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Explode Group

In one sentence: Break apart a Boolean fusion or compound into its individual component objects, each shown as a separate visible object.

Overview

Workbench: OpenSCAD
Menu: OpenSCAD → Explode Group
Shortcut: none

Dissolves a Part::Fuse, Part::MultiFuse, or Part::Compound into its constituent parts. The container object is deleted and each sub-object is revealed as an independent, individually visible object. Random colours are assigned to components that had the default colour, making them visually distinguishable.

Intuition

A boolean fusion or compound holds multiple objects bundled together. Explode Group is the inverse: it un-bundles them, returning each object to its independent existence so you can work with them separately.

When to use it

  • You want to inspect or modify individual components of a compound after import (many STEP files import as compounds).
  • You accidentally fused objects and want to separate them without losing either shape.
  • You want to apply operations to each sub-object independently.

When NOT to use it

  • Deeply nested compounds — Explode Group only unpacks one level at a time. Nested compounds need to be exploded multiple times.
  • On objects with children that have parents — Explode Group only works on top-level objects (no parents in the document tree).

Step-by-step

  1. Select a Part::Fuse, Part::MultiFuse, or Part::Compound.
  2. Choose OpenSCAD → Explode Group.
  3. The compound is deleted and each sub-object appears individually.
  4. Components that had default colour are assigned a random colour.

Parameters

No parameters — operates on the selected compound.

Common mistakes and pitfalls

Explode Group does nothing on non-compound objects

Cause: The selected object is not a Fuse, MultiFuse, or Compound.
Fix: Use this tool only on compound-type objects. For other groupings, use document tree operations.

Python API

import FreeCADGui as Gui
Gui.doCommand("Gui.runCommand('OpenSCAD_ExplodeGroup', 0)")

See also