I’m currently learning Grasshopper and still very much at the beginning of my journey—so please excuse any beginner-level mistakes or terminology. I really appreciate your time and support!
I’m working on a Grasshopper script that should help me prepare complex geometries—like larger sculptures—for 3D printing. Since most of the objects I want to print exceed the build volume of my printer, the idea is to split these models into smaller segments that can be printed individually and assembled afterward.
Here’s what I’m aiming to achieve with the script:
Create a bounding box around any given geometry in Rhino.
Subdivide that bounding box into smaller cubes or volumes, based on my printer’s build dimensions.
Perform a Boolean split of the geometry into these smaller printable chunks.
Add connectors between the parts (still undecided whether to use peg/dowel systems or some form of interlocking joints).
Automatically assign matching identifiers to the contact surfaces of each segment (e.g., Part A1 connects to Part A2).
Integrate a visible numbering system directly onto each segment for easier assembly after printing.
Automatically export each individual segment as an STL file.
So far, my approach looks like this:
I define the geometry and wrap it in a bounding box.
I extract the eight corner points of that bounding box to calculate the overall dimensions.
These dimensions are then divided by my printer’s build volume to determine how many segments I’ll need along each axis (X, Y, Z).
That’s the point I’ve reached, and now I’m looking for advice and feedback regarding the next development steps. Specifically:
How can I perform the Boolean splitting most efficiently?
What are good strategies to implement connectors between the pieces?
How could I create a consistent and readable numbering system on the parts (ideally engraved or embossed directly in the geometry)?
What would be the best way to automate the STL export of each resulting segment?
I’d be very grateful for any feedback, suggestions, or examples that might help me move forward—or show me better ways to structure this logic. I hope this post can also serve as a small inspiration or discussion starter for anyone working on similar challenges.
I’m currently learning Grasshopper and still very much at the beginning of my journey—so please excuse any beginner-level mistakes or terminology. I really appreciate your time and support!
I’m working on a Grasshopper script that should help me prepare complex geometries—like larger sculptures—for 3D printing. Since most of the objects I want to print exceed the build volume of my printer, the idea is to split these models into smaller segments that can be printed individually and assembled afterward.
Here’s what I’m aiming to achieve with the script:
Create a bounding box around any given geometry in Rhino.
Subdivide that bounding box into smaller cubes or volumes, based on my printer’s build dimensions.
Perform a Boolean split of the geometry into these smaller printable chunks.
Add connectors between the parts (still undecided whether to use peg/dowel systems or some form of interlocking joints).
Automatically assign matching identifiers to the contact surfaces of each segment (e.g., Part A1 connects to Part A2).
Integrate a visible numbering system directly onto each segment for easier assembly after printing.
Automatically export each individual segment as an STL file.
So far, my approach looks like this:
I define the geometry and wrap it in a bounding box.
I extract the eight corner points of that bounding box to calculate the overall dimensions.
These dimensions are then divided by my printer’s build volume to determine how many segments I’ll need along each axis (X, Y, Z).
That’s the point I’ve reached, and now I’m looking for advice and feedback regarding the next development steps. Specifically:
How can I perform the Boolean splitting most efficiently?
What are good strategies to implement connectors between the pieces?
How could I create a consistent and readable numbering system on the parts (ideally engraved or embossed directly in the geometry)?
What would be the best way to automate the STL export of each resulting segment?
I’d be very grateful for any feedback, suggestions, or examples that might help me move forward—or show me better ways to structure this logic. I hope this post can also serve as a small inspiration or discussion starter for anyone working on similar challenges.
I have a couple of X1C printers from Bambu Lab with a build volume of approximately 250 x 250 x 250 mm. I’d like to make it so that the volume can be adjusted using a number slider. I’ve already been thinking that there must be a better way to approach this problem.
“if solid booleans you involve, the CPU will dissolve”
(Quote attributed to Master Yoda)
jokes apart, I think I would approach this using BoundingBox domains/intervals
if your printing box is a cube of edge 250mm, let’s say you dedicate 10mm on each side to connection parts, each box that actually trims real geometry should become like 230mm :
I did a dirty sketch of the idea, and was a bit surprised Solid Intersection just worked fine and took just 4.1 seconds in my laptop from 2019
[by the way, if you have some complex solids, I wouldn’t bet my life on solid intersections always working this well]
about the connectors between the parts, I think you could take the largest common-face of each shattered part and place a connector there? with some basic rules for connection orientation? (like male always along +x, +y, +z and female always along -x, -y, -z assuming it’s a sort of male/female thing?) what geometry would connections have?
the naming of each part could be engraved in the very same largest common-face where the connection element is placed, and I would do that as very last thing because sounds like it would take some time to process…
stl export can be done for sure, I assume you can loop all the parts in such a way each is saved with its own name inside a given folder
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and incredibly clever response – I truly appreciate the time and energy you put into it!
To be honest, I already had the feeling that my initial approach was rather inefficient and overly complicated. But I guess that’s simply part of the learning curve when you’re just starting out with Grasshopper (like I am). Your solution is not only much more elegant, but also a huge leap forward compared to what I had in mind – even though I don’t yet fully understand every aspect of your script, it’s already extremely helpful and inspiring to me.
That said, I’m now wondering how one would continue building on this workflow for such a complex task. I feel like this whole idea of splitting, labeling, and preparing models for seamless 3D printing has a lot of potential for broader use – but it also seems to become increasingly complex the further you go.
For example, how would one go about referencing the matching faces between the split objects to place connectors or engraving labels appropriately? Is there a strategy or best practice for identifying those adjacent surfaces and applying geometry (like pegs or labels) between them?
Also, what would you recommend as a next step from here? Are there any specific topics, methods, or other community posts I should dive into to better understand how to tackle this?
Once again, thanks so much for your generous input – it’s really motivating and gives me a much better perspective on what’s possible!
I have some ideas about how to split this into parts.
Most important is, that I would start with a template box first. A box as big as the largest chunk your printer can print.
At each side make max 3 connectors.
Front, left + top connectors sticking outwards.
Back, right, bottom connectors sticking inwards
(or all sides connectors sticking inwards + use connector pieces (advice is to not use cylinders but triangle sticks, what fits always).
Uni
Now combine + number X * Y * Z chunks to a big assemble larger then your to printing object.
Solid difference; Solid Union or Solid Intersection (I would have to check what is best here) will help you to get the chunks what intersect with the surface of your object. You do not want all inner chunks what do not intersect the surface (Correct?)
Most worrying would be (with my experience with 3 D printing) is how to get those chunds in a good fit. 3D printing means you have to work with rather big tolerances; warping, shrinking, etcetera.
You can create a series of horizontal and vertical planes that will split your print into build volume sized pieces. Make these planes mesh solids with a thickness of 0.1mm and position cylinders to represent dowels on the mating surfaces.
Then a mesh boolean difference will split the print into meshes.
You can also put mating face identifiers on the cutting planes. Use solid text id numbers that can be part of the mesh boolean operation too.
