Bar Cut 1D

Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Cons → Group Optimizer

Command ID: btnBarCut

License required

This command needs an active DVDAddin account (Standard or PRO). During the trial period it is fully available.

What it does

Solves the linear cutting-stock problem: fit a list of required pieces onto stock bars (pipe, box section, structural steel, timber, aluminium profile) using a Best-Fit bin-packing algorithm, accounting for saw kerf and end trim. Multiple stock lengths and multiple materials can be handled in one run.

Use it once you have taken off the list of pieces to cut — purlins, bracing, frame members, formwork battens — and need to know how many bars to buy and how to cut them for the least scrap. The output includes a cutting diagram per bar, a cut list and a utilization figure, ready to hand to the fabrication crew.

How to use

1. If the workbook does not yet have the input sheets, click Templates ▸ Bar Tpl to scaffold them with sample data.
2. Fill the pieces on the CatThanh_Phoi sheet: Length | Qty | Material | Label | Priority.
3. Fill the stock bars on the CatThanh_Thanh sheet: Length | Qty (0=∞) | Material | Kerf | Trim | Cost | Priority | Min offcut.
4. Click Bar Cut 1D. With no workbook open the add-in reports "No workbook open." and stops.
5. The Cutting preview — 1D window opens and optimizes immediately. Each stock bar is drawn horizontally, every piece in its own colour with its length, and the leftover tail labelled "rem".
6. The statistics line reports bar count, utilization %, number of remnants, true scrap % and how many pieces could not be placed.
7. The toolbar offers ↻ Re-optimize, ✓ Apply to sheet, ⬇ DXF, Close and a Save remnants to stock checkbox.
8. Click ✓ Apply to sheet to write the layout and cut list onto the CatThanh_KetQua sheet (on a rerun, or when saving remnants to stock, the Confirm data change box appears first — keep the backup ticked and click Continue). With the remnants box ticked, the leftover pieces are appended to the stock sheet so the next run reuses them first.

Video tutorial

Narrated in Vietnamese, with Vietnamese subtitles. Cắt thanh 1D · 7 min 11 s · 8 cases · Download the video · Practice workbook for the video

Commands in this video: Bar Cut 1D · Bar Tpl

Chapters (12)

1. Giới thiệu
2. Mẫu nhập liệu
3. 1 · Sàn thao tác
4. 2 · Sheet kết quả
5. 3 · Lan can – nhiều vật liệu
6. 4 · Khung nhôm – kho và xén mép
7. 5 · Ống PPR – mạch cưa
8. 6 · Phôi không xếp được
9. 7 · Lưu tồn-dư và chạy lại
10. 8 · Khi nhập sai
11. Mẹo
12. Kết thúc

Illustrated walkthrough

Practice

Download this command's sample workbook — the data matches the pictures below (sheet CatThanh_Phoi), so you can follow each step right away.

Step 1. Enter the pieces to cut on the CatThanh_Phoi sheet (1) — if the sheet does not exist yet, create it with Bar Tpl. Example: frame and bracing in 50×50 box section for a working platform.

Step 2. Declare the stock bars on the CatThanh_Thanh sheet (1): 6 m bars, Qty = 0 (unlimited), same material HOP50, 3 mm saw kerf, 10 mm end trim; leftovers at least Min offcut long are kept as remnants. A piece is only placed on stock whose Material matches exactly.

Step 3. On the ribbon, open the DVD Cons tab → Optimizer group → click Bar Cut 1D.

Step 4. The Cutting preview — 1D window opens and optimises at once, without writing anything: each stock bar is drawn as a horizontal bar captioned Bar #1 [HOP50] L=6000 — util …% (… cuts), every piece in its own colour with its length, and a green tail marked rem for a reusable offcut. The statistics line at the top gives the bar count, utilisation, remnants, true scrap and unplaced pieces (red while any piece is unplaced).

Step 5. The toolbar also has ↻ Re-optimize, ⬇ DXF (export the cutting layout to a DXF file) and the Save remnants to stock box. Click ✓ Apply to sheet: the add-in draws every bar, the cut list (#, Bar, Material, Stock L, Cut pieces, Used, Waste, Util%) and the remnant list on the CatThanh_KetQua sheet; with the remnants box ticked, the offcuts are appended to CatThanh_Thanh (priority 10) so the next run uses them first.

Step 6. On the first run (no CatThanh_KetQua yet, no remnants saved) the add-in draws straight away. When you run it again — or save remnants to stock — it asks first: keep the sheet backup ticked (1) so that Ctrl+Z right after the command puts the sheet back, then click Continue (2).

Example

Fabricating a working platform from 50×50 box section:

CatThanh_Phoi

Length	Qty	Material	Label
2350	40	HOP50	Cross bracing
1800	24	HOP50	Uprights
950	30	HOP50	Diagonals

CatThanh_Thanh

Length	Qty (0=∞)	Material	Kerf	Trim	Cost
6000	0	HOP50	3	10	148000

Click Bar Cut 1D and the preview draws each 6 m bar with its cutting pattern (for instance 2350+2350+950 on one bar), reports utilization and the number of bars to buy. ✓ Apply to sheet produces the printable cut list for the workshop.

Notes

• Both CatThanh_Phoi and CatThanh_Thanh must exist in the open workbook; a missing sheet or wrong column layout raises an error message.
• A stock quantity of 0 means that bar length is treated as unlimited.
• A piece is only placed on stock whose Material value matches exactly — a typo in the material name pushes the piece into the "unplaced" bucket.
• Nothing is written to the workbook until you click ✓ Apply to sheet; that write overwrites the results sheet. Ctrl+Z right after the command puts the results sheet — and CatThanh_Thanh too when remnants are saved to stock — back as it was (thanks to the backup); see Restore data. A results sheet created by the first apply is not removed by Ctrl+Z — delete it by hand if you don't need it.
• The Stages option (free cut / 2-stage) exists only in Panel Cut 2D — the 1D optimizer always cuts freely.
• Rebar with lap splices must go through the separate Rebar Cut command, not this one.

Related

• Bar Tpl — scaffolds the two input sheets with sample data.
• Panel Cut 2D — the same problem for sheet material such as plywood, glass or steel plate.
• Rebar Cut — dedicated optimizer for rebar with lap splices.
• Cutting Tpl — input template for the Rebar Cut optimizer.