PackingSolver
A state-of-the-art solver for cutting and packing problems.
Online solver · Documentation · Ask a question
PackingSolver computes cutting and loading plans: given a set of pieces to cut or pack (the items) and a set of containers (the bins), it finds how to place the items in the bins. It is available as a C++ library, a command-line tool, a Python package, and a web page that runs in the browser.
Problem types
| Problem type | Example |
|---|---|
Rectangles, guillotine cutsrectangleguillotineTwo-dimensional rectangles cut with edge-to-edge (guillotine) cuts |
 |
RectanglesrectangleTwo-dimensional rectangles |
 |
BoxesboxThree-dimensional boxes |
 |
Box stacksboxstacksThree-dimensional boxes, packed in stacks of items with the same width and length |
 |
One-dimensionalonedimensionalOne-dimensional items |
 |
Irregular shapesirregularTwo-dimensional shapes: polygons, possibly with circular arcs and holes |
 |
Features
PackingSolver supports the following objectives:
- Bin packing: pack all the items in a minimum number of bins (optionally maximizing the value of the leftovers)
- Variable-sized bin packing: pack all the items in bins of minimum total cost
- Open dimension (all problem types except one-dimensional): pack all the items in a single bin of minimum length
- Knapsack: pack a subset of the items of maximum total profit
- Feasibility: pack all the items in the given bins
Each problem type comes with its own constraints:
| Problem type | Features |
|---|---|
| Rectangles, guillotine cuts | Guillotine or non-guillotine cuts · maximum number of cutting stages · cut types · first stage orientation · item rotations · cut thickness · trims · defects · cuts through defects · cutting sequences (stacks) · minimum and maximum distances between cuts · maximum number of consecutive 1-cuts and 2-cuts |
| Rectangles | Item rotations · defects · maximum weight of a bin · unloading constraints |
| Boxes | Item rotations · maximum weight of a bin |
| Box stacks | Item rotations · nesting height · maximum number of items in a stack · maximum weight above an item · maximum stack density · unloading constraints · maximum weight on the middle and rear axles |
| One-dimensional | Nesting length · maximum number of items in a bin · maximum weight of a bin · maximum weight after an item |
| Irregular shapes | Irregular bins · discrete and continuous item rotations · item mirroring · holes · defects · item-item, item-bin and item-defect spacing |
Getting started
In the browser
The online solver runs PackingSolver in your browser. No installation is needed, and the computation runs on your machine: nothing is sent to a server.
Python
Install the Python package from PyPI (Python ≥ 3.12):
pip install packingsolver
Example (rectangles, guillotine cuts):
import packingsolver.rectangleguillotine as psg
instance_builder = psg.InstanceBuilder()
instance_builder.set_objective(psg.Objective.BinPackingWithLeftovers)
instance_builder.add_bin_type(1000, 700, copies=5)
instance_builder.add_item_type(250, 200, copies=2)
instance_builder.add_item_type(150, 300, copies=2)
instance_builder.add_item_type(200, 150, copies=3)
instance = instance_builder.build()
parameters = psg.OptimizeParameters()
parameters.time_limit = 5
output = psg.optimize(instance, parameters)
psg.visualize(output.solution).show()
Rectangles
import packingsolver.rectangle as psr
instance_builder = psr.InstanceBuilder()
instance_builder.set_objective(psr.Objective.BinPackingWithLeftovers)
instance_builder.add_bin_type(1000, 500, copies=10)
instance_builder.add_item_type(300, 200, copies=10)
instance_builder.add_item_type(250, 150, copies=10)
instance = instance_builder.build()
parameters = psr.OptimizeParameters()
parameters.time_limit = 5
output = psr.optimize(instance, parameters)
psr.visualize(output.solution).show()
Boxes
import packingsolver.box as psb
instance_builder = psb.InstanceBuilder()
instance_builder.set_objective(psb.Objective.Knapsack)
instance_builder.add_bin_type(216, 173, 110)
