Materials worked example
Sheet Utilization with sheet area of 80 ft²: a worked example in materials
What does the result look like when sheet area reaches 80 ft²? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use when nesting parts on sheet, plate, film, foam, or board stock.
The inputs for this scenario
- Sheet area: 80 ft² (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 32)
- Part area: 1.85 ft² (unchanged)
- Parts per sheet: 15 parts (unchanged)
- Sheet cost: 96 $ / sheet (unchanged)
Working through the calculation
- Applying the documented formula (Used area = part area × parts per sheet) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
- At this operating point the engine returns 34.69 % for sheet utilization, the number this scenario is built around.
- At this operating point the engine returns 52.25 ft² for waste area.
- At this operating point the engine returns 62.7 $ for waste cost.
- At this operating point the engine returns 6.4 $ / part for material cost per part.
How this compares with the baseline
- Against the tool's baseline example, where sheet area sits at 32 ft² and the headline result is 86.72 %, this scenario comes in 60% below the baseline at 34.69 %.
- A figure at this level is achievable when sheet area is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It works from area only and ignores nesting constraints like grain direction, common-line cutting, and remnant reuse that can change real-world yield.
Results at a glance
- Sheet utilization: 34.69 % (headline result)
- Waste area: 52.25 ft²
- Waste cost: 62.7 $
- Material cost per part: 6.4 $ / part
Run it with your numbers
- Every input above is editable in the live Sheet Utilization calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.