected profile, open the global-methods page. Enable adaptive optimization or AI there, then adjust its available slider. Save with OK before comparing a new calculation.

These options are worth comparing when a quick calculation leaves a result you want to improve and there is time to wait. Judge them by the complete job; neither guarantees a better result.

Adaptive optimization is another option to compare when you can allow more calculation time. Its slider is available after the option is enabled. Compare actual time and material use; a more extensive setting may not produce a useful saving.
AI offers a speed/quality slider. Try a more thorough setting when material savings matter enough to allow a longer calculation, then compare the actual time and material use.
Enabling AI turns off or locks several manual method and stock-order choices. This is expected. Preserve your original profile and recheck those choices if you later turn AI off.

Reduce long waits for small improvements

In the selected profile, open the advanced page. Dynamic method switching and the fast method for the last sheets have separate enabling controls and associated fields. Preserve the other settings when comparing either option.

Dynamic method switching is an option to compare when the wait is too long. Try it in a copy of your working profile and compare total calculation time, material use and whether every required piece has been placed. Keep it only if the result suits your workshop.
The fast method for the last sheets is a separate option to compare when quick completion matters. Check that every required piece has been placed, inspect the last layouts and assess whether their offcuts are useful. Do not assume that enabling it will reduce waste.

Other controls to try after the basics

The search-stage sliders and search-direction selector are on the selected profile's advanced page. Save with OK, recalculate and use the checks below to judge the complete result.

The first and subsequent search-stage sliders control how many alternatives are considered. Read the count shown next to each slider. More alternatives can increase calculation time without improving the result within your time limit.
Search direction can be automatic, by length or by width. Start with automatic. Compare another direction only on the same job, and check the actual cutting sequence afterwards. This setting does not replace the device's permitted cutting directions.

Decide which result is useful in production

A lower waste percentage alone does not show that a plan is better. First make sure you are comparing the same work and that the required pieces were placed.

In the first tab below the layout preview, compare requested, placed and unplaced piece quantities for the selected result.
These are planned placements, not pieces already manufactured.
Compare stock counts and sizes, total waste and reusable offcuts.
Inspect the first and last layouts. Check grain, dimensions and cutting sequence, and decide whether the offcuts are worth storing.
Compare calculation time with material saving and workshop effort.
Retain the profile and result that suit the job.
Check the acceptance choices before allowing any record updates.