Linear Cutting

Tube & hollow section

Tube cutting optimizer

Steel and aluminium tube, RHS, SHS, round and oval: enter your cut list and the lengths you can buy, and it works out the fewest sticks. Kerf, mitres and your offcut rack are all included. A tube cut list optimizer that is free, with no account.

Settings

Save material

Save labour

Save money

Stock you can buy ?

Leave qty empty for unlimited supply.

Offcuts you already have ?

Free lengths on your rack. Used when they help; never counted as purchases.

Required parts ?

Tab past the last field to add a row. Enter jumps down a column. Alt+N adds a row, Alt+P opens paste, Ctrl+Enter calculates. Full guide.

Tube lengths as sold

Steel RHS, SHS (AU/NZ/UK/EU) 6.0, 8.0 m
Longer steel tube 9.0, 12.0 m
Round and oval tube 6.0, 6.5 m
Aluminium tube 5.0, 6.5 m
Imperial stock (US) 20, 24, 40 ft
Cut to order cut to order, 0.3 to 6.5 m

What each saw removes

Horizontal bandsaw 0.8 to 1.5 mm
Cold saw 2 to 2.5 mm
Chop saw (TCT, aluminium) 3 to 4 mm
Abrasive cut-off disc 1 to 3 mm
Tube laser 0.1 to 0.5 mm

Bandsaws and cold saws are the tube-shop staples: a bandsaw's thin blade wastes the least, a cold saw a little more, and a TCT chop saw on aluminium is wider again. Enter the blade you actually run. More on kerf.

RHS, SHS and round tube are all length problems

Whatever the section, cutting tube to length is one dimension: the wall, the bore and the profile decide what you are cutting, not how to divide the stick. Run each size and wall as its own job, because a 50x50 piece cannot come off a 40x40 length. The optimiser decides which stick each length comes off and how many sticks you buy.

Mitres and notches for frames

Gates, frames, chassis and railing are mitred, and an angled cut takes more of the tube than a square one because the blade crosses the section diagonally. Switch on angled cuts, give each piece its end angles and the tube width, and mating mitres nest so one pass makes both. Fishmouth and notch allowances belong in the length you enter.

A thinner blade means less waste

A horizontal bandsaw leaves a slot under 1.5 mm and a cold saw a wider one, and across a frame with many short pieces that difference decides whether you finish one stick short. Enter the blade you actually run; on aluminium tube a TCT chop saw is 3 to 4 mm, so it matters more, not less. More on offcut waste.

FAQ

Is this different from the pipe optimizer?
Same solver, different habits. Pipe is round and sold by nominal bore and schedule; tube is RHS, SHS, round and oval, sold by outside size and wall. Both are cut to length, so use whichever page matches how you buy: the maths underneath is identical.
Can it mix wall thicknesses in one plan?
No, and it should not. A 3 mm wall and a 2 mm wall in the same outside size are different stock, so group your cut list by size and wall and run each group. Mixing them would be meaningless, since you cannot cut a heavier piece from a lighter stick.
Does it optimise for the fewest saw setups?
Yes. Cutter's Dream keeps the same number of sticks but groups identical lengths so a run comes off one setup, and orders every stick longest to shortest for the person on the saw. On our 960-piece benchmark it took the setups from 147 down to 102.
How big a job can it take?
Up to 500 pieces free with no account; the $5 Hobby plan takes it to 1,000 and Maker up runs any size. A trailer, a run of frames or a fence line usually fits the free tier, and every plan is verified against your inputs before you see it. For a quoting tool or an ERP, the same engine is on the API.

Every plan is checked before you see it

Cut by cut: every piece present, everything inside the bar, blade width included. When the green badge shows, no plan on earth uses fewer bars for your cuts, and we publish the jobs that prove it.

Pipe and tubeSteel and metalAluminium extrusionFull guide