Lay out every sheet before you cut.

A panel saw cuts edge to edge: first rips across the sheet, then crosscuts each strip, then trims each piece, so the layout must allow those straight through-cuts. A CNC router follows any path, so parts can sit anywhere a bit's width apart, which usually fits more parts on a sheet.

Kerf is the width your blade or bit removes. The calculator leaves one kerf between neighbouring parts, so two 600 mm parts take 600 + kerf + 600 of the sheet. An accurate kerf is what makes the plan match the cut.

Yes. Say which way the grain runs on each sheet and on each part that needs it, and the part lines up with the sheet's grain, so wood grain or brushed metal runs the way you need. Parts without grain, and parts on sheets without grain, are turned whenever that saves sheets.

Yes. Name your bands with their thickness, like PVC 2 mm, and mark which long and short edges of each part take one. Type finished sizes and the band comes off before cutting, or type cut sizes. The plan, print page, and CSV and Excel files show both sizes and how much band each type needs, with a waste allowance.

On the Bench plan, a panel saw plan downloads as a PTX file, the pattern exchange format most panel saw software reads, written to its published specification. It holds every pattern's rips, crosscuts, and trims in saw order. Cut one test board from it before you run the job.

Set a trim on any edge to keep parts off it, and mark defect regions — a knot, a dent, a scratch — by their position and size. No part is placed over a defect, and a leftover holding one isn't counted as worth keeping.

Yes. Switch the optimizer to Linear to plan bars, pipe, tube, and lumber the same way, with kerf, defects, and reusable drops.