app or software to help design optimisation

Heedtheadvice

I am struggling to ask this question as I forget what the process is called but hopefully those with more knowledge or a better memory can advise me as to the question I ask after the explanation!

I am planning a project that involves using stock lengths of material of various lengths. I need to cut it to the many sizes I need and wish to work out the best way of combining the many sizes to use the stock lengths with minimum waste I.e. optimise the combinations to use ( and hence save money by buying) the minimum quantity.

Nearly 100% certain I have come across this before and it must be a similar algorithm that sat navs use to find best routes etc.

Can anyone help by telling me what this optimisation is called and if there is an app or Excel method/add in to do this?

Chino

Perhaps the simplex method?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplex_algorithm
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SimplexMethod.html
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/20086/em8720-e.pdf

AndyPix

A quick google of "cutting optimisation software" produces a myriad of results.

None of which I can link to here as I cant post links im sorry

Andy

Heedtheadvice

Thanks both,
There are obviously a lot of clever people out there but my brain cell is not up to the maths needed for Simplex etc but following that through on the web I came eventually to an excellent tutorial on solver with the cutting problem. Then I came back to look on here and you point me in that direction too Andy so hopefully I am on the right track. Sounds like an evening of research!