Cut List

Your production-ready wire cutting and assembly guide

Last updated: November 25, 2025

What is the Cut List?

The Cut List is your manufacturing document that shows every wire in your harness with calculated lengths, wire specifications, connectors, strip lengths, wire identification bands, and more. It's designed to be printed and used on the shop floor for wire cutting and assembly.

Quick Navigation

Overview Wire Length Settings Wire Number Format Customizing the View Editing Wire Idents Twisted Pairs Printing

Overview

The Cut List is automatically generated from your harness design. Each row represents one wire that needs to be cut and installed. EZ Wire calculates wire lengths by analyzing your connections, branches, lengths, and applied settings.

What's Included in the Cut List

Wire Number: Sequential identifier for each wire
Connectors: From and To connector names with cavity numbers
Wire Specifications: Part number, gauge, and color
Strip Lengths: How much insulation to remove at each end
Wire Length: Calculated cut length including all settings
Wire Idents: Color-coded identification bands (optional)
Twisted Pairs: Which wires are twisted together (optional)

Wire lengths are calculated from your defined lengths between entities, routed through branches and splices, then adjusted based on your length settings (additional length, rounding, etc.).

Wire Length Settings

Configure how wire lengths are calculated

Wire length settings adjust the calculated lengths to account for manufacturing requirements, installation slack, and quality standards. These settings apply to all wires in your harness.

Additional Length (Standard Mode)

Adds a fixed amount to every wire length. This accounts for connector insertion depth, manufacturing tolerance, and general slack.

How to Configure

Leave "Concentrically Twisted?" checkbox unchecked
Enter the additional length value (e.g., 100mm or 4 inches)
Click "Save Settings" to apply changes

Example: 500mm length + 100mm additional = 600mm cut length

Concentric Twist Settings (Advanced Mode)

For harnesses with concentrically twisted wires, extra length is needed because the outer wires travel a longer helical path than the inner wires. This mode calculates additional length as the greater of a percentage or minimum value.

How to Configure

Check "Concentrically Twisted?" checkbox
Set "Additional Length Percentage" (typically 15-25%)
Set "Minimum Additional Length" as a fallback for short wires
Click "Save Settings"

Example: 1000mm length with 18% = max(180mm, 100mm min) = 180mm
Result: 1180mm cut length

Example: 300mm length with 18% = max(54mm, 100mm min) = 100mm
Result: 400mm cut length (minimum applied)

Length Rounding

Rounds final wire lengths to standard increments, making cutting more consistent and reducing the number of unique wire lengths in your harness.

Configuration Options

Enable Rounding: Toggle on to activate rounding
Rounding Precision: The increment to round to (e.g., 10mm, 0.5 inches)
Rounding Direction:
- • Round Up: Always rounds to the next increment (safer, more slack)
- • Round Down: Always rounds to the previous increment (tighter fit)
- • Round to Nearest: Standard mathematical rounding

Example (Round Up, 10mm precision):
643mm → 650mm | 597mm → 600mm | 601mm → 610mm

Settings Must Be Saved

After changing any length settings, you must click "Save Settings" to recalculate all wire lengths. The cut list will show "---" for lengths until settings are saved.

Wire Number Format

Customize how wires are numbered in your harness

Wire numbers are automatically assigned to every wire in sequential order. You can customize the format to match your organization's standards or project requirements.

Format Components

{N} - Wire Number

The sequential wire number. This is the only required component and must appear in your format.

Prefix/Suffix Text

Any text before or after {N} is literal text that appears in every wire number.

Configuration Options

Wire Number Format: Template string defining the format (e.g., "W-{N}")
Number Padding: Minimum digits for the number, with leading zeros if needed
Start From: First number in the sequence (usually 1)

Format Examples

{N}

Simple numbers: 001, 002, 003 (with padding=3)

W-{N}

With prefix: W-001, W-002, W-003

WIRE{N}

No separator: WIRE001, WIRE002, WIRE003

{N}-A

With suffix: 001-A, 002-A, 003-A

Changing Format Regenerates All Numbers

Modifying the wire number format, padding, or start number will regenerate ALL wire numbers in your harness. This action cannot be undone. You'll be prompted to confirm before the change is applied.

Customizing the View

Show or hide columns to match your needs

The Cut List has many columns, but you don't always need to see them all. Customize which columns are visible based on your current task - screen viewing, printing, or detailed analysis.

Available Columns

Reorder (Drag)

Drag handle to reorder wires manually. Hidden when printing.

Wire #

Sequential wire number. Always visible (required).

Twisted With

Shows which wire this one is twisted with (if any).

Ident

Wire identification bands for the entire wire.

