CutWise

2D vs 3d Model

Inspiration

Think about the last time you finished a DIY project. Chances are there's a pile of leftover wood, acrylic, or MDF sitting in a corner, and you have no idea what to do with it. Sheet materials are expensive, and most makers, student workshops, and small shops plan their cuts by hand, then toss the scraps. We saw students on tight budgets buying more material than they needed, and perfectly good offcuts ending up in the trash.

We wanted to fix that. So we built a tool that plans your cuts, shows you how much you saved, and remembers your leftovers for next time.

What it does

CutWise takes your cut list and finds the layout that wastes the least material. You can see it in 2D and 3D, with a simple before-and-after comparison of how many sheets you need, how much material you waste, and what it costs.

There's also an AI copilot that understands your project. Just ask it a question by voice or text, in 10 languages. And if your internet drops, it keeps working.

How we built it

We built the app with React, Vite, Tailwind, three.js, and Recharts. For the cutting logic, we wrote our own packing optimizer that tries several strategies and picks the best one, and we double-check every layout before showing it so you never get a plan that can't actually be cut.

Base44 handles hosting, login, and the AI backend, and ElevenLabs powers the voice features. We also wrote 44 automated tests to make sure the optimizer and reuse features work correctly.

Challenges we ran into

Our AI assistant kept promising things it couldn't actually do, so we rewrote its instructions and gave it memory of the conversation. We also added an automatic online/offline switch so the app never breaks, even when the AI service goes down. The hardest part, though, was combining three teammates' work into one app without breaking anything.

What we learned

A layout that looks great but can't be cut is useless, so checking our work mattered more than anything. We also learned to plan for things going wrong, with backup options and honest error messages, so the product still works when something breaks.

What's next for CutWise

Exporting layouts straight to CNC routers and laser cutters
Using your phone's camera to measure scrap pieces automatically
Support for odd-shaped offcuts and wood grain direction
A shared scrap inventory for makerspaces and schools, so one student's leftovers become another's starting material