What is an optimal pallet arrangement?
Before diving into the solution, we should define what an optimal pallet arrangement is. There are a number of formulations of the pallet loading problem with varying complexity. From optimizing a 3D composition with arbitrary rotations and boxes of different sizes, we pared the problem down to finding the optimal way to arrange the maximum number of identical boxes in a single, flat layer on a pallet. Or in other words, the composition of identical rectangles in a larger rectangle, with 90° rotations. This makes it easy for someone to follow a diagram of the optimal composition and stack to a given height.