1. Enter your real stock lengths
Don't assume every bar is exactly 12 m — measure what your supplier actually delivers. SteelCut optimizes against the stock lengths you enter, so accurate input is the foundation of a low-waste plan.
2. Set the true saw kerf
Every cut eats a few millimetres of steel. Measure your blade's kerf (typically 3–5 mm) and set it in SteelCut's settings — the optimizer adds it between pieces automatically. An ignored kerf is one of the most common reasons real waste exceeds the plan.
3. Reuse offcuts instead of scrapping them
Set a realistic minimum reusable offcut length (e.g. 300–500 mm) and let SteelCut send longer leftovers to the warehouse instead of the scrap bin. Enable "use warehouse offcuts first" so the next job consumes them before cutting fresh bars.
4. Combine cut lists into bigger jobs
Optimization loves a large pool: ten cut lists optimized together waste less than ten optimized separately. SteelCut handles multiple diameters in a single job and allocates shared bars automatically.
5. Let the exact optimizer do its work
For smaller jobs, SteelCut automatically switches to an exact branch-and-bound algorithm that finds the mathematically optimal packing — not just a good one. Check the efficiency report to see your real waste percentage.
6. Buy the right stock lengths
Sometimes the cheapest fix is buying smarter. SteelCut's stock advisor suggests which stock lengths to purchase for your cut list — the "best" length is the one your actual cuts pack into, not the default 12 m.
7. Make the workshop follow the plan
A perfect plan is worthless if the cutter improvises. Print SteelCut's piece labels (with QR codes) and the per-bar cutting sequence so the workshop executes exactly what was computed.