From Connector

Starting connector and cavity. Always visible (required).

From Ident

Wire identification bands at the "from" end.

To Connector

Destination connector and cavity. Always visible (required).

To Ident

Wire identification bands at the "to" end.

Part Number

Wire type part number from your specifications.

Color

Visual color preview boxes of the wire insulation.

Wire

Gauge and color description (e.g., "20 AWG Red-Blue").

From Strip

Strip length at "from" connector (from connector settings).

To Strip

Strip length at "to" connector (from connector settings).

Length

Calculated wire cut length. Always visible (required).

Actions

Swap connection direction button. Hidden when printing.

Column Presets

Click the "Columns" button to access quick presets:

Minimal

Wire #, From/To Connectors, Length only. Best for quick overview or simple harnesses.

Standard

All columns except ident columns. Good for most manufacturing workflows.

Detailed

All columns visible. Use when you need complete information including wire idents.

Saved Preferences: Your column visibility choices are saved automatically and persist across sessions. Each user can have their own preferred view.

Editing Wire Idents

Add color-coded identification bands to wires

Wire idents (identification bands) can be added directly from the Cut List. This lets you mark wires with color-coded bands for easy identification during installation and troubleshooting.

How to Add Wire Idents

Click "Edit Idents" button at the top of the cut list
Ident columns will show input fields for each wire
Type numbers 0-9 representing colors (0=Black through 9=White)
Color previews appear as you type
Press Tab or Enter to save and move to the next field
Click "Finish Editing Idents" when done

For complete wire ident documentation including the color code reference and best practices, see the Wire Idents Guide.

Managing Twisted Pairs

Designate which wires are twisted together

Twisted pairs are two wires physically twisted together throughout their length. This is common for differential signals, CAN bus wiring, and noise-sensitive circuits. The Cut List helps you track and document these relationships.

How to Designate Twisted Pairs

Click "Edit Twisted Pairs" button at the top of the cut list
The "Twisted With" column shows dropdown selectors for each wire
Select which wire each one is twisted with (or leave blank)
Changes save automatically when you make a selection
Click "Finish Editing Pairs" when done

Twisted Pair Display

When not in edit mode, wires that are part of a twisted pair show:

• An infinity symbol (∞) icon
• The wire number they're twisted with
• Visual grouping when adjacent in the list

Reciprocal Relationships: When you designate Wire 1 as twisted with Wire 2, Wire 2 is automatically set as twisted with Wire 1. The relationship works both ways.

Additional Features

Manual Wire Reordering

Drag wires using the handle icon to reorder them. This is useful for grouping related circuits or organizing by assembly sequence. Order is preserved in prints and exports.

Swap Connection Direction

Click the swap icon in the Actions column to reverse a wire's direction (swap From and To connectors). Useful for standardizing wire orientation or correcting entry errors without recreating the connection.

Wire Type Quick Assignment

Wires missing wire types are highlighted in yellow. Click the wire type dropdown to assign one directly from the cut list without navigating back to the connector page.

Unit Conversion

Click the "Unit" button to convert your entire harness between millimeters and inches. All lengths, strip lengths, and settings are converted automatically with appropriate precision.

Printing the Cut List

Create shop-floor documentation

The Cut List is optimized for printing and designed to be used as shop-floor documentation. Print settings include orientation options and automatic formatting.

How to Print

Ensure all settings are saved (no yellow "Settings have changed" warning)
Adjust visible columns to show only what you need on paper
Click the Print button (or the dropdown for orientation options)
Choose Landscape (default) or Portrait orientation
Review the print preview
Print or save as PDF

Print Optimization

When printing, the cut list automatically:

• Hides interactive elements (drag handles, buttons, dropdowns)
• Adds harness name and settings summary as a header
• Optimizes fonts and spacing for readability
• Ensures proper page breaks
• Uses black borders for clear table structure

Orientation Preference: Your last selected orientation (Landscape or Portrait) is remembered for future print sessions.

Best Practices

Save Settings Before Printing
Always save length and wire number settings before printing. Unsaved settings show placeholder values ("---") instead of calculated lengths.
Review Wire Types
Look for yellow-highlighted rows indicating missing wire types. Assign wire types before finalizing your cut list to ensure complete documentation.
Use Appropriate Column Presets
For screen work, use Minimal or Standard view. For printing comprehensive documentation, use Detailed view with all ident columns visible.
Organize Before Printing
Reorder wires logically before printing - by circuit, by location, or by assembly sequence. This makes manufacturing more efficient.
Document Your Settings
The print header shows your length settings. Keep a record of why you chose specific values (additional length, rounding, etc.) for future reference or revisions.

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