[Cutlist] separate lists for sheets and board stock

Extensions
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laundry breakdown.skp (133.5 KB)

how do I get cut list to recognize board stock and sheet stock separately

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From what I remember of this plugin, you have to identify components by using a word in the component definition name such as Sheet, Plywood (or any other term you choose to specify in the plugin settings - the defaults are sheet, veneer, plywood, hardboard or mdf), to denote the use of sheet material. Instructions are a bit hard to find now - I believe the author died a year or two ago - but use Google to find tutorials.

For example, if I select your “mid-division 20” component, and add the word Sheet in front of the component name, it lists separately as a Sheet element when I Run CutList.

The Extension Warehouse says that the version of CulList available there may cause issues on SU 2016 - it may work, but I didn’t try it there. I saved your model as SU 2014, and installed and ran CutlList in that version.

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As John indicated, you need to add a “Sheet Material Word” to the component definition name. It doesn’t have to be the first word in name. If you apply textures or colors the names of the materials can be used to sort things into the sheet goods and solid stuff. Just add a Sheet Material Word to the texture or color name. You can add to the available sheet material words list in the CutList main page. Maybe add words like shelf or panel.

The Cutlist extension available in the Extension Warehouse works just fine in SU2016.

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Thanks, DaveR, for the information that in spite of the warning, CutList works in SU 2016 - I don’t use it often, but when I do it is invaluable.

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You’re quite welcome, John. I’ve asked one of the Extensibility team to fix up the extension so it doesn’t need that warning. Unfortunately the author is not in a position to do that.

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I did label all the parts as “sheet stock” or “board stock” then wrote this into the cutlist words. Is this too vague? What is the quickest way to go through and redesribe all of the components?

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You only need a single sheet word. Maybe faster at this point would be to use a material whose name includes a sheet word.

In the future, plan for the cut list by giving components names that include your sheet words. It will save you time and effort later.

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Not sure what you mean by ‘I did label all the parts as “sheet stock” or “board stock”’ - where? The ‘sheet word’ seems to need to be in the component definition, and wasn’t in the example component which I renamed with ‘sheet’ in the definition to get CutList to recognise it as sheet material.

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I put the word sheet stock in the description portion of every component.
does it need to be in the component name as well>

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Ok so I just went back into the file to see what you were saying. And yes
when I click entity info the parts have no name, but the name is in the
description. I make the part a component as soon as I draw it, write the
name in the top box and then put the sheet stock definition in the
description, so what am I doing wrong? how do I fix this in the future. All
of my cabinet parts have very specific names and numbers so I was hoping to
clarify the materials in the description not the name.

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Add the sheet word to the Definition Name. That is, the name you type when you create the component. And it can be something simple. If all sides and backs are going to be made of a sheet material, add side and back as Sheet Material Words. Or if you want to differentiate between plywood and MDF, include MDF and plywood as Sheet Material words.

If you have specific abbreviations that would differentiate parts by material, you could add those to the list.

In the same way, if you are including hardware in your models add words such as pull, handle, hinge, etc. to the Part Words list.

If you are really resistant to adding the words to the definition name, use materials with those names. They can be simple colors if you like. If you don’t want to show the colors in your images of the model, use Hidden Line or Monochrome face style.

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Ok thanks guys. What i did is write the names of my parts in the sheet
goods category and that seems to work. However I keep getting this
notification when I run it that some parts didnt fit on the given stock and
were not included, what is this and how do I correct it? When I look at the
cut list it seems to be complete

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Check the sizes of the stock you’ve got selected in the LayOut tab of the main CutList screen.

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As Dave observes, CutList generates two kinds of output: a list of all the pieces in your model (a “cut list”), and an attempt to lay out all the parts onto solid and sheet goods. The lay out is constrained by board sizes you specify, and if for example your model has a 9 foot long part and you only allowed 8 foot boards, you will get that message.

I don’t use the lay out feature of CutList for two reasons. First, I work mainly with solid wood or figured sheet goods, and there is no way to account for grain patterns (direction and figure) or flaws during the lay out. Second, I have often felt that the cutting layouts it generates are not actually all that good.

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Thanks, I too noticed that the layout feature was pretty poor in regards to
sheet waste ect. Im not interested in using that, but I do want it to tell
me the correct amount of board feet and square feet, and thought that the
warning I was receiving might be affecting the accuracy of those numbers. I
really appreciate everyone’s help

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