Tools menu: Split Body tool

What is the Split Body tool?

You can use the Split Body tool to divide a solid body into multiple separate bodies without removing material. Split Body lets you use planes, sketches, faces, and edges to create precise cuts, making it useful for:

• Separating components – Divide a model into individual parts for further editing.
• Preparing parts for manufacturing – Split larger geometry into manageable sections.
• Creating complex geometry – Use existing geometry to define where a body is divided.

Splitting geometry can extend through a body even when it does not directly touch the body. The resulting bodies remain separate and can be edited individually.

How to use the Split Body tool

1. Go to Tools > Split Body. For other ways to open the tool, visit Accessing tools.
2. Select the body or bodies you want to divide under To Split.
3. Under Split With, select the faces, edges, curves, or planes that define the cuts. For the available options, refer to Splitting geometry.
4. If necessary, turn on Keep Originals to retain the unsplit bodies.
5. To finish, select Done.

Splitting geometry

The geometry selected under Split With determines where the bodies are divided. Splitting geometry is extended through the selected bodies, so it does not need to touch them directly. You can select multiple splitting elements to create several cuts in one operation.

Depending on your model, you can use:

• Construction and grid planes – Create straight, planar divisions across a body.
• Sketch curves and profiles – Define custom splitting shapes. Connected sketches on the same plane can form a shared splitting surface; disconnected sketches can produce separate cuts.
• Faces and edges – Use geometry from another body to define a split, including coplanar edges that define a splitting surface.
• A body’s own face – Use an existing face of the body to define a division.

Parameter Card and History Settings

Shapr3D records the tools you use as steps in History, allowing you to revisit and modify them later. Each History step stores its parameters, which you can access through the parameter card. You can adjust these parameters while using the tool or reopen the parameter card from History after completing the step.

Adjust Split Body parameters

The Split Body parameter card includes:

• To Split – Select the solid bodies to divide.
• Split With – Select the faces, edges, curves, or planes that define the split.
• Keep Originals – Choose whether to retain the original unsplit bodies after creating the split results. Keeping the originals can be useful if you need to reuse or modify the source bodies later. If you only need the separated bodies, leave this setting off.

Edit Split Body in History

To modify a completed split, find its step in History and review the available settings:

• Bodies to Split – Edit the bodies being divided. This corresponds to To Split in the current parameter card.
• Split With – Edit the geometry used to divide the selected bodies.
• Keep Originals – Choose whether to retain the original unsplit bodies.

After editing a selection, select Done to confirm it.

When to use the Split Body tool

Use Split Body when you need to divide existing solid geometry into separate bodies without subtracting material. Common situations include:

• Creating separate parts – Divide a single solid into sections that can be modified independently.
• Preparing separate parts – Split a body into individual parts that you can work on separately.
• Working from reference geometry – Use existing planes, sketches, or faces to control the division.
• Choosing between Split Body and Subtract – Split Body divides a body without removing material, while Subtract removes overlapping material from one body using another.

Best practices and troubleshooting

• Check that the splitting geometry passes through the region you want to divide.
• Use construction planes for predictable planar cuts and sketches or existing faces for more customized divisions.
• Turn on Keep Originals when you need to preserve the unsplit source geometry for later use.