By Printara · Published 25 September 2026 · 10 min read · Written for OrcaSlicer 2.4
How to Split an STL in OrcaSlicer (Cut Tool, Connectors and Multiple Dovetails)
OrcaSlicer runs on a huge range of printers: Creality K1 and Ender 3 V3 at 220 mm, Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro at 225 mm, Sovol SV08 and Creality K2 Plus at 350 mm, Voron builds, Bambu machines and more. Whatever the bed, some models will not fit on it. OrcaSlicer's Cut tool cuts them into parts and adds the connectors that hold them together, and it has one feature the other big slicers lack: several dovetails along a single seam. This guide covers the full workflow in OrcaSlicer 2.4, the current release in September 2026.
Short version. Select the object, press C, move the plane to the seam, tick Keep for both parts with Place on cut, click Add connectors, choose Dowel, give Size a tolerance of 0.2 to 0.3 mm, click two or more spots on the cut face, Confirm connectors, then Perform cut.
What OrcaSlicer's cut tool can and cannot do
It can cut an object with a flat plane at any angle, keep either or both halves, lay each half on its cut face, add plug, dowel or snap connectors in several shapes, cut a dovetail groove (one or several along the seam), and keep the result as two objects or as two parts of one object.
It cannot cut along a curve, work out how many cuts your bed needs, check how much wall is left around a connector hole, or number the parts for assembly. Keep that in mind for big multi-part projects; the last section shows a tool that does those things.
Step by step: cutting a model in OrcaSlicer
1. Open the Cut tool
Import the model, click it, and press C, or click the Cut icon in the toolbar above the 3D view. A plane appears through the object and a panel opens on the side. At the top of the panel, Build Volume shows the size of the object in millimetres, which is the number to compare with your bed.
2. Place the cut
- Leave Mode on Planar for a straight cut.
- Drag the plane along its axis, or type the height in Cut position.
- Drag the arcs around the plane to tilt it for an angled seam.
- Hold Shift and drag across the model to Draw cut line. The plane is placed along your line and perpendicular to the current view, which is the fastest way to follow a sloping feature such as the edge of a cape or the rim of a helmet. Rotate the camera until the seam you want is seen edge on, then draw.
- Flip cut plane swaps the upper and lower side, Hide cut plane and grabbers gives you a clear look at the model, and Reset cutting plane starts over.
3. Choose the parts to keep and how they land
The panel lists the Upper part and Lower part. Tick Keep for each part you want, and choose one of Keep orientation, Place on cut or Flip upside down for each. For printing, Place on cut is usually right: the flat cut face goes on the plate.
Cut to parts keeps both halves inside one object as parts, so you can give each half its own settings while they stay together. It is not available with connectors or dovetails.
4. Add connectors
Click Add connectors (it reads Edit connectors once some exist). Then choose:
- Type: Plug (a peg on one part, a hole in the other), Dowel (holes in both parts plus a separate pin) or Snap (a peg with a bulge that clicks into place).
- Style: Prism or Frustum, and Shape: Triangle, Square, Hexagon or Circle. Anything but a circle also stops the parts from rotating.
- Depth, Size and Rotation, with a Tolerance for depth and size.
- For snaps, Bulge and Space, both set as a proportion of the connector radius.
Left click places a connector on the cut face, right click removes it, drag moves it. Shift + click and Alt + click add to or remove from the selection, and Ctrl + A selects all connectors so you can resize them together. Click Confirm connectors to return.
5. Perform the cut
Click Perform cut. If OrcaSlicer warns that the cut left non-manifold edges and offers to fix them, accept. The parts, and any dowel pins, now show as separate objects.
Multiple dovetails for long seams
Switch Mode to Dovetail and the seam gets a rib on one side and a slot on the other. The Groove settings are Depth and Width (each with a tolerance), Flap Angle (30 to 120 degrees) and Groove Angle (0 to 15 degrees).
Below them sits the OrcaSlicer extra: Multiple. Count sets how many dovetails run along the seam, from 1 to 100, Gap sets the distance between them, and Spacing shows the result, which is the gap plus the groove width. One dovetail on a 300 mm seam lets the ends flex; three or four keep the whole joint flat and aligned.
Good uses: cosplay armour plates, wall signs and name boards, terrain tiles, long boxes and trays. Two cautions. The groove needs material, so a thin shell cannot hold it; and a steep flap angle creates overhangs on the slot side, so look at the sliced preview before you commit. In Dovetail mode the parts are always separate objects.
Choosing a joint for your seam
- Big, thick cross-section (a torso, a base): two or three dowels. Both parts print cut face down, and the pins carry the load across the seam.
- Small cross-section (a neck, an arm): one plug in a square or hexagon shape. It aligns and cannot rotate. Print the plug side cut face up.
