Cheapest sheets, not just fewest
Most cut list tools count sheets. That is fine when you only buy one size. It stops being fine when the store sells 4×8 MDF at $48 and a 4×4 half sheet at $30, and you only need a little more than two full sheets.
Give every stock size a price and the optimizer works out the total cost of each mix it tries, then keeps the cheapest. The garage cabinets above come out at two full sheets and one half for $126. Delete the half-sheet row and press Calculate again: three full sheets, $144. Half sheets cost more per square foot, but here one of them saves $18. That check takes ten seconds here and a lot longer with graph paper.
If even one size has no price, it falls back to the least wasted area. Either fill in all the prices or none. For current MDF, melamine and plywood prices per sheet and per square foot, see what plywood costs in 2026.
Notes by material
| Material | Typical sheet | Grain? | Kerf to try |
|---|---|---|---|
| MDF | 97 × 49" or 2440 × 1220 mm | No | 1/8" |
| Melamine / particleboard | 97 × 49" or 2800 × 2070 mm | Only for woodgrain decor | 1/8" (scoring saw: 3.2 mm) |
| Hardboard | 96 × 48" | No | 1/8" |
| Acrylic | 96 × 48" or 72 × 48" | No | 1/8" |
Plain MDF has no grain, so leave every Grain box empty and let the optimizer turn parts freely. You will usually save part of a sheet that way. Melamine with a printed woodgrain is the exception: lock the doors and the visible ends.
Oversize sheets such as 97 × 49" are meant to be trimmed. Enter the real size and set Edge trim to 1/2" so you start from square, clean edges.
Why every layout is a guillotine layout
A panel saw, a table saw and a track saw all cut from one edge straight through to the other. A layout that needs a cut to stop in the middle of a sheet is no good to you, however little waste it shows. Every layout here can be cut that way. The cut steps tell you which full-width cuts to make first, then how to break each strip down.
That is a constraint, and it costs a few percent of yield compared with CNC nesting. On a saw, it is the yield you can actually get.