(classic problem)
Definition: Find the best arrangement of shapes on rectangles to minimize waste or the number of rectangles. This is a two-dimensional variant of the bin packing problem. It is NP-complete.
Specialization (... is a kind of me.)
strip packing is a one-dimensional variant.
See also knapsack problem, optimization problem.
Note: This problem arises often in manufacturing. For instance, deciding how to cut pieces for pants from cloth or shapes from sheet metal.
Author: PEB
If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please get in touch with Paul E. Black.
Entry modified 2 July 2007.
HTML page formatted Mon Jul 9 10:54:20 2007.
Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "cutting stock problem", in
Dictionary of Algorithms and Data
Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed.,
U.S. National Institute of
Standards and Technology. 2 July 2007. (accessed TODAY)
Available from: http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/cuttingStock.html