- Parts that should come apart again: snaps, printed in PETG or another tough filament, because PLA snaps tend to crack after a few cycles.
- Long flat seams (panels, signs): Dovetail mode with Count of 2 or more.
- Thin shells and hollow models: no connector at all. Glue the seam and add a strip of material on the inside, or choose a different place to cut.
Getting the fit right on your printer
A connector only works if the printed hole is a little larger than the printed peg. That gap is the tolerance value next to Size. If it is 0, the peg and the hole have the same nominal size and will not slide together.
| Material and nozzle | Size tolerance to start with |
|---|---|
| PLA or PETG, 0.4 mm nozzle | 0.2 to 0.3 mm |
| PLA or PETG, 0.6 mm nozzle | 0.3 to 0.4 mm |
| TPU or other flexible filament | Avoid pegs; glue or use a larger dovetail |
Then tune with two settings that OrcaSlicer exposes in the process settings under Quality:
- Elephant foot compensation shrinks the first layers, which otherwise bulge outward and close up holes that sit on the plate.
- X-Y hole compensation grows or shrinks vertical holes. A small positive value widens dowel holes that come out tight. It changes every vertical hole in the part, so use it with care on models with screw holes.
The fastest calibration is a coupon: cut a 30 mm cube with your connector settings, print both halves, and adjust by 0.05 mm until the fit is right. Save the values; they will work for every future split on that printer.
Printing the parts: plates and orientation
After the cut, each part is an ordinary object. Press A to arrange. If the parts do not fit on one plate together, add a plate and drag the large parts onto it; OrcaSlicer slices and exports each plate separately. To put a face on the plate by hand, use Lay on face (F) and click the face.
For more than two parts, cut again on the pieces that are still too big. Rename parts as you go. Remember that Split (to objects or to parts) is a different command: it separates shells that are already disconnected in the file and never cuts a solid.
Troubleshooting
- "Cut plane is placed out of object". The plane misses the model. Use Reset cutting plane or type a Cut position inside the Build Volume range.
- "Cut plane with groove is invalid". The dovetail does not fit the cut face. Reduce Depth or Width, or move the plane to a thicker section.
- "Select at least one object to keep after cutting." Tick Keep for the upper or lower part.
- "Invalid connectors detected" or "Some connectors are overlapped". A connector leaves the cut face or touches another. Drag it inward or reduce Size.
- Holes show through the outer surface. The wall is too thin where the connector sits. Move it inward or make it smaller.
When a plane is not enough: the Printara STL Splitter
The Printara STL Splitter is a free browser tool for the splits a slicer makes hard. You need a free Printara account to open a file, 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.
- Curved seams. Drag a stroke across the model and the cut follows it, around a shoulder or along a helmet's edge, not straight through.
- A cut plan from your bed. Choose from 14 printer presets, among them the Creality Ender 3 V3, K1 and K2 Plus, Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro and Centauri Carbon, Sovol SV06 Plus and SV08, or type your own bed, and press work out the cuts.
- Checked joints. Resin pins (the default), dowels, square keys, cone studs or sliding dovetails, with at least 1.5 mm of wall proved behind every socket and matching numbers engraved into both faces.
- A ZIP you can print from. One STL per part, the dowel STLs and a plain-text assembly guide. Import the parts into OrcaSlicer, use Lay on face, arrange and print.
It takes STL files up to 2,000,000 triangles and works best on a desktop; on a phone the cut runs on Printara servers. The Academy lesson on splitting shows a full split in about four minutes.
Try a split in your browser
Free with a free Printara account. No credits, no watermark, no export limit.
Create a free account and split How the splitter worksFAQ
Does OrcaSlicer have a cut tool?
Yes. Select an object and press C, or click the Cut icon in the toolbar above the 3D view. It cuts on a plane and can add plug, dowel or snap connectors, or a dovetail groove.
How do I cut at an angle in OrcaSlicer?
Drag the rotation arcs on the cut plane, or hold Shift and drag across the model to draw a cut line. The plane is placed along the line and perpendicular to your current view.
How do I make several dovetails along one seam?
Set Mode to Dovetail, then raise Count under Multiple and set the Gap between grooves. OrcaSlicer shows the resulting Spacing, which is the gap plus the groove width.
Why do my connectors not fit together?
Usually the tolerance next to Size is 0 or too small, or the first layer has an elephant foot. Start at 0.2 to 0.3 mm on the Size tolerance for PLA or PETG, and use Elephant foot compensation for holes near the plate.
Can OrcaSlicer cut a model automatically to fit my bed?
No. It shows the object's size in the Build Volume line, but you place every cut yourself. The Printara STL Splitter can work the cuts out from your bed size.