Many industries have at their heart the task of cutting lengths or shapes from flat stock in the form of sheets, rolls or blanks. One has only to think of clothing manufacture, where graded shapes, which will form the components of garments, must be cut from material in such a way as to conform to conditions imposed by design, patterns and grain. Broadly similar tasks arise in footwear manufacture, carpet wholesale and retail, container construction, sail manufacture, upholstery production, sheet glass cutting and a host of other industries.