Plan Your Cuts.
Reduce Your Waste.
MaxCut is cut list optimisation software for cabinet makers, woodworkers, and joiners who plan and cut their own sheet materials. Enter your parts, set your sheet sizes, and get an optimised cutting layout with an exact sheet count, before you order a single board.
What is a Cut List?
A cut list is a complete record of every panel or part you need for a job; the dimensions, material type, quantity, grain direction, and which sheet each piece comes from.
Anyone who cuts sheet materials needs one. Whether you’re building a kitchen, a wardrobe, a piece of furniture, or a workshop fitting, a cut list tells you how many sheets to order, where to make each cut, and in what sequence to work.
The problem is that building a reliable cut list manually is genuinely difficult. You have to account for kerf, grain direction, sheet waste, and how pieces fit together across boards. Most people estimate, add a buffer, and accept some waste as the cost of doing business. Cut list software handles the optimization automatically. You enter the parts; the software works out the most efficient layout.
Built for Anyone Who Cuts Panels by Hand
MaxCut works for any trade where sheet materials need to be cut to size at a manual saw. The planning problem is the same whether you’re building cabinets, furniture, or joinery.
MaxCut works well if you are:
- A cabinet maker or kitchen manufacturer cutting melamine, plywood, or MDF
- A woodworker building furniture, shelving, or storage pieces
- A joiner or fit-out contractor cutting panels for built-in work
- Anyone currently planning cuts on paper, in a spreadsheet, or from memory
- Running a shop where one person makes all the cutting decisions
Works well for:
- Kitchen and bathroom cabinetry
- Wardrobes and built-in storage
- Furniture and shelving projects
- Shop fittings and commercial joinery
- Hobby woodworking with sheet goods
Designed for every shop:
Whether you’re running a one-person workshop or a small production shop, MaxCut scales to how you work. It’s built around manual cutting (table saws, track saws, panel saws) but also integrates with CNC workflows for shops that use both.
What Manual Planning Costs You
Estimating and planning by hand works until it doesn’t. Here is where the real cost shows up.
Before You Order Materials
Without an accurate sheet count, most people guess high and add a buffer. On a single job that might mean one extra sheet. Across a year’s worth of work, this adds up. Materials bought, not used, and usually impossible to return.
- No reliable way to confirm exact sheet quantities before placing an order
- Expensive materials like hardwood plywood and specialty melamine are routinely over-ordered
- Off-cuts pile up because parts that could share a sheet end up cut from separate boards
When Pricing Jobs
A quote built on a rough material estimate is a guess dressed up as a number. Sometimes it works out. When it doesn’t, you’ve already agreed to the price.
- Saw kerf and actual sheet yield are rarely factored into manual estimates
- Customer changes mean redoing the calculation, usually by hand, usually under pressure
- No record of what you priced means repeating the same job doesn’t get any faster
In the Workshop
Handwritten cut lists and improvised diagrams leave too much to interpretation at the saw. The person cutting ends up making planning decisions on the spot, which slows production and creates errors that are expensive to fix.
- Unclear diagrams lead to parts cut in the wrong sequence or at the wrong size
- Kerf and grain direction constraints are easy to overlook without a formal layout
- Re-cuts waste material you may not have left on the sheet
From Parts List to Cutting Plan in Minutes
MaxCut is a cut list optimiser for Windows PC. Enter your parts, your sheet sizes, and your saw kerf. MaxCut handles the rest.
Enter your parts
Add each panel with its length, width, quantity, material, and edging. Build the list directly in MaxCut or import from a spreadsheet.
Set your sheets
Tell MaxCut what sheet stock you are working with, including thickness and the blade kerf of your saw. Every cut is accounted for.
Run the optimisation
MaxCut calculates the layout that fits the most parts from the fewest sheets and generates a clear, numbered cutting diagram for each board.
Print and cut
Take the printed cutting plan to your saw. Every panel is labelled. Every measurement is confirmed. No guesswork at the machine.
What MaxCut Does for Your Shop
Features that solve the planning, pricing, and production challenges that come up on every job.
📉 Less waste on every job
MaxCut packs parts tighter than most people manage by hand. On most jobs that means one or two fewer sheets purchased. These savings compound across a year of work.
âš¡ Faster planning, every job
A cutting plan that takes 45 minutes to sketch manually takes MaxCut under five. Enter your parts, run the optimisation, get back to cutting.
💰 Accurate costs before you commit
Set your current sheet prices in MaxCut and your material cost is calculated automatically. No estimates, no buffer, no hoping the quote holds when the job's done.
🎯 Fewer errors at the saw
Every panel is labelled. Every measurement confirmed before the first cut. The person at the saw follows a clear plan, not an approximation.
📄 Professional documentation
Generate reports for every stage of the job. Internally, operators get cut diagrams, panel labels, and order summaries. Externally, customers receive branded quotes and invoices
🔄 Instant recalculation when specs change
One update in MaxCut refreshes the entire cut list, layout, and cost automatically. No manual rework when customers change their minds.
Reduce Waste. Quote Right. Win More Work.
Try MaxCut free on your next job. See exact sheet counts, optimised cutting layouts, and accurate material costs before you order or cut anything. No credit card needed.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Cut List Software — Answered
What is Cut List Software and do I actually need it?
Cut list software calculates the most efficient way to cut your required parts from your available sheet stock. It takes your list of panels, your sheet sizes, and your saw kerf, and produces a cutting diagram that minimises waste.
If you are planning cuts manually on paper or in a spreadsheet, cut list software will almost always reduce your sheet consumption and planning time. Most users find that even one sheet saved per job covers the cost of the software many times over across a year of work.
Is MaxCut only for cabinet making or does it work for other trades?
MaxCut works for any job involving sheet materials — cabinetry, furniture, wardrobes, shelving, shop fittings, and joinery. The common thread is cutting panels by hand at a manual saw.
It is not designed for CNC routers or beam saws. Those machines have their own built-in optimisation tools.
Can MaxCut handle grain direction?
Yes. When adding parts to your cut list, you can specify whether grain direction needs to be maintained. MaxCut respects those constraints when generating the cutting layout, ensuring parts are not placed in a way that runs grain in the wrong direction.
This is particularly important for cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and any panel where the visual grain direction affects the finished look of the job.
How do I get started with MaxCut?
Watch our getting started video to see MaxCut in action, then download Community Edition to try it on your next job. For detailed guides and tutorials, visit our Knowledge Base. Need more help? Contact our support team.