By Printara · Published 25 September 2026 · 9 min read · Written for UltiMaker Cura 5.13
How to Split an STL in Cura: Three Methods That Work (and Their Limits)
If you searched for Cura's cut tool, here is the honest answer first: there isn't one. UltiMaker Cura 5.13, the current version in September 2026, can slice almost anything, but it cannot cut a model into separate parts, export those parts, or add connectors between them. You can still print a model that is too big for your Ender, Neptune or UltiMaker bed. This guide shows three methods, from the free trick that needs nothing but Cura to cutting the STL properly before it ever reaches the slicer, and tells you exactly where each one stops.
Short version. For a quick two-piece print, untick Automatically drop models to the build plate in the preferences and sink half of the model below the plate: Cura does not print what is under it. For anything with connectors, three or more parts, or a seam that is not horizontal, cut the STL in a splitter first and slice the parts in Cura.
What Cura can and cannot do
- Can: leave out everything below the build plate when it slices. That is the basis of methods 1 and 2.
- Can, with the free Mesh Tools plugin: separate bodies that are already disconnected in one file (Extensions, Mesh Tools, Split model into parts), check whether a mesh is watertight and fix simple holes. Useful, but it never cuts a solid.
- Cannot: cut along a plane of your choice, save the halves as separate STL files, or add pins, plugs or dovetails.
A quick way to see whether you need to split at all: a model that does not fit the build volume is drawn with grey and yellow stripes and cannot be sliced. Before you cut, try rotating it on the plate or scaling it down a few percent with the Scale tool.
Method 1: the build plate trick (no plugin)
Cura does not print anything below the plate. Push half the model under it and you print the other half. Do it twice, with the model flipped the second time, and you have both halves.
1. Allow models below the plate
Open Preferences, Configure Cura, General and untick Automatically drop models to the build plate. With it ticked, Cura pulls every model back down to the plate and the trick does not work.
2. Read the height and choose the seam
Select the model and open the Scale tool to read its height H in millimetres. Decide the height h, measured from the bottom of the model, where the seam should be. As always, put it where a line already exists: the top of a base, a belt, a collar.
3. Print the top part
Open the Move tool. In Cura the Z field is the height of the bottom of the model, so type -h. Everything under the plate is left out of the slice. Slice, open the Preview and scroll through the layers to confirm that the first layer is the full cut face, then print.
4. Print the bottom part
Set Z back to 0, then turn the model upside down with the Rotate tool: drag one of the rings through 180 degrees (with Snap Rotation on it moves in fixed steps, which makes 180 easy). Now the original bottom is on top. Type -(H - h) into Z. Only the original bottom part of height h is above the plate, again sitting on its cut face. Slice and print.
Example: a 300 mm statue for a 220 mm bed, cut at h = 150 mm. Top part: Z = -150. Bottom part, flipped: Z = -(300 - 150) = -150. Both print 150 mm tall.
5. Glue the halves
Both halves print with the flat cut face down, so the seam is clean. Dry-fit, then glue with CA or epoxy. Without pins the halves can slide while the glue sets; tape them or hold them for a minute.
Where method 1 stops. The cut is always parallel to the plate, relative to how you rotated the model. There are no connectors. You slice two separate jobs, and the model the base sits on ends up printed upside down. Nothing is saved as separate files; the halves exist only as G-code.
Method 2: the Banana Split plugin
Banana Split is a free plugin in the Cura Marketplace (the Marketplace button at the top right of Cura) with about 350,000 downloads; its latest release, from December 2025, targets Cura 5. It automates the build plate trick. You sink the model so part of it is below the plate and press the plugin's Split button. It then mirrors the part below the plate on top of it as a second object, so both halves print in one job. You can move the original along Z afterwards and the "cut" updates live.
As its author describes it, this is a pseudo-split: nothing is actually cut. The halves are a duplicated, mirrored copy of the model, each with its lower part hidden under the plate. So the limits of method 1 still apply: the cut is horizontal, there are no connectors and no STL files for the parts. What you gain is speed and a single print job, which is handy for a quick two-piece print of a vase, a lamp shade or a tall box.
