Plywood Cut Layout Calculator
Enter every part, and this packs them onto the fewest sheets it can — tallest first, kerf and trim included — then draws each sheet so you can cut with straight passes and know exactly what to buy.
Advanced: kerf, trim & grain
How the layout is built
Parts are sorted tallest first and placed left to right in a row. When the next part will not fit the row, a new row starts below it; when the sheet has no vertical room left, a new sheet begins. Saw kerf is added between neighbouring cuts and an edge-trim margin is kept all around, so the diagram reflects real, straight-cut passes.
Packing mixed rectangles with the fewest possible sheets is a famously hard problem, so this uses a fast row-based (shelf) method that cuts cleanly and wastes little. It typically lands on the same sheet count an experienced woodworker would plan by hand.
Worked example
Four shelves 30×15, two sides 24×24, and one back 30×24 on a 4×8 sheet with 1/8″ kerf and 1/4″ trim pack onto 2 sheets. The tallest parts (the 24″ pieces) form the first row; the shelves fill a second row and spill onto sheet two.
Cutting sheets efficiently
Reading the diagram
Each rectangle is one part labelled with its length and width, and parts of the same size share a colour. The blank border is trim you remove first; the thin gaps are kerf. If a part shows a rotate mark, its grain runs across the sheet — leave grain locked if that is not acceptable.
Set a realistic kerf and trim
A standard blade cuts about an eighth of an inch wide, and factory sheet edges are rarely dead straight, so trimming a quarter inch off the edges before cutting parts is common. Both eat into usable size; entering them keeps the count honest.
Before you cut
Confirm which sheet dimension carries the grain, break big sheets down into manageable pieces first, and cut slightly oversize for parts that will be trimmed to final size later.