Plank/blade paneling

[laurent_delrieu]

Hello
as I am currently on the process to renovate all my house. Most is done by contractors but I do some parts.
I have to cover with PVC blades some parts under the roof all around the house and under terrace.
I wanted a simple tool to evaluate the length I will have to cut and also optimize the number of parts to buy.
1D stock cutting was the easy part as there are some good tools.

Optimizing cutting length for model making

Hi @seraphin_bouchard Here’s a script I’ve constructed for just that purpose. It utilises ordered best-fit bin packing - basically 1D nesting. Included is a small visualisation of the nesting. The code is a mess, but it works - I’ve developed this and used it throughout several projects. First in calculating the amounts needed, and then nesting the finished pieces. [image] [image] [image] [image] I know you anly wanted 1000mm precuts, but I added the 1200 as well so you see how to add…

The only problem I got was to find a simple tool to make a simulation of the placement of the planks/blades. As I like to make tools, I made one that will be included in Nautilus plugin. It was quite simple to make as it is very similar to the 3d printing path generator I have done.

This tools take as inputs

• Closed curve (in 3D) Closed curves are sorted by plane and then by exterior/holes.
• Lines (lines are used to gives the perpendicular direction of planks)
• Width for the plank/blade
• Tolerance (used bu Clipper to transform curves to Polyline)
  As output I have
• sorted curves
• planks contour and
• lengths so it is easy to use it in the 1D stock cut

Here I made my the part I want to cover in 2D

And here the cutting I will have to make (110 blades)

It also works on 3D

I wanted to share where I am, and also to know which tool you use.

I saw this one but it seems not very useful for my purpose.

Floor generator

[old_taz]

This is very cool!

A couple suggestions if you like…

Cut sheet output data formatted for fabrication:
Could be as simple as an excel sheet with cumulative cut lengths per plank measured from one end. i.e. if you need (1) 1 ft length and (2) 2 ft lengths the line item would read:
Plank 1: 12in | 36in | 60in

Secondarily to measured lengths, a checklist for finished quantities might be handy. Something to tick off as each length is completed.

User designated end offsets might be handy. If the stock material is, say, wood the ends might need to be square cut first so you can’t always optimize to 100% of the stock length. I guess instead of this a shorter stock length could be the input.

For the ultra-precise, the kerf (thickness) of the cutting blade might matter too.

[laurent_delrieu]

Thanks for the suggestions, but for the stock calculation I rely on tool available on this forum. As my needs are quite simple I don’t need to go further on this subject. I just made a tool to draw the planks and measure their maximum length. I improved a bit my tool in order to begin planks where I want. In order to do that I use line that is used for the direction and for the starting position of planks.

[old_taz]

I hear ya, let us know how it goes when you get to the actual cutting part!

[laurent_delrieu]

I am confident, due to my roof and the plank I have lots of unused parts
Plank 4 m, roof 0.82 m so just 3 cuts. So I think I must first cut the long parts.