ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses various heuristics proposed for tackling bin-packing problems. There are two scenarios for bin-packing problems: first, information of all items is known prior to solving the problem. It is called an offline approach. Second, When an item is being packed, the information of the next item is unknown. It is named an online approach. It focuses on heuristics for only the former one. Heuristics for the offline approach can be classified into two types. They are one-phase and two-phase heuristics. The idea of the first one is to pack items into bins directly while the second one is to aggregate items to form strips in the first stage and then pack strips into bins in the second stage. The operation of the cutting machines is driven by intelligent software systems with graphical user interfaces, which help the operator planning the cutting operations, and may include features, such as establishing the sequence in which boards should be cut.