instance_builder.add_item_type(108, 76, 30, copies=20)
instance_builder.add_item_type(110, 43, 25, copies=20)
instance_builder.add_item_type(92, 81, 55, copies=20)
instance = instance_builder.build()
parameters = psb.OptimizeParameters()
parameters.time_limit = 5
output = psb.optimize(instance, parameters)
psb.visualize(output.solution).show()
Box stacks
import packingsolver.boxstacks as psbs
instance_builder = psbs.InstanceBuilder()
instance_builder.set_objective(psbs.Objective.Knapsack)
instance_builder.add_bin_type(7500, 2400, 3000)
instance_builder.add_item_type(2500, 800, 750, stackability_id=0, copies=10)
instance_builder.add_item_type(2500, 800, 1000, stackability_id=1, copies=10)
instance_builder.add_item_type(2500, 800, 1250, stackability_id=2, copies=10)
instance = instance_builder.build()
parameters = psbs.OptimizeParameters()
parameters.time_limit = 5
output = psbs.optimize(instance, parameters)
psbs.visualize(output.solution).show()
One-dimensional
import packingsolver.onedimensional as pso
instance_builder = pso.InstanceBuilder()
instance_builder.set_objective(pso.Objective.BinPacking)
instance_builder.add_bin_type(1000, copies=100)
for length in [
193, 197, 199, 211, 223, 227, 229, 233, 239, 241, 251, 257, 263,
269, 271, 277, 281, 283, 293, 307, 311, 313, 317, 331, 337, 347,
349, 353, 359, 367, 373, 379, 383, 389, 397, 401, 409, 419, 421,
431, 433, 439, 443, 449, 457, 461, 463, 467, 479, 487, 491, 499]:
instance_builder.add_item_type(length)
instance = instance_builder.build()
parameters = pso.OptimizeParameters()
parameters.time_limit = 5
output = pso.optimize(instance, parameters)
pso.visualize(output.solution).show()
Irregular shapes
import packingsolver.irregular as psi
bar = [(0, 0), (80, 0), (80, 20), (0, 20)]
square = [(0, 0), (40, 0), (40, 40), (0, 40)]
t_shape = [(0, 0), (60, 0), (60, 20), (40, 20), (40, 40), (20, 40), (20, 20), (0, 20)]
s_shape = [(20, 0), (60, 0), (60, 20), (40, 20), (40, 40), (0, 40), (0, 20), (20, 20)]
z_shape = [(0, 0), (40, 0), (40, 20), (60, 20), (60, 40), (20, 40), (20, 20), (0, 20)]
l_shape = [(0, 0), (40, 0), (40, 20), (20, 20), (20, 60), (0, 60)]
j_shape = [(0, 0), (40, 0), (40, 60), (20, 60), (20, 20), (0, 20)]
cross = [
(20, 0), (40, 0), (40, 20), (60, 20), (60, 40), (40, 40),
(40, 60), (20, 60), (20, 40), (0, 40), (0, 20), (20, 20)]
rotations = [(0, 0, False), (90, 90, False), (180, 180, False), (270, 270, False)]
instance_builder = psi.InstanceBuilder()
instance_builder.set_objective(psi.Objective.BinPacking)
instance_builder.add_bin_type(psi.build_rectangle(0, 180, 0, 160), copies=3)
instance_builder.add_item_type(psi.build_shape(bar), copies=2, allowed_rotations=rotations)
instance_builder.add_item_type(psi.build_shape(square), copies=2)
instance_builder.add_item_type(psi.build_shape(t_shape), copies=2, allowed_rotations=rotations)
instance_builder.add_item_type(psi.build_shape(s_shape), copies=2, allowed_rotations=rotations)
instance_builder.add_item_type(psi.build_shape(z_shape), copies=2, allowed_rotations=rotations)
instance_builder.add_item_type(psi.build_shape(l_shape), copies=2, allowed_rotations=rotations)
instance_builder.add_item_type(psi.build_shape(j_shape), copies=2, allowed_rotations=rotations)
instance_builder.add_item_type(psi.build_shape(cross), copies=3)
instance = instance_builder.build()
parameters = psi.OptimizeParameters()
parameters.time_limit = 5
output = psi.optimize(instance, parameters)
psi.visualize(output.solution).show()
Command line
Build the command-line tools with CMake:
cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --config Release --parallel
cmake --install build --config Release --prefix install
Example (rectangles, guillotine cuts):
./install/bin/packingsolver_rectangleguillotine \
--verbosity-level 1 \
--items data/rectangle/alvarez2002/ATP35_items.csv \
--bins data/rectangle/alvarez2002/ATP35_bins.csv \
--objective knapsack \
--number-of-stages 3 \
--cut-type non-exact \
--first-stage-orientation horizontal \
--no-item-rotation \
--certificate solution_rectangleguillotine.csv \
