This paper proposes an efficient and practical approximation algorithm
for the two-dimensional free-form bin packing (2D-FBP) problem,
which is also called the free-form cutting stock,
cutting and packing, or nesting problem.
In the 2D-FBP problem, given a set of 2D free-form bins,
which in practice may be plate materials,
and a set of 2D free-form items, which in practice may be plate parts
to be cut out of the materials, you are asked to lay out items inside
one or more bins in such a way that the number of bins used is minimized.
The proposed algorithm handles the problem as a variant of the
one-dimensional bin-packing problem; that is,
items and bins are approximated as sets of scanlines,
and scanlines are packed.
The details of the algorithm are given,
and its application to a nesting problem in a shipbuilding company is reported.
By: H. Okano
Published in: RT0286 in 2002
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