Coil Slitting — CutFlow Academy

Overview

Coil slitting is the process of cutting a wide master coil into narrower strips (slit coils) using circular blades. The Coil Slitting optimizer finds the best combination of cut patterns to produce all the widths you need, using the fewest master coils and the least scrap.

The optimizer automatically groups compatible widths, assigns the number of runs per pattern, and shows you a visual bar for each cut arrangement.

What you enter

Widths & quantities

What you get

Cut patterns + scrap

Exportable as

PDF report

Setting Up a Job

1

Navigate to Coil Slitting

Click Coil Slitting in the left sidebar under the Optimize group. The input panel opens on the left and results appear on the right.

2

Enter the Master Coil Width

Type the full width of your incoming master coil (e.g., 49.2). This is the total material width before any slitting.

3

Set Edge Trim (optional)

Enter the total edge trim — the combined material removed from both edges. For example, if you trim 1/8" from each side, enter 0.25. Leave at 0 if there is no edge trim.

4

Add Slit Widths

Click + Add Width to add each required strip width. For each row, enter the width, the quantity needed, and an optional item number for identification.

5

Click Optimize

Press the Optimize button. Results appear instantly on the right panel.

Field Reference

Field	Description
Job Name	Optional label for this run. Appears in history and PDF reports.
Master Coil Width	Total width of your incoming coil, in your selected unit (inches or mm).
Edge Trim	Total trim removed from both edges combined. Subtracted once per coil run, not per slit line.
Width	The required slit width for one strip type.
Qty	How many strips of this width are required in total across the job.
Item #	Optional identifier (e.g., part number or SKU) printed on the cut sheet and PDF.

Tip: You can enter the same width multiple times with different item numbers if different products share the same width but need to be tracked separately.

Running Optimize

CutFlow uses a pattern-matching algorithm to find cut combinations that use as much of the master coil width as possible. The optimizer tries all feasible groupings and picks the set with the lowest total trim waste.

Note: If the sum of your slit widths plus edge trim exceeds the master coil width, you will see an error. Check that all widths fit within the available working width (master width minus edge trim).

Results are calculated client-side and are nearly instant even for large jobs with many widths and quantities.

Reading Results

The results panel shows three key metrics at the top:

KPI	What it means
Master Coils Needed	Minimum number of master coil runs to fulfill all quantities.
Total Scrap	Total trim width across all runs (sum of trim per run × number of runs).
Material Efficiency	Percentage of master coil width used for good product (100% = zero scrap).

Cutting Patterns Table

Each row in the table is a unique cut arrangement. The columns show:

Column	Description
#	Pattern number.
Pattern	The widths and their counts in this arrangement (e.g., "3.5×4, 6.0×2").
Trim / run	Leftover trim for one pass of this pattern.
Runs	How many times this pattern is run on the coil.
Total Trim	Trim × Runs for this pattern.
Visual	A colored bar showing each strip width proportionally across the coil.

Production Summary

Beneath the patterns, the Production Summary lists each required width with how many were required vs. produced. If the algorithm produces slightly more than needed (due to rounding up runs), the extra is shown in the Extra column.

Cost Calculation

To enable cost estimation, check Include cost calculation below the Optimize button.

1

Select or define a material

Choose a material from the dropdown (populated from your Materials library) or leave blank and enter the density manually.

2

Enter thickness and price

Enter the coil thickness. Then set a price and choose the pricing unit ($/lb, $/kg, $/sq ft, $/sq m, $/linear ft, $/linear m).

3

Enter coil specification (for area/linear pricing)

If you're using area or linear pricing, enter the coil length or weight per coil so the system can calculate total material.

After clicking Optimize, the cost summary shows: Total Material cost, Good Parts cost, Scrap cost, and Cost-in-scrap percentage.

Pro tip: Set up your materials once in the Materials library and they auto-fill density for every job — no re-entering needed.

Saving Templates

At the top of the input panel, there is a Template name field and a Save Template button.

1

Name the template

Type a recognizable name (e.g., "Customer A Weekly Run") into the template name field.

2

Save

Click Save Template. The template is saved to your account and appears in the Templates section of the sidebar — available on any browser or device when you sign in.

3

Reload anytime

Go to Templates in the sidebar, select your template, and click Load Job to pre-fill all parameters.

PDF Report

After running Optimize, click ⬇ PDF Report in the results panel. The PDF includes:

✓ Job name and run date
✓ KPI summary (master coils, scrap, efficiency)
✓ Each cutting pattern with a visual coil bar showing hatch-shaded scrap
✓ Production summary table
✓ Cost breakdown (if cost calculation was enabled)

You can also regenerate the PDF from Run History — no need to re-enter data. See the Templates & History guide.

Tips & Best Practices

★

Group similar widths

If you have many small widths, they'll be combined into efficient multi-cut patterns automatically. No manual grouping needed.

★

Use item numbers for traceability

Entering item numbers makes your PDF report a ready-to-use work order that floor operators can follow directly.

★

Save repeat jobs as templates

If you run the same widths for a regular customer, save once and reload in seconds next time. Combine with the Parts Library to pre-fill widths from standard items.

★

Switch units in Settings

All width fields switch between inches and millimeters globally. Change your unit preference in Settings → Measurement Unit.