Optimize Cut Lengths

Will there be that many combinations with only 6 cut lengths avaiable???
Cab this be done inside excel even if it is time consuming?

examples what I am talking about...

I think you misunderstand what I am asking....We need to know what combination of the cut lengths leave us with the least ammout of scrap at the end....We can cut any number or combination of lengths ...The goal is to have little scrap bar remaining when we make our last cut.....Sorry about not being clear on this........

As far as the length in feet and inchs goes..we can change all of them to decimal if that helps in the calculations ....But thanks for your response....

No, in the example workbook we would take the 168, cut as many prime(15') bars as possiable but keep in mind that we will cut some of the smaller cut lengths in order to minimize the final bit of scrap

If we cut all 15' then we would get 11.24 smaller bars the 0.24 being scrap.......

If we could use any combination of the other cut lenghts and come up with less than 0.24 scrap......that would be the goal.....I think that 11-15' bars is the best solution here but what if there were 175' of bar or 400' .....

Cutting all prime lenght and a final sub prime(if needed) is what we do now ....scrap the remainder.....

The problem is ...sometimes this is a 9' scrap bar ....weight approx...2000 pounds ....worth about $350 .....we have 3 of the casters doing this several times a day......

There is some cost assoiated with every cut...therfore cutting the smallest cut length will not likely be the best option even if it yeilds 0 scrap.....

The real goal here is to cut prime lengths as much as we can ....then ...near the end ....switch to a the best combo. of subprimes to reduce this end scrap.....

I think it would make thing easier to just try and optomize the last 6 cuts....
say we had 81 eet of bar with cut lengths of 14, 13, 12, 10, 9 to choose from.....
this should/maythe math easier,,,,I would optomize for +- scrap..

I have not used the solver and am not all that familar with it.....I just didnt want to use it because i had no idea of a way to duplicate this in a plc....

yes..most code can be converted to work .....

can this be done with a Macro?

this works great...thanks so much......I should be able to convert to work with the PLC...thanks again!!!

Follow-up to the above work.....This method has worked great in the excel enviorment...I am now in the process of converting to VB.net....I am having trouble converting the functions as the VBA and VB.net are not as similar as I would have hoped....Anybody have experience in converting?? Any Help or advice woruld be greatly appriciated.......

Hello!
I know this thread is from ages ago, but is there any chance you are still around, and feel like sharing that cut length optimizing solution? I have about 700 rods I need to cut, and want to minimize scrap. I have an Excel 2007 table with Rod length (inches) (ranging from 54 to 240), and Quantity(ranging from 1 to 143), and need to find how many 32 ft lengths i need to order, and how much scrap that leaves me with.,,,,. I really don't want to do it by hand!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi Ari88

Your best chance of getting help is to post your question starting a new tread. As this tread is marked "Solved" most forum members that gets a kick out of solving problems will just pass it by.

Don't forget to post a workbook as well showing numbers of cut rods required and length of the different rods.

In my opinion Solver would probably be the best tool for this problem.

Alf

As a footnote to this thread.
Are you cutting or shearing the bars?

If you are cutting, the blade thickness can make a significant difference.
36 cuts with an 1/8" blade will lose 4 1/2"

Your post does not comply with Rule 2 of our Forum RULES. Don't post a question in the thread of another member -- start your own thread. If you feel it's particularly relevant, provide a link to the other thread.