Steel is a versatile material and is used to produce countless products. Every year, well over a billion tons of metallic material are produced and processed. From production to finished product, however, it is a long journey that produces several hundred million tons of scrap per year. For example, steel traders cut their standardized steel bars to the exact lengths required for a job - a process that creates a lot of scrap. The challenge is therefore to set the cuts so that as many usable rods as possible can be cut from stock. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing SCAI have developed a software that addresses this problem, minimizes the amount of scrap generated and thus optimizes material utilization.

More Information: scai.fraunhofer.de/press