Is kerf loss counted per cut or per bar?

Per cut. The blade removes its width of material at every cut, so a bar cut into twenty blanks loses twenty kerfs plus the trim and the remnant.

What counts as an unusable remnant?

The short end left after the last usable piece, plus any length the chuck, collet, or bar feeder cannot grip safely. If a drop can be reworked into another part, leave it out of the allowance.

How do I set the target yield?

Start from the worst cut plan you still accept, then tighten it by a point or two. The gap to target shows how many units the current plan gives up.

Does this cover plate nesting or tube cutting?

It works for any cut stock measured in the same unit: bar, tube, plate strip, or billet. For nested plate layouts, enter the loss totals for the whole nest rather than one part.

CNC Machining calculator

Saw Cut Yield Calculator

Work out how much bar, tube, or billet survives the saw before the first machining cut. Enter the stock issued, the kerf, trim, and remnant losses, and the yield target.

What this calculator does

Usable stock and yield after saw kerf, trim, and remnant losses, checked against the target for the cut plan.

Formula used

Total saw-cut losses = saw kerf loss + trim, facing, and test-piece loss + unusable remnant allowance
Usable saw-cut stock = starting stock − total saw-cut losses
Stock utilization = usable saw-cut stock / starting stock x 100
Yield gap to target = target yield − stock utilization

Inputs explained

Starting Stock: Bar, tube, plate strip, or blanks issued before any cuts.
Saw Kerf Loss: Total material removed by the blade across all cuts.
Trim, Facing, and Test-Piece Loss: End trim, facing cuts, and first-piece test stock.
Unusable Remnant Allowance: Short ends the chuck, collet, or bar feeder cannot hold.
Target Yield: Yield target for this cut plan, set by the shop.

How to use the result

Best suited to choosing a blade for the cut plan, setting a remnant allowance for the vise, checking material yield before quoting.
Treats every unit as identical; nested or remachined remnants need their own plan. Excludes sawing time, blade wear, and the recovery value of scrap.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for steel mill products stands at 381.162 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 23.4% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
The U.S. has 17,154 machine shops establishments employing about 223,303 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

Is kerf loss counted per cut or per bar? Per cut. The blade removes its width of material at every cut, so a bar cut into twenty blanks loses twenty kerfs plus the trim and the remnant.
What counts as an unusable remnant? The short end left after the last usable piece, plus any length the chuck, collet, or bar feeder cannot grip safely. If a drop can be reworked into another part, leave it out of the allowance.
How do I set the target yield? Start from the worst cut plan you still accept, then tighten it by a point or two. The gap to target shows how many units the current plan gives up.
Does this cover plate nesting or tube cutting? It works for any cut stock measured in the same unit: bar, tube, plate strip, or billet. For nested plate layouts, enter the loss totals for the whole nest rather than one part.

Last reviewed 2026-10-01.