Cut List & Shop Mode

The Cut Planner turns your cabinet design into a production-ready cut list, optimizes parts onto sheets to minimize waste, and then guides you through building in Shop Mode — one station at a time.

Open it from the Cut Planner tab at the top of the editor.

Step 1: Review the cut list

Before optimizing, review the cut list to make sure everything looks right.

The cut list table shows every part from every cabinet in your project:

You can sort and filter by material to see parts grouped by sheet good type — useful for checking that all your plywood specs are assigned correctly before optimizing.

Step 2: Run the optimizer

The optimizer nests all parts onto full sheets, maximizing yield and minimizing waste.

1. Click Optimize (or the optimization button) in the Cut Planner toolbar.
2. Cabora calculates the optimal nesting layout for each material type.
3. The Sheet column in the cut list fills in with the sheet assignment for each part.
4. A sheet overview appears showing each optimized sheet with its parts nested visually.

What affects optimization:

• Sheet size — set in Shop Defaults → Sheet Goods for each material
• Waste factor — set in Shop Defaults; adds a buffer for kerf loss and imperfect cuts
• Grain direction — parts with a required grain direction (Vertical or Horizontal) are only placed in the correct orientation
• Equipment profile — your active equipment profile determines how cuts are sequenced (see Equipment)

If you change the design after optimizing (add a cabinet, change dimensions), re-run the optimizer to update the nesting.

Step 3: Review sheet assignments

After optimization, click any sheet in the sheet overview to zoom in and see:

• Which parts are nested on it
• Their positions and orientations
• Any waste areas
• The sheet material and size

The sheet reference number (e.g., "Sheet 3") for each part carries through to the cut list and labels — so when you're at the panel saw, you know exactly which sheet a part comes from.

Step 4: Use Shop Mode

Shop Mode reorganizes the cut list into a shop-floor work order, sorted by cutting station.

1. Click the Shop Mode toggle in the Cut Planner toolbar.
2. The cut list reorganizes into station groups, each shown in a distinct color:

Stations only appear for tools you've enabled in your equipment profile. If a tool is disabled, its cuts are reassigned to the next available station.

Working through Shop Mode:

3. Start at the first station (typically Panel Saw or Track Saw for sheet breakdown).
4. For each cut, find the sheet on your cart and make the cut.
5. Click the checkbox next to a part to mark it as cut.
6. Completed parts are checked off and move out of the active list. Completed stations collapse once all their parts are done.
7. Work through each station in sequence until all cuts are complete.

Your progress is saved automatically — if you close the browser and come back, your checkmarks are still there.

Step 5: Download labels

Labels are printable stickers for every cut part — stick them on as you cut to track which part is which through assembly, finishing, and packing.

1. In the Cut Planner, click Export Labels.
2. Choose your label format:

3. Choose grouping:

4. Click Export to download the PDF.

What each label shows:

• Part name and parent cabinet
• Dimensions (width × length × thickness)
• Material and edge banding spec (e.g., "Front + Left + Right")
• Sheet reference (which sheet and position the part is nested on)
• A QR code encoding the part details for scanning at each station

Print the labels on the corresponding Avery label sheet and stick them on each part as you cut. For large jobs, print by-sheet labels before cutting and by-cabinet labels before assembly.

Cut List CSV export

To take the cut list into another system (your shop management software, a spreadsheet, or a CNC post-processor):

1. Click Export → Cut List CSV.
2. The CSV downloads with one row per part, including all columns from the on-screen list.

CSV export is available on Maker, Studio, and Shop plans.