How to Create Your First Cut List in CutGrid (5-Minute Setup)

You have a project in mind, a sheet of plywood in the shop, and a bunch of parts to cut. Now what?

In this quick tutorial, we'll walk through a real example — a simple bookshelf — from entering your first part to exporting a ready-to-use cutting plan. No experience needed. You'll be done in about five minutes.

What We're Building

Let's say you're making a freestanding bookshelf from 18mm melamine-faced MDF. Nothing fancy — just a practical piece with two sides, a top, a bottom, three shelves, and a back panel.

Here's our parts list:

That gives us seven parts, all from a single standard 2440 × 1220 mm MDF sheet. (Where does 764 come from? The bookshelf is 800 mm wide, minus two 18 mm side panels: 800 − 18 − 18 = 764 mm.)

That's it. Let's optimize.

Step 1: Open the Cutlist Optimizer

Log in to CutGrid and click Cut List from the left sidebar. This opens the Cutlist Optimizer — the main workspace where everything happens.

You'll see the page is split into two areas: Sheet Settings and Parameters on the left, and the Parts Editor on the right. We'll work through them left to right.

Step 2: Set Up Your Sheet

The first thing you'll see is the Sheet Settings panel at the top. This is where you define the material you're cutting from.

• Width: 2440 mm

• Height: 1220 mm

• Currency: Pick your currency (USD, EUR, TRY, etc.)

• Unit Cost: Enter the price per sheet — this way CutGrid will calculate your actual material cost and waste cost at the end.

• Inventory: Set how many sheets you have available.

If you leave the unit cost at $0, everything still works — you just won't see cost calculations in the results. But entering a real price makes the waste percentage hit a lot harder when you see it in dollars.

Step 3: Enter Your Parts

On the right side of the page, you'll see the Parts Editor (it's the active tab by default — the other tab, Results & Visualizer, appears after you optimize). Click + Add part for each piece.

For each part, you'll fill in three fields: Name, Dimensions (mm) (width × height), and Qty. Here's what our bookshelf looks like:

That's seven parts total from one material.

You'll notice each part has a small arrow (›) on the left — click it to expand and see additional options like edge banding per side and grain direction. For this project we don't need those, but they're there when you do.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Enter finished part sizes only — don't add kerf. If your shelf is 300 × 764 mm, enter exactly that. Don't try to compensate for blade thickness by adding a few millimeters. We'll set the kerf value in the next step (Parameters), and CutGrid will account for it automatically when calculating the layout.

• Give parts clear names. When you're in the workshop staring at a cut diagram, "Shelf" is a lot more helpful than "Part 4." Your future self will thank you.

• Top and bottom are the same size as shelves. You could enter them as one line ("Shelf", 300 × 764, qty: 5) — but keeping them separate makes your cut list easier to read in the workshop.

The toolbar above the parts list also has Import (load from Excel/CSV), Library (reuse saved parts), Export, and Clear buttons.

Step 4: Set Your Cutting Parameters

Below the sheet settings, you'll find the Parameters panel. Take 30 seconds to set these up — they make a real difference in accuracy.

• Material Type: Select "Wood / MDF / Plywood" (this is the default and right for our project).

• Units: Millimeters (mm) — already set if you entered dimensions in mm.

• Kerf (mm): Set this to match your saw blade. Typically 3 mm for a panel saw, 3.5–4 mm for a table saw. This is the material your blade removes with each cut — ignore it and your parts won't fit.

• Edge Band Thickness (mm): If you're applying edge banding, enter the thickness here so CutGrid accounts for it in the layout. For our bookshelf, we'll leave it at 0.

• Trim X / Trim Y: If your sheets have rough or damaged edges, add a trim margin (e.g., 10 mm). CutGrid will avoid placing parts in that zone.

• Allow Rotation: Leave this on. It gives the algorithm more flexibility to fit parts efficiently. Only turn it off if your material has a visible grain that must run in one direction.

• Algorithm: You have two options — Standard (Shelf) and Advanced (Guillotine). For a panel saw, go with Advanced (Guillotine) — it only generates straight, through-cuts that you can physically make. Standard works well for simpler layouts.

Step 5: Optimize

Hit the ▶ Optimize button in the top-right corner (next to Save and File).

CutGrid will calculate the most efficient layout and switch you to the Results & Visualizer tab. For a simple project like this, it's nearly instant.

At the top, you'll see four summary cards:

• Total Sheets — how many sheets the algorithm used (and how many parts fit on them)

• Total Cost — your material cost based on the unit price you entered

• Waste Cost — the dollar value of wasted material, with waste percentage shown below

• Efficiency — the percentage of material actually used by your parts (higher is better)

Below that is the Cut Layout Visualization — an interactive, color-coded diagram showing exactly where each part sits on the sheet. Each part type gets its own color, and you'll see dimensions and part names printed right on the layout. You can zoom in and out with the +/- controls, and the Legend button in the top-right explains all the visual cues: ⟳ for rotated parts, brown edges for edge banding, arrows for grain direction, and dashed red lines for kerf cuts.

For our 7-part bookshelf on a 2440 × 1220 sheet, you should see everything fitting on a single sheet with an efficiency somewhere around 60–70%. That's a solid result for a small project — and you'll notice CutGrid also shows you the leftover offcuts with their exact dimensions, so you know what's available for your next job.

Step 6: Export Your Cutting Plan

Happy with the layout? You'll see an ↓ Export button inside the Cut Layout Visualization section, right next to the zoom controls.

You can also use the Save button in the top-right to save this project (it'll appear under Projects in the left sidebar), or use File to manage your saved work.

The export gives you a clean, printable cutting diagram — part labels, dimensions, sheet layout, and a summary. Tape it next to your saw and you're set. You can hand it to an employee or send it to a cutting service and they'll know exactly what to do.

The Result

Let's look at what we accomplished in five minutes:

• 7 parts, accurately laid out on stock material

• Kerf accounted for automatically

• A printable cutting diagram ready for the workshop

• Zero manual layout planning

Compare that to sketching rectangles on paper or dragging shapes around in a spreadsheet. The time savings compound fast — especially when your projects have 20, 50, or 200 parts instead of 7.

Tips Before You Go

Start with your real next project. The bookshelf example is useful for learning the interface, but the real value clicks when you optimize a project you're actually about to cut. The first time you see CutGrid save you a sheet of material, you'll get it.

Use the Parts Library. If you make the same type of furniture regularly (say, kitchen cabinets), save your standard parts via Parts Library in the left sidebar. Next time, just click Library in the Parts Editor toolbar and load them in — no retyping.

Add offcuts to your inventory. Got a half-sheet left over from last week? Click Inventory in the left sidebar and add it. CutGrid can use offcuts before opening a new full sheet. This is where the savings really add up over time.

Try both algorithms. If you're using a panel saw, Advanced (Guillotine) is your best bet — it only generates straight, through-cuts. Standard (Shelf) can work well for simpler layouts or when you want a quick result. Try both on the same project and compare the efficiency numbers — it takes two seconds and you might be surprised.

Ready to Try?

Create your free account and run your first optimization. No credit card needed — just your parts list and five minutes.

Start Optimizing Free →