# VoxelDiffusionCut: Non-destructive Internal-part Extraction via Iterative Cutting and Structure Estimation

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.00116 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.00116/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in 3D, point cloud and scene generation, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models.
- Builds on 28 of its 52 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 21 Feb 2026.

## Placed in

- Diffusion models / [3D, point cloud and scene generation](https://mlsanity.com/diffusion/3d-point-cloud-and-scene-generation/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 28 of 28)

- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [Denoising Diffusion Implicit Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.02502/) (2020)
- [Diffusion Models Beat GANs on Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.05233/) (2021)
- [Mask R-CNN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.06870/) (2017)
- [Deep Unsupervised Learning using Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.03585/) (2015)
- [Hierarchical Text-Conditional Image Generation with CLIP Latents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.06125/) (2022)
- [Photorealistic Text-to-Image Diffusion Models with Deep Language Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.11487/) (2022)
- [Classifier-Free Diffusion Guidance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.12598/) (2022)
- [PointNet: Deep Learning on Point Sets for 3D Classification and Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00593/) (2016)
- [Dynamic Graph CNN for Learning on Point Clouds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.07829/) (2018)
- [Conditional Generative Adversarial Nets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1411.1784/) (2014)
- [RePaint: Inpainting using Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.09865/) (2022)
- [Context Encoders: Feature Learning by Inpainting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1604.07379/) (2016)
- [Planning with Diffusion for Flexible Behavior Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.09991/) (2022)
- [SAM 3: Segment Anything with Concepts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.16719/) (2025)
- [Diffusion Probabilistic Models for 3D Point Cloud Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.01458/) (2021)
- [Point-E: A System for Generating 3D Point Clouds from Complex Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.08751/) (2022)
- [LION: Latent Point Diffusion Models for 3D Shape Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.06978/) (2022)
- [SmartBrush: Text and Shape Guided Object Inpainting with Diffusion Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.05034/) (2022)
- [MeshDiffusion: Score-based Generative 3D Mesh Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08133/) (2023)
- [XCube: Large-Scale 3D Generative Modeling using Sparse Voxel Hierarchies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.03806/) (2023)
- [DiffusioNeRF: Regularizing Neural Radiance