Subtract one model from another
Drop the model, then add the shape to take away — a second file, or a box, cylinder or sphere of the size you type (Combine → Add a shape). Select the one to keep first and the one to take away second, and press Subtract: the button names what is taken from what. “Centre on model 1” puts a cutter right through the middle.
Saves model files for your slicer, never printer code. Opened and sliced in PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio and Cura.
When the slicer’s boolean does nothing
Boolean operations need both models to be closed solids. When one has a hole or flipped triangles, programs grey the button out, give back the same model unchanged or a broken one. Here every model is checked when it opens, a broken one is repaired first, and the result is always a closed solid.
Keep only the overlap
“Keep only the overlap” gives the part the models share — the opposite of subtracting. Handy for trimming a model to a box: add a box of the size you need and keep the overlap.
Questions
- The result is empty.
- The shape you took away covered the whole model, or the models do not touch at all. Check their positions in the view: each keeps the place the program that made it gave it.
- Can I take away several shapes at once?
- Yes: select the model first, then all the shapes. They are all taken out in one step.