# Cutting Object Into Horizontal Layers?

**URL:** <https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cutting-object-into-horizontal-layers/12350>\
**Category:** Modeling Questions\
**Created:** [April 19, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cutting-object-into-horizontal-layers/12350 "2021-04-19T17:46:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ctc1111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@ctc1111](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/ctc1111)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cutting-object-into-horizontal-layers/12350/1 "2021-04-19T17:46:48Z")

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I am curious if anyone has a method to essentially ‘cut’ an object into equal horizontal layers?

Example: You have a 3d object, like a cube, and you’d like to break out it’s shape/profile in 2" layers.

The goal with this is that the object could then be CNC cut out of 2" thick sheets of foam and then the cut/shaped sheets could be bonded together to form the originally modeled shape.

I feel I am getting close with the ‘add construction plane’ feature, and then adding construction planes every 2" starting from the bottom of the object. However from there, I have no idea what to do and I have been spinning my wheels…

Thanks for any help!

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**Author:** ![TheBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@TheBum](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/TheBum)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 5:55pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cutting-object-into-horizontal-layers/12350/2 "2021-04-19T17:55:55Z")

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Unfortunately, as of now, you have to make copies of your object and extrude out the pieces you don’t want. The number of copies will be equal to the number of layers. I’m looking forward to the day when we can split bodies with planes.

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**Author:** ![ctc1111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@ctc1111](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/ctc1111)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cutting-object-into-horizontal-layers/12350/3 "2021-04-19T17:58:03Z")

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Ah, thats too bad… I have been staring at it long enough that I was going to be surprised if I was simply overlooking a simple way to accomplish that…

Thanks for the input!

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**Author:** ![ctc1111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@ctc1111](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/ctc1111)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:50pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cutting-object-into-horizontal-layers/12350/4 "2021-04-19T18:50:48Z")

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As I’m thinking about what you said (extruding ‘out’ the pieces of the object I do not want), in cases where I cannot extrude out pieces I do not want due to the complexity of the shape, might another approach be to make a cube that is larger than the object itself, lower it onto the object and then subtract the cube to ‘slice’ off the top of the object?

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**Author:** ![TheBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@TheBum](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/TheBum)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cutting-object-into-horizontal-layers/12350/5 "2021-04-19T21:07:44Z")

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Yes, that’s another approach.