AutoPanelSizer – optimized cutting layouts for panel-sizing saws

The AutoPanelSizer software generates optimized cutting layouts for the production of rectangular parts from rectangular raw materials, minimizing waste, production time, and manufacturing costs. The resulting cutting layouts are based on straight, end-to-end guillotine cuts. This makes AutoPanelSizer ideal for use with common sawing technologies in the wood industry as well as in glass, metal, and plastics processing.
 

Cutting layouts in seconds

AutoPanelSizer can compute layouts with an adjustable number of cutting stages, supports head cuts and recuts, and considers various constraints imposed by the cutting process and the material. This makes AutoPanelSizer suitable for both highly automated industrial sawing lines with a limited number of cutting stages, as well as panel dividing saws that can cut highly nested layouts. The optimization can include available remnants and raw boards of different sizes. The computation of a typically sized cutting layout takes only a few seconds to a couple of minutes and can be sped up using multiple processor cores.

Reduce production costs – increase yield

AutoPanelSizer takes production time and manufacturing costs into account and weighs complex operations, such as head cuts, recuts, destacking, and remnant storage, against the benefits of improved material utilization. Production time can be significantly reduced by sawing multiple boards simultaneously in a package.

Internal tensions within the material may cause bent cut edges. To prevent this, AutoPanelSizer can automatically insert stress release cuts for a better cut quality.

Destacking restrictions of finished cut parts can be taken into account via part groups, as can requested production sequences, even across multiple materials. AutoPanelSizer supports a maximum allowed overproduction that can be set per part: a few additional parts may be placed on the cutting layout to improve the yield.

Integration into existing software

AutoPanelSizer is distributed as a pure geometric optimization engine without a user interface. It is designed for integration into other applications via an XML interface, such as plant control systems, MES, or ERP systems. Optionally, an HTML visualization of the cutting layouts can be generated. The software runs on Microsoft Windows.

AutoPanelSizer is aimed at

• software solution providers who want to integrate an optimization into their application, and
• larger companies willing to program a connection to their IT systems or have it programmed.

Fraunhofer SCAI constantly improves and enhances AutoPanelSizer based on the latest research results. AutoPanelSizer benefits from the institute’s long-standing and broad algorithmic expertise on optimization.