---
title: "More Control Over Offcut Utilization: New “Prefer Offcuts” Mode"
slug: "prefer-offcuts-intellidivide"
description: "Optimize your material usage with the new \"Prefer Offcuts\" mode, reducing inventory while maintaining efficiency in your cutting operations."
tags: ["News", "intelliDivide"]
updated: 2026-09-17T11:24:26Z
published: 2026-09-17T11:24:26Z
canonical: "docs.homag.cloud/prefer-offcuts-intellidivide"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.homag.cloud/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# More Control Over Offcut Utilization: New “Prefer Offcuts” Mode

Every company handles offcut material differently. While some workshops focus primarily on maximizing material yield, others prioritize reducing offcut inventory. That is why intelliDivide Cutting offers various strategies for handling Boards and Offcuts. With the new **“Prefer Offcuts”** mode, we are adding another option for companies that want to make greater use of existing offcuts during optimization.

## The right strategy for every use case

Depending on your requirements, you can choose between four modes:

- **Boards and offcuts**: Maximizes material utilization with minimal Waste and costs.
- **Boards only**: Uses new boards exclusively and is well suited for quotation calculations.
- **Prefer offcuts**: Gives priority to existing offcuts without unnecessarily reducing material utilization.
- **Offcuts only**: Uses existing offcuts exclusively. If not all parts can be produced, the optimization fails.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/43eaea7e-f51c-41df-9b73-bf55e0b1d20d/Images/Documentation/image(99).png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-10T00%3A39%3A14Z&se=2026-11-10T01%3A39%3A14Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=9r2yNwKUMuquA7y%2FK79gPqRfvjrLzfaAXXKqvL8v9QA%3D)

## Making Better Use of Existing Offcuts

When enabled, intelliDivide gives priority to existing offcuts during optimization. The goal is to make the best possible use of available material before opening new boards. At the same time, the optimizer continues to focus on economical material utilization. Individual offcuts may therefore be excluded if their use would result in an uneconomical solution.

## Benefits in Daily Production

- Reduced offcut inventory
- Less material stored for extended periods
- Lower risk of color deviations caused by aging or fading materials
- Better visibility of available offcuts
- Improved utilization of existing materials

## The Right Balance Between Offcut Usage and Efficiency

Importantly, this mode does not follow a rigid “offcuts at any cost” approach. The optimizer does not attempt to consume every single offcut completely. If using a particular offcut would significantly reduce material utilization or lead to an uneconomical result, it may still be excluded.

This allows you to improve offcut utilization without compromising the efficiency of your cutting operations.

> **In short:** The new **“Prefer Offcuts”** mode fills the gap between **“Boards & Offcuts”** and **“Offcuts Only.”** It helps companies reduce offcut inventory and use aging-sensitive materials in time, while still maintaining an economically optimized cutting process.

intelliDivide is an optimization software for panel-based cutting in wood processing. It calculates efficient cutting plans, taking into account material, grain, edges and machine parameters. The aim is to minimise material consumption, speed up production and ensure high quality components.

Boards are a flat material (e.g. chipboard, MDF or multiplex) from which components are manufactured. They form the basis for cutting and are usually coated with coverings and worked on the edges.

Reusable material offcuts that are generated during production and can be used for future optimizations or orders.

Material that cannot be reused as a result of the cutting process.