The cutting stock problem for large sections in the iron and steel industries

The characteristics of a cutting stock problem for large sections in the iron and steel industries are as follows:(1) There is a variety of criterions such as maximizing yield and increasing effeciency of production lines. (2) A cutting stock problem is accompanied by an optimal stock selection problem. A two-phase algorithm is developed, using an heuristic method. This algorithm gives nearly optimal solutions in real time. It is applied to both batch-solving and on-line solving of one-dimensional cutting of large section. The new algorithm has played an important role in a large-section production system to increase the yield by approximately 2.5%.