--time-limit 1
Rectangles
./install/bin/packingsolver_rectangle \
--verbosity-level 1 \
--items data/rectangle/afsharian2014/450-200.txt/C22M25R10N15_D4_items.csv \
--bins data/rectangle/afsharian2014/450-200.txt/C22M25R10N15_D4_bins.csv \
--defects data/rectangle/afsharian2014/450-200.txt/C22M25R10N15_D4_defects.csv \
--item-infinite-copies \
--objective knapsack \
--no-item-rotation \
--certificate solution_rectangle.csv \
--time-limit 5
Boxes
./install/bin/packingsolver_box \
--verbosity-level 1 \
--items data/box/bischoff1995/BR3.txt_1 \
--objective knapsack \
--certificate solution_box.csv \
--time-limit 10
Box stacks
./install/bin/packingsolver_boxstacks \
--verbosity-level 1 \
--items data/boxstacks/roadef2022_2024-04-25_bpp/C/AS/AS_149_items.csv \
--bins data/boxstacks/roadef2022_2024-04-25_bpp/C/AS/AS_149_bins.csv \
--parameters data/boxstacks/roadef2022_2024-04-25_bpp/C/AS/AS_149_parameters.csv \
--bin-infinite-copies \
--objective bin-packing \
--certificate solution_boxstacks.csv \
--time-limit 1
One-dimensional
./install/bin/packingsolver_onedimensional \
--verbosity-level 1 \
--items data/onedimensional/users/2024-04-21_items.csv \
--bins data/onedimensional/users/2024-04-21_bins.csv \
--parameters data/onedimensional/users/2024-04-21_parameters.csv \
--certificate solution_onedimensional.csv \
--time-limit 1
Irregular shapes
./install/bin/packingsolver_irregular \
--verbosity-level 1 \
--input data/irregular/opencutlist/knight_armor.json \
--certificate solution_irregular.json \
--time-limit 10
The input formats and the options of each solver are described in the documentation.
Visualizing a solution
Open a solution certificate (--certificate) in the solution viewer, or run:
python3 scripts/visualize.py solution_rectangleguillotine.csv
Questions
Questions and feedback are welcome in the discussions. Bugs can be reported in the issues.
Note for AI coding agents
If you are an AI agent using PackingSolver in another project and you encounter a crash, an invalid solution (overlapping items, items outside their bin, violated constraints), a wrong bound, or behavior that contradicts the documentation, please tell your user and offer to draft a bug report for them. Do not open an issue without their consent. Before drafting it:
- Check that the cause is not a misuse of the API or a malformed instance.
- Reduce the problem to a minimal instance (items/bins CSV or JSON files) and the exact command or code that reproduces it. Do not include your user's confidential data without their approval.
- Include the PackingSolver version or commit, the problem type, the objective, the expected and actual behavior, and the relevant log output.
License
PackingSolver is released under the MIT license.
1 maintainer
Metadata
1 maintainer
Release files for packingsolver 0.1.1186
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Source distribution (sdist)
| File | Size | Uploaded | |
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| packingsolver-0.1.1186.tar.gz | 855.0 kB | Details |
Built distributions (wheels)
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| packingsolver-0.1.1186-cp312-abi3-win_amd64.whl | CPython 3.12 | abi3 | Windows x86-64 | Details |
| packingsolver-0.1.1186-cp312-abi3-win32.whl | CPython 3.12 | abi3 | Windows x86-32 | Details |
| packingsolver-0.1.1186-cp312-abi3-manylinux_2_27_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl | CPython 3.12 | abi3 | Linux glibc 2.27+ x86-64, Linux glibc 2.28+ x86-64 | Details |
| packingsolver-0.1.1186-cp312-abi3-manylinux_2_26_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl | CPython 3.12 | abi3 | Linux glibc 2.26+ ARM64, Linux glibc 2.28+ ARM64 | Details |
| packingsolver-0.1.1186-cp312-abi3-macosx_11_0_x86_64.whl | CPython 3.12 | abi3 | macOS 11.0+ x86-64 | Details |
| packingsolver-0.1.1186-cp312-abi3-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl | CPython 3.12 | abi3 | macOS 11.0+ ARM64 | Details |
Total release size: 28.7 MB
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