--- title: "Cut a resin model into parts and split it in Encrust" description: "Cut a model too big for the plate with a flat plane in Encrust, read the uncapped-loops message, split loose parts and prepare halves for gluing." url: "https://encrust.app/guides/cut-split-resin-model/" lang: "en" updated: "2026-10-05" --- Preparing a model · Guide 9 of 11 # Cut and split a model Updated October 5, 2026 5 min read Open Cut and split, choose an axis, set the plane's position in millimetres, keep Both halves and press Cut. Each half is closed with a flat face and lands on the plate as its own model. Split is a separate button: it breaks a model into the loose pieces it already contains. Five minutes. ## On this page 1. [Before you start](https://encrust.app/guides/cut-split-resin-model/#before-you-start) 2. [Choose where to cut](https://encrust.app/guides/cut-split-resin-model/#choose-where-to-cut) 3. [Cut the model](https://encrust.app/guides/cut-split-resin-model/#cut-the-model) 4. [“Cut loops were open and left uncapped”](https://encrust.app/guides/cut-split-resin-model/#cut-loops-were-open-and-left-uncapped) 5. [Split a model into its parts](https://encrust.app/guides/cut-split-resin-model/#split-a-model-into-its-parts) 6. [If something goes wrong](https://encrust.app/guides/cut-split-resin-model/#if-something-goes-wrong) ## Before you start You need a model on the plate, as in [Your first print](https://encrust.app/guides/first-resin-print/). Cut before you hollow or add supports: the halves are new models, so the supports, drain holes and hollow settings the model carried are gone. If the model shows open edges in Plate contents, a cut will not close over them. Encrust does not fill holes, so mend them in another program first ( [Check and repair a model](https://encrust.app/guides/check-repair-model-on-import/)). Cut and split is tool `5` in the tool rail. ## Choose where to cut The cut is a flat plane, and its face is exactly flat, which is what you glue. Each half has to fit the plate on its own. A Z plane’s Height runs from 0 to the printer’s build height. Prefer the thick part of the model to a thin neck: the cut face is all you have to join the halves by. Decide too which way each half will print. A half laid on its cut face puts a wide, flat section against the film, and the layer check flags a layer as a peel when its pull passes 30 N ( [Read the layer check](https://encrust.app/guides/read-the-layer-check/)). Cut, turn the halves the way you intend, switch to Preview and read the Issues card. The viewport draws the plane as an outline a little wider than the model, with a line traced where it meets the surface. Move the position and watch the line. ## Cut the model 1. Select the model and open Cut and split. With nothing selected the panel says “Select a model to cut.” 2. Under Plane, choose X, Y or Z. Z is the default, with Height at 10 mm, measured from the plate. For X and Y the field is named Offset and starts at 0, which is the model’s centre of mass. 3. Set the position in millimetres, by dragging the field or typing. 4. Under Halves, choose Both, Lower or Upper. Lower or Upper keeps one half under the model’s own name and discards the other. 5. Press Cut. With Both, the model’s row is replaced by two: the name with “(lower)” and the name with “(upper)”. The status bar reads “Cut” with the model’s name and the axis and position. Each half is a new model: it has its own row and its own mesh check, and the halves stay where they were in plate coordinates, so the upper half is not lowered onto the plate. To lay it on its cut face, or whichever way you will print it, open the Select tool, press Orient to Face under Rotation and click the face. If the plane misses the model, the status bar says there is nothing to cut and the model stays as it was. ## “Cut loops were open and left uncapped” The status bar names the model and says how many “cut loops were open and left uncapped” when part of the cut could not be closed. Encrust closes each half by tracing the outline where the plane crosses the surface and filling it. An outline that never returns to its start means the surface has a hole there. Encrust does not guess a cap for it: it leaves that stretch open and counts it. The count is of outlines, not of holes. The half still has a hole in its cut face. Close the hole in another program before cutting ( [Check and repair a model](https://encrust.app/guides/check-repair-model-on-import/)), or move the plane to where the surface is closed. ## Split a model into its parts Split breaks one model into the pieces that share no vertex and puts each on the plate as “(part 1)”, “(part 2)” and so on, the piece with the most faces first. It does not cut anything. Use it on a file that holds several objects, or after a cut that left two bodies in one half. If the model is already one piece, the status bar says it “is one piece” and nothing changes. Split goes by shared vertices, so two copies that overlap but do not share them count as separate parts. Welding on import is what joins what should be one. ## If something goes wrong ### “The plane misses …, so there is nothing to cut” The position is outside the model. For Z, the Height is measured from the plate, so a model lifted off the plate needs a higher number. For X and Y, the Offset is measured from the model’s centre of mass: 0 is the middle. ### The halves lost their supports and hollowing A cut creates new models from the mesh, so supports, drain holes and the hollow settings are gone. Hollow and support each half after the cut. See [Hollowing and drain holes](https://encrust.app/guides/hollow-resin-model-drain-holes/). ### Split says the model is one piece The model is one connected body, so there is nothing to separate. Cut it instead. [ Previous Read the layer check before you print](https://encrust.app/guides/read-the-layer-check/) [ Next Arrange models and use more than one plate](https://encrust.app/guides/arrange-models-build-plate/) ## Read next - [Check and repair a model on import ](https://encrust.app/guides/check-repair-model-on-import/) - [Hollowing and drain holes ](https://encrust.app/guides/hollow-resin-model-drain-holes/) - [All guides ](https://encrust.app/guides/) --- Free and open source under AGPL-3.0\. 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