Nest steel plate parts on standard sheets, straight from your Excel or Tekla list
Steel Optimizer lays out plate parts on standard sheets with the least waste, and tells you how many sheets of each thickness to buy. It runs in the browser, on a computer or a phone, with nothing to install.
How it works
Enter the sheets. One standard size for every thickness (1220 × 2440 mm by default) or another size for any thickness, plus leftovers from earlier jobs if you have them.
Add the parts. Upload the Excel or Tekla list as it is (plate rows such as PL, PLT and FLT are read from the profile column), type them in, or scan a PDF or photo.
Press Optimize. You get a layout for every sheet, the sheets to buy per thickness, the purchase weight, the net weight, the scrap and the reusable offcuts.
Made for the way plate is really cut
Straight cuts. Layouts are guillotine patterns, so they can be cut with straight passes on a shear, a saw or a plasma or oxy-fuel table.
Kerf, edge margin and rotation. Set the cutting gap, the trimmed edge of the sheet, and whether parts may turn 90°.
One clean offcut. Where it can, the layout gathers the free steel of a sheet into one rectangle that comes off with a straight cut, ready for the rack.
Leftovers first. Offcuts from earlier jobs, rectangular or L-shaped, are cut before any new sheet.
Parts bigger than the sheet are flagged and planned as pieces to be welded.
Reports. PDF and Excel cutting reports in English, Arabic, Russian, Chinese and Spanish.
What you get for each thickness
Sheets to buy
The number of new standard sheets
Purchase weight
The full sheets: the steel you pay for
Net weight
The parts themselves
Scrap
Purchase weight − net weight
Reusable offcuts
The leftovers worth keeping, with their sizes
Questions
Does it read Tekla and Advance Steel lists?
Yes. Upload the export as it is: cover sheets, title rows and subtotal rows are skipped, and plate parts are read from the profile column. If a column is not recognised, you match it once in a short step.
Can different thicknesses use different sheet sizes?
Yes. One size applies to every thickness unless you add a row for a thickness that comes in another size.
Does it need installing?
No. It runs in any modern browser on a computer, tablet or phone.
Try it on your own list. Upload the Excel or Tekla file you already have and see the sheets, the scrap and the offcuts in seconds.