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Sheet inventory and remnants · Every plan

The offcut goes back on the rack, and back into the next job.

Lapas keeps your plate stock and the leftover from every job, in its real shape, L-shapes included. When you set up the next job it suggests the remnants that fit, and nests onto their true outline. Included on the free plan.

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Laser, plasma, waterjet and CNC router shops. Sheet metal, HVAC, wood, composites, textiles, shipbuilding.

A second job nested inside the L-shaped remnant left by the first job, with no new plate opened
Schematic. The nested layouts are real Lapas results; their placement on this plate is illustrative.

How it works

One plate, two jobs

Follow a 3000 x 1500 plate of 8 mm S355 from the first job that cuts it to the second job that uses what was left.

  1. 01

    Cut the first job, then consume it

    Job 1 is nested on a fresh plate and cut. Mark the job consumed: its plates come out of stock, never below zero, and the consumption is recorded in a history tab.

  2. 02

    Keep the leftover, in its real shape

    Lapas takes the plate, removes every part plus the cut clearance, and offers the largest free piece as a new remnant. L-shaped and irregular pieces are kept as they are; holes inside parts count as scrap. One click adds it to inventory, with just its material and thickness.

  3. 03

    It sits on the rack as stock

    The remnant is a stock line next to your full plates. It inherits the heat number of the plate it came from, its cost is split by true area, and it gets a short rack code to write on the metal. The list shows its outline and exports as CSV.

  4. 04

    Nest the next job on it

    Setting up job 2 shows "Offcuts you already have": the stored remnants that fit its parts. You add the ones you want, and Lapas warns if two jobs plan the same sheets. The engine nests on the real outline and never places a part on metal that was cut away.

Inventory

What a stock line holds

An account-level plate stock. Type a new material or pick an existing one. A line that drops under its threshold is flagged. The whole list imports and exports as CSV.

  • Material and thickness
  • Width x height and quantity
  • Cost per sheet
  • Location
  • SKU and supplier
  • Mill heat number
  • Notes
  • Low-stock threshold

Every finished job also shows a leftover card with "Add to inventory". It asks only for material and thickness, and works even with no inventory set up. Remnants show an outline thumbnail in the list.

Specifications

What it does not do

Nothing is written into your ERP, MES or CAM.
Stock, consumption and remnants live in Lapas. The workflow with other systems is a file handoff: DXF in, DXF and PDF out.
Remnants are suggested, not forced first.
The operator adds them to the job. With the default automatic sheet order the engine tries several orders and keeps the least wasteful one; remnants go first only if you set the sheets to run in listed order.
No separating cut is programmed for a shaped remnant.
The stored outline is the leftover shape offset by the cut clearance. Lapas does not write a cut that frees a shaped remnant into the NC or the DXF. The one exception is the Crop remnant option: a single straight cut just past the last part, cut last.
Hand-entered stock is rectangular.
Plates you type in are width x height. An irregular outline cannot be drawn or typed; shaped remnants come from consumed jobs.
The minimum remnant is fixed.
A piece is offered only if a 50 x 50 mm rectangle and a 50 mm circle both fit inside it. Smaller pieces are scrap.
No printed labels, QR codes or remnant DXF export.
The rack code is shown on screen for you to write on the metal.

Frequently asked

Is remnant tracking on the free plan?
Yes. Sheet inventory and remnants are available on every plan, including Free. Nothing in inventory is gated.
Does Lapas keep the real shape of the offcut, or just a rectangle?
The real shape. When you consume a job, Lapas removes every part plus the cut clearance from the plate and keeps the largest free piece as it is, L-shapes and irregular pieces included. Holes inside parts count as scrap. Only stock you type in by hand is rectangular.
Does Lapas nest onto remnants automatically?
It suggests them. When you set up a job, Lapas lists the stored remnants that fit its parts and you add the ones you want. With the default automatic sheet order the engine tries several orders and keeps the least wasteful one; remnants go first only if you set the sheets to run in listed order.
Can I enter the offcuts already on my rack?
Yes, as rectangles: material, thickness, width x height and quantity, plus cost, location, SKU, supplier and heat number if you have them. Stock imports and exports as CSV. Shaped remnants are created from jobs you consume in Lapas.
Does the inventory sync with my ERP?
No. Lapas writes nothing into any ERP, MES or CAM. It keeps its own plate stock and remnants, and exports the list as CSV.
How does Lapas know which plate a remnant came from?
A remnant inherits the mill heat number of the plate it was cut from, and its cost is split from that plate by true area. Each remnant also gets a short rack code, R followed by five characters, to write on the metal, and an outline thumbnail in the inventory list.

Related: why untracked remnants cost a shop money, nesting for plasma plate work, pricing.

Don't take our word for it.

Upload one of your own DXF files and see the layout yourself. It's free and takes about two minutes.

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