I'm not sure this answers your question, but give it a try

Look he

http://www.solver.com/solutions/procutstock.htm

and then go to the home page of solver for more details

--
Kind regards,

Niek Otten
Microsoft MVP - Excel

"RichyDeeInUK" wrote in message
...
Can Excel accurately calculate the maximum quantity of cut outs from a
single
piece of card or metal? This is typically an element of CAD/CAM software.

I don't want or need a CAD/CAM system, I do need to prevent wastage and
limit offcuts.

I know the non-variable - the size of the card to be cut up. 1110 by 810
mm.

I know the variables - the size of the rectangles to be produced. These
sizes are client driven. But exactly how many rectangles can I extract
from
one card.

I only require rectangle shapes.

If my variables are, for example, 320 x 320 then the number of rectangles
I
can produce is 6.

But what is the ideal formula to calcuate any rectangle shape sized up to
555 x 405? Any size greater than this requires 1 x card per rectangle.

I am not able to mix different sizes of rectables on one card.

Appreciate any help on this conundrum.