ClippingBox

Tools for creating, managing, saving, and restoring section-box clipping planes in Rhino. A clipping box generates one clipping plane per face of a solid, giving you a full 6-sided section cut.

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Workflow Overview

knClippingBox  ──or──  knClippingBoxbyBrep
       │
       ▼
   (work in section)
       │
       ├── knClippingBoxSave    → save current box for later
       ├── knClippingBoxDelete  → delete current box
       └── knClippingBoxEtoForm → restore / manage saved boxes

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Commands

knClippingBox

Creates a clipping box by interactively drawing a 3D box. Generates one clipping plane per face and applies them to the active viewport.

Property	Detail
Input	Draw a box interactively (same as Rhino's Box command)
Output	6 clipping planes active in the current viewport; box geometry on the locked ClippingBox layer in wireframe

Note

If the command is cancelled, knClippingBoxDelete is called automatically to clean up.

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knClippingBoxbyBrep

Creates a clipping box from an existing polysurface (BREP) in the scene. Generates one clipping plane per face of the selected solid.

Property	Detail
Input	Select an existing closed polysurface
Output	Clipping planes for each BREP face, active in the current viewport

Tip

Use this to restore a previously saved box shape — knClippingBoxEtoForm calls this internally.

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knClippingBoxSave

Saves the current clipping box geometry to a SavedClippingBox layer for later retrieval. Each saved box is auto-named sequentially (ClippingBox1, ClippingBox2, …). The saved layer is locked and hidden after saving.

Property	Detail
Input	None (operates on objects currently on the ClippingBox layer)
Output	Clipping box moved to the hidden SavedClippingBox layer with an auto-incremented name

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knClippingBoxDelete

Deletes the current clipping box and all its clipping planes. Gives the option to save first.

Property	Detail
Input	Yes/No prompt: "Save Clipping Box before deleting?"
Output	All objects on the ClippingBox layer removed; layer purged

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knClippingBoxEtoForm

Opens a list-based management panel for saved clipping boxes. Allows selecting, renaming, or deleting previously saved boxes.

Property	Detail
Input	Choose from a list of saved clipping box names
Output	Restores the selected box (via knClippingBoxbyBrep), renames, or deletes the chosen entry

Prerequisite

Requires at least one saved clipping box on the SavedClippingBox layer. Run knClippingBoxSave first.

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Layer Reference

Layer	Colour	Description
ClippingBox	Red	Active clipping box geometry — locked
SavedClippingBox	Blue	Archived boxes — locked and hidden