Maybe 'cutting' the model is the wrong concept. It may be easier to subtract or crop. Cura already has an option to subtract supports using an overlapping object. It can also even change print settings for a volume defined by an overlapping object. Why not have a "do not print" or "only print within" options? Then you could import a 1cm cube, stretch it as required and use it to define a volume to print or volume to crop?
You have to realize that most 3D files available are stl files which are not as easy to modify as solid geometry models. But most of the time I only want to take an stl from Thingiverse (or elsewhere) and crop parts that I don't need or split them up if they are too big. This option would seem like a very basic yet versatile tool.
And you can't say that it is too complex--not for the brainiacs at Ultimaker that are already making this kind of software. 😉
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ahoeben 1,986
Cutting objects at an arbitrary cutting plane is surprisingly more complex than you might think. It is not just a matter of removing all points on one side of the plane; it is very likely that the plane cuts halfway through a lot of faces. New vertices need to be added and connected into new faces, and the model needs to be kept "watertight" by adding caps to all now open areas and then still manual repairs might be necessary. It is a task that really needs to be done in an application with a much firmer grasp on the geometry than the Cura frontend has.
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