Method 3: cut the STL first, then slice the parts in Cura
For anything beyond a simple two-piece print, cut outside Cura. You get real part files, any number of parts, and connectors that line the parts up. Options:
- A slicer with a cut tool. PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio all cut with a plane and add connectors, and all three can export the result as STL. See our guides for PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio.
- A 3D editor. Blender's Bisect tool cuts cleanly, but joints, clearances and numbering are manual work.
- A dedicated splitter. Built for exactly this job, including curved seams and connectors that are checked before you print.
How the Printara STL Splitter handles it
The Printara STL Splitter is free to use with a free Printara account, and no credits are used. On a desktop computer with 8 GB of memory or more, models up to 1.5 million triangles are cut in your browser tab and the file stays on your computer; on a phone, a smaller computer or for a larger model the cut runs on Printara servers, still for 0 credits, and the parts go to your library. It covers what Cura cannot do:
- Cuts that follow the model. Draw the seam across the model, place a straight plane with a tilt and an exact offset, or let it work out the cuts for your bed. The printer list includes the Creality Ender 3 and Ender 3 V3, K1, K1C and K2 Plus, the Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro and the Anycubic Kobra 3, and you can type any custom bed.
- Connectors. Resin pins (the default), loose dowels, square keys, cone studs or sliding dovetails, with a clearance of 0.2 mm for FDM built in, and at least 1.5 mm of wall proved behind every socket.
- Real files. A ZIP with one numbered STL per part, the dowel STLs and a plain-text assembly guide. The joint numbers are engraved into both faces that meet.
Limits: STL files up to 2,000,000 triangles. It works best on a desktop; on a phone the cut runs on Printara servers. For a full walkthrough, watch the Academy lesson on splitting a model.
The three methods side by side
| Build plate trick | Banana Split | Cut first, slice in Cura | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra software | None | Free plugin | Splitter or another slicer |
| Seam direction | Parallel to the plate | Parallel to the plate | Any angle; curved with a splitter that draws cuts |
| Connectors | No | No | Yes |
| Separate STL per part | No | No | Yes |
| More than two parts | Awkward | Awkward | Yes |
| Best for | A quick two-piece print | Two halves in one job | Statues, cosplay, anything you will assemble |
Printing split parts in Cura
Once you have part files, Cura is a perfectly good slicer for them. A few settings make the difference between parts that fit and parts that fight:
- Put the cut face down. Open the Rotate tool and use Select face to align to the build plate, then click the cut face. Lay flat also works for simple shapes.
- Holes that come out tight. Search the settings panel for Hole Horizontal Expansion. A small positive value makes holes larger; Hole Horizontal Expansion Max Diameter limits it to small holes such as dowel sockets.
- Elephant foot. The first layer squashes outward and can close holes that sit on the plate. Initial Layer Horizontal Expansion with a small negative value pulls it back in.
- Tall thin parts. A brim keeps them on the plate; you will sand the seam face anyway.
- Dowel pins. Print them lying down so the layers run along the pin, and print a spare or two.
If the splitter's ZIP holds many parts, load them all at once and let Cura arrange them, then spread them over several print jobs if they do not fit together. The parts are saved in their assembled position, so each one lands on the plate in its original orientation until you align the cut face down.
Cut the STL, then slice it in Cura
The Printara STL Splitter is free with a free account. Numbered parts, checked connectors, an assembly guide.
Create a free account and split How the splitter worksFAQ
Does Cura have a cut tool?
No. UltiMaker Cura 5.13, the current version in September 2026, has no tool that cuts a model into separate parts. You can print part of a model by sinking it below the build plate, use a plugin such as Banana Split, or cut the STL in another tool first.
Can I export the cut halves from Cura as STL files?
No. The build plate method only affects slicing. Cura still holds the whole mesh, so exporting writes the complete model. To get separate part files, cut the STL in a splitter or in another slicer with a cut tool.
Can Cura add dowel holes or connectors?
Not by itself. Cut the model in a tool that adds them, such as the Printara STL Splitter, PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer or Bambu Studio, then slice the parts in Cura.
What does Split model into parts in Mesh Tools do?
It separates bodies that are already disconnected inside one file, for example a figure and a loose base exported together. It does not cut through a solid model.
Why does my model jump back onto the build plate?
Automatically drop models to the build plate is switched on. Untick it under Preferences, Configure Cura, General, and the model stays at the Z value you type.