Waste Percentage Calculator
Calculate your material waste from cutting operations. Separate offcut waste from kerf waste. Know your true material efficiency.
Waste Percentage Calculator
Tips for Reducing Waste
Track Both Waste Types
Offcut waste (unused remnants) and kerf waste (blade removal) are separate. Track both to identify where savings come from.
Benchmark Your Waste
Good: 5-10%. Average: 10-20%. Poor: 20-30%. Anything over 30% needs layout optimization or process changes.
Waste Varies by Part Size
Many small parts from large stock = high waste. Few large parts from matched stock = low waste. Match stock to part sizes.
Use Remnants
Small offcuts from one project become raw material for the next. Track and store usable remnants to reduce overall waste.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good waste percentage?
For optimized cutting: 5-12%. Without optimization: 15-30%. Anything under 10% is excellent for most applications.
How does kerf affect waste?
Kerf is unavoidable waste. A 3mm kerf across 20 cuts wastes 60mm. On a 6m bar, that's 1% waste just from kerf.
How do I reduce waste?
Use cutting optimization (reduces waste by 10-30%), match stock sizes to part sizes, enable rotation for 2D parts, and reuse remnants.
Is waste always bad?
Not necessarily. Some waste is inevitable (kerf, trim cuts). The goal is to minimize waste to the point where further reduction costs more than the material saved.
Reduce Waste with Optimization
The optimizer finds the best layout to minimize waste automatically.
Launch Optimizer