A panel saw or beam saw is an industrial machine that makes linear cuts in boards and sheets. They are manually operated or automated (CNC).
They cut materials like plywood, particle board, medium density fiber (MDF), oriented strand board (OSB) and high density fiber (HDF) sheets. However, you can also use these saws to cut plastic, phenolic, and other non-ferrous metal sheets.
It is true there are many affordable routers and CNC machines available today, causing an extensive discussion about what is the best solution for the shop floor. The point is, there are many panel and beam saws out there, and they can surely benefit from panel cut optimization software.
No matter how is the automation level of your shop you can create optimal sheet layouts to increase productivity.
Also known as cutting diagram or nesting software, they can generate panel cutting plans that are possible to produce on your machines. Even if you use a simple table say, you can save time with very affordable solutions.