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A person has a sheets of metal of a fixed size.

They are required to cut parts from the sheets of metal.

It's desireable to waste as little metal as possible.

Assume they have sufficient requirements before making the first cut to more than use one sheet of metal

What is the name of the branch of math which is involved in optimizing the decision on how to do the cuts ?

2 Answers 2

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Depending on the precise details of the question, this looks like a 2-dimensional cutting stock problem or packing problem

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    Thank you for your answer (and for the links - very useful) - that's the sort of thing I was after.2011-04-23
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Depending on context and specifics, it could be considered an problem in analysis, optimization, combinatorics, or simply applied math. If I wanted a text to help me out, I'd look for terms like Operations Research or Management Science in the title.

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    Thanks for your answer also. I hadn't thought about it being within Ops Research.2011-04-23