What Is A Good Cutlist Program?

02/20/2015


From original questioner:

Hi guys I am looking for a good cut list program and was wondering what you guys use. Keep in mind that I am a small one man operation and that I am using sketch up for all of my drawings. Thanks for any help.

From contributor Te


I used to use Cutlist Plus before I got my CNC. It's an excellent cutlist program and I actually still use it once in a while.

From contributor sh


Thanks for the response Terry, I seen cutlist plus and wasnt sure about it.

There is a lot of software out there, I just wanna make sure its good enough for want and need it for. I will probably go with cutlist plus and try it out . Thanks for the response.

From contributor Te


Another thing to think about. I've had cutlist plus for many years. Two weeks ago I decided to install windows 7 on an XP computer I like to use for design. It took me all day to get most of the applications re-installed. I got to Quickbooks and it wouldn't install so I called their help line. We had 2011 and I was told by the tech (who I couldn't hardly understand) that they no longer supported it and for $279 I could buy another version. I told him to stick it and 4 hours later I finally got it to install. I was mad and wouldn't have cared by then if it took me 24 hours, I wasn't about to pay them for another program.

My point is though, that I emailed Todd Peterson (Cutlist Plus) and told him I needed to re-install and didn't have my original program, shortly after my email he sent me what I needed to install Cutlist, and like I said it had been several years. Maybe that's a question we should be asking, "how long do you plan on supporting the software I'm purchasing from you?" Kudos Todd.

From contributor St


The experience of the first paragraph (pursuing XP) was your first mistake - chalk it up to experience and move on.

On the other hand, the second paragraph hits home. A relatively small operation with a personal proprietary interest and prompt replies to inquiries and requests for assistance. Further, Cut List has different levels, Gold, Silver, Black and Blue [or whatever :) ] - purchase the level that provides the features you need, quite economical, particularly in a small environment.

From contributor Ri


I also have had great results and experiences with Cutlst Plus. Only cutlisting program I ever tried, so I cannot compare to others. But it was amazing what I could do with it.

I used it to optimize sheet goods, drawer blanks, and hanging rod stock. I would inventory off cuts and mark bin locations to quickly use up leftover material before cutting full sheets/blanks/rods. Also allows part Id too.

Good comparison of support too. Todd is very responsive. The upgrades and levels were fair. I used the mid level version and it did save me a ton of money over the years.

Quite the opposite of Quickbooks where you have to upgrade a full version every three years, especially if you use their payroll features. And they are really pushing the online version, requiring a monthly subscription.

From contributor Az


Cut list has several levels at various prices and excellent communications and support. I've used it for years and keep it up to date, currently running on Win 8.1

From contributor Ti


Cutlist Plus will not only get you better material yield, it will also change who can have do the cutting. It's one thing to learn how to drive the saw and quite another one to get good at optimizing sheet goods in your head.



From contributor Ha


We have been using The Itemizer by r&r Drummond for many years. Have never tried cutlist plus, but have been very happy with my program. Roger Drummond is a pleasure to deal with and he does have a free demo that you can try out. Upgrades are rare and low cost. Harold.

From contributor Ke


Another Cutlist plus user here. I believe they have a trial version on their web site.

From contributor Br


Consider e-cabinets. It is fairly good design software and pumps out cut lists. The price is right too.
http://ecabinetsystems.com/


From contributor Ti


If you use Microsoft Excel or Filemaker Pro to generate your cut lists you can export the file out in a CSV format. Cutlist Pro can then Open the CSV file and perform all the necessary handshakes to give you an optimized layout of your sheet good usage.

You can include offcuts from previous jobs to compare yield with what you would get if you started will all brand new stock. You could compare costs to see what yield might be like if you used 3/4 inch thick backs instead of 1/2 inch.

Another great thing about the CutListPlus people is they seem to be constantly improving their product.

From contributor wc


have you considered cabinetplanner? its inexpensive and works well.