Cost Estimator

Overview

The Cost Estimator is built into the editor toolbar and calculates live costs for your project as you design. It groups costs by material, accounts for sheet nesting, and lets you configure pricing at both a global and per-material level. There is no fixed supplier database — you enter your own pricing so the estimates always reflect your real-world costs.

Click the cost badge (€ amount) in the top bar of the editor to open the Cost Breakdown drawer.

How It Works

The estimator automatically calculates costs based on your project's cut list:

1. Parts are grouped by material — all parts using the same material are pooled together
2. Nesting is applied — parts are algorithmically packed onto standard sheets to determine the number of sheets required
3. Material cost is calculated — sheets needed × your configured cost per sheet
4. Cutting cost is calculated — total cut perimeter in metres × your global cut price (€/m)
5. Edge banding cost is calculated — total banding length in metres × banding material cost + gluing cost per metre
6. All costs are summed per material and across the whole project

Global Pricing

Two rates apply uniformly across all materials. Set them once in the Cost Breakdown drawer:

Per-Material Pricing

Each material used in your project has its own expandable section in the Cost Breakdown drawer. Click a material name to expand it and configure:

Cost Breakdown Per Material

After expanding a material in the drawer, you'll see a detailed cost summary:

• Sheets Required — How many full sheets are needed based on nesting
• Material Cost — Sheets × cost per sheet
• Cutting Cost — Total cut perimeter (m) × global cut price
• Edge Banding Material — Total banding length (m) × banding material cost
• Band Gluing Cost — Total banding length (m) × gluing price
• Total Cost — Sum of all costs for this material

Project Total

The total project cost is displayed in the toolbar at all times as a clickable badge. This is the sum of all material costs across every material used in the project. It updates automatically whenever you add, edit, or remove a cabinet.

Inside the Cost Breakdown drawer, a summary at the bottom shows the grand total broken down by cost category (material, cutting, banding, gluing).

Sheet Nesting

The cost estimator uses an automatic nesting algorithm to pack all parts onto standard sheets as efficiently as possible, accounting for the blade's kerf width (saw cut thickness).

• Parts are rotated if it improves fit (unless grain direction is locked)
• Grain direction is respected — wood-grain materials are only placed in the correct orientation
• Kerf thickness (default 4mm) is subtracted between parts to account for the saw blade
• Parts that cannot fit on a sheet are listed as "unplaced" in the nesting result
• The minimum number of sheets required is calculated based on the nesting result

Tips for Accurate Estimates