Glass · Cutting · Worked example
An example glass job, from the order to the labels
One order of 20 panes of 6 mm clear glass, taken through the whole cutting workflow in about two minutes: paste the list, read how many sheets it takes and what the scrap costs, cut it out of the offcuts you already own, then print the cutting plan and a label with a QR code for every pane. The order is invented for this example. Open it in the optimiser →
1. The order
Stock sheets of 3210 × 2250 mm, 10 mm edge trim, 4 mm breakout between cuts, panes may be turned. The list, as it would arrive in an e-mail or a spreadsheet (invented data):
| Size mm | Qty | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1200 × 1800 | 2 | Shop window, left and right |
| 900 × 1500 | 4 | Office partitions |
| 600 × 900 | 6 | Cabinet doors |
| 450 × 600 | 8 | Shelves |
Paste it as it is. The words after the sizes become each size's reference, and they travel to the plan and the labels:
A line can also say its glass in brackets, [6 clear], and an order that mixes glass is cut glass by glass, each with the offcuts of its own type. A round pane is written Ø600.
2. Read the result
The optimiser nests the panes with real three-stage guillotine cuts: strips off the sheet, columns out of the strip, panes out of the column. It says how many sheets to buy, the yield, the scrap in m² and, with a price per m², in euros, and how much glass goes back on the rack as offcuts of a useful size. Open the example and change the trim or the breakout to see the yield move.
3. Cut it from the rack first
Add an offcut you already own, say 2600 × 1600 mm of the same glass, to the rack. The next nest uses it before buying a sheet, but only when it saves one: cutting into a good offcut for no gain just turns stock into smaller pieces. Each offcut on the rack can carry its place (rack 2, slot 4) and a photo.
4. Print the cutting plan
The cutting plan is the document that goes to the table: each sheet drawn with its panes labelled, the cut sequence with the measurements from the corner, the list of panes with their QR code, and the offcuts to label before they leave the table.
5. A label for every pane
The labels come out in cutting order with the same codes as the plan, the size, the reference of the line and a QR code with all of it written in, readable by any phone. Nothing is sent anywhere: the QR is text, not a link.
6. Mark it as cut
Pressing «Cut this job» takes the offcuts used off the rack and puts the new ones on, each as the glass of its sheet, and keeps the job in today's list to print its plan or labels again.
Questions people ask
- How do you optimise a glass cutting list?
- Nest the panes on the stock sheet with guillotine cuts the table can make, taking off the edge trim and leaving breakout between cuts, and use offcuts you already own before a new sheet. The example on this page shows it on a 20-pane order.
- Can the cutting list be pasted from Excel?
- Yes: width, height and quantity per line, separated by spaces, tabs, x or commas; words after the sizes become the reference of the line, and a fifth spreadsheet column or text in brackets is its glass.
- Do the labels carry a QR code?
- Yes, one per pane, with the pane's code, size, reference, glass and sheet written in as text. It is not a link and nothing is sent anywhere.