---
title: "MCP server: 28 free material calculators for AI assistants"
description: "The free MCP server for 28 material calculators: cut plans, log scaling, wood drying, container loading — ask your AI in plain language at mcp.nestingcalc.com."
image: "https://nestingcalc.com/og-default.png"
url: "https://nestingcalc.com/guides/mcp-server/"
locale: "en"
---

# MCP server: 28 free material calculators for AI assistants

The free MCP server for 28 material calculators: cut plans, log scaling, wood drying, container loading — ask your AI in plain language at mcp.nestingcalc.com.

## What is MCP, in three sentences

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants call external tools directly: instead of guessing an answer, the model invokes a real calculator with your exact numbers. NestingCalc runs a free, public MCP server at `https://mcp.nestingcalc.com/mcp` — no API key, no account, standard streamable HTTP — so Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, Gemini CLI and any other MCP client can connect. In practice it turns your chat window into a materials engineer: ask for a cut plan, a log volume or a container load, and the AI calls the right calculator and returns exact numbers.

## The 28 tools at a glance

All 28 tools work in metric and imperial units (mm/cm/m/in/ft), and the science-based formulas follow the USDA Wood Handbook 2021 (ch. 4), the Hailwood–Horrobin adsorption model, the IMO CSS Code and JAS — not numbers a chatbot made up. Prefer a browser? Try the [Linear cutting calculator](https://nestingcalc.com/linear-cutting-calculator/) or [Sheet cutting calculator](https://nestingcalc.com/sheet-cutting-calculator/) optimizers right here on the site. The full list:

| Group | MCP tools | What they do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cutting & nesting | `linear_cutting_optimizer`, `sheet_cutting_optimizer` | 1D bar and tube cut plans; 2D guillotine sheet layouts with kerf, rotation, yield % and leftover parts |
| Log scaling & timber trade | `hoppus_volume`, `log_volume`, `jas_log_scale`, `timber_unit_converter`, `board_feet_calculator`, `sawmill_recovery` | Hoppus, Huber/Smalian/Newton and JAS volumes; m³/ft³/board feet/MBF conversion (1 MBF = 2.3597 m³); mill recovery and Doyle/Scribner overrun |
| Wood weight | `lumber_weight_calculator`, `green_log_weight` | Lumber weight by species and moisture content; green log weight from basic density with 14 verified species presets |
| Wood drying science | `moisture_content`, `wood_shrinkage`, `wood_emc`, `kiln_capacity`, `rough_sizing`, `firewood_calculator` | Moisture content from sample weights; water to evaporate in drying; tangential/radial shrinkage; equilibrium moisture content; kiln capacity; rough sizing with kerf and planing allowance; cord/stere conversions |
| Metal & CNC | `metal_weight_calculator`, `rebar_takeoff`, `sheet_metal_gauge`, `cnc_feeds_speeds` | Weight of 7 steel/aluminium/copper profiles; rebar d²/162 rule; gauge ↔ mm with sheet weight; RPM and feed from chip load and cutting speed |
| Finishing & interiors | `miter_angle_calculator`, `baluster_spacing_calculator`, `tile_calculator`, `flooring_calculator`, `wallpaper_calculator` | Miter angles (square corner, polygon, crown); baluster spacing to the 100 mm sphere rule; tiles and cost; laminate flooring with offcut reuse; wallpaper rolls by pattern repeat |
| Export logistics | `stowage_factor`, `container_loading` | Stowage factor against the IMO CSS Code; 20GP/40GP/40HC loading blocked by volume or weight, containers needed |
| Embroidery | `embroidery_resize` | Resize PES/DST embroidery files by percentage with a stitch-density safety verdict (±15%) |

## Four reasons to connect it today

The web calculators and the MCP server run exactly the same engines — what changes is how you drive them.

-   **Ask in plain language.** No forms: say what you need and the AI picks the tool, fills in the parameters and explains the result.
-   **Chain many calculations.** One export shipment, five calculators: Hoppus volume → green weight → water to evaporate in drying → kiln capacity → container loading. The AI carries the numbers between steps; you never retype anything.
-   **Every result links to a diagram.** Each answer includes a `web_url` pre-filled with your numbers — open it for an SVG cut plan you can print for the shop floor.
-   **Free for real.** No API key, no account, no trial quota. It runs on Cloudflare Workers worldwide with low latency.

## Connect in one minute

Pick your MCP client: **Claude Code** (terminal) — run `claude mcp add --transport http nestingcalc https://mcp.nestingcalc.com/mcp` (add `--scope user` to make it available in every project). **Claude Desktop** — Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, then paste `https://mcp.nestingcalc.com/mcp`. **Cursor** — Cursor Settings → MCP → Add new MCP server, then paste the JSON below. Want to inspect before you trust it? Run `npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector`, choose Streamable HTTP, paste the same URL and connect — you will see all 28 tools.

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nestingcalc": {
      "url": "https://mcp.nestingcalc.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

## Five prompts to copy

Copy one of these into your AI client once the server is connected:

1.  **1D cutting:** "Cut 12 pieces of 2400 mm, 8 of 1150 mm and 20 of 600 mm from 6 m steel tube, 3 mm saw kerf, only 10 sticks of each size in stock — nest them and tell me what is missing."
2.  **2D sheet layout:** "A cabinet: 2 sides 800×2000, top and bottom 764×800, 2 shelves 764×780, back 1600×2000, MDF sheets 2440×1220 — give me the layout and yield %, rotation allowed."
3.  **Log scaling:** "20 acacia logs, mid-length circumference 96 cm, 11 m long — Hoppus volume, true volume, and the value at 45 USD per Hoppus m³."
4.  **Drying:** "30 m³ of rubberwood at 75% moisture content, dried down to 12% — how many tonnes is the charge and how many kg of water must evaporate?"
5.  **Export:** "Cartons 60×40×40 cm, 12 kg each — how many fit in a 40 ft high-cube container, limited by volume or weight, and how many containers for 5,000 cartons?"

## Who is it for

Anyone who turns material into cut parts — or ships it.

-   **Carpenters, furniture shops, DIY:** stop wasting expensive MDF and plywood; get a cut plan first.
-   **Wood exporters (especially tropical hardwood):** log scaling → drying → container loading, the whole chain in one conversation.
-   **CNC machinists, builders, flooring and tiling contractors:** feeds and speeds, material weights, takeoffs.
-   **Embroiderers:** resize PES/DST files without installing software.
-   **Developers:** a public, no-auth, streamable-HTTP MCP server with clean JSON responses and a tested engine — handy for building agents.

## Transparency and limits

The server is version 1.0.0 with 28 tools; the website has 29 calculators, but the glass calculator shares the sheet-cutting engine, so it has no separate MCP tool. As of September 2026 the server is not yet listed in the Official MCP Registry — the submission is in progress — so until then, connect directly with the URL above. Known limits: embroidery files through MCP are capped at about 2 MB (base64), and very large 2D nesting jobs are better run in the browser, where you get the interactive diagram. Building a product on top of this server and need higher volume? Get in touch — we are happy to help.

## Try it today

Paste `https://mcp.nestingcalc.com/mcp` into your AI client and give it one real job from this week's workload. If the result surprises you — good or bad — tell us; feedback directly shapes the next 28 tools. NestingCalc itself is 29 free material calculators in 19 languages at [nestingcalc.com](https://nestingcalc.com/), and AI assistants can read the whole site through [llms.txt](https://nestingcalc.com/llms.txt).

[Open the linear cutting calculator](https://nestingcalc.com/linear-cutting-calculator/) [Open the sheet cutting calculator](https://nestingcalc.com/sheet-cutting-calculator/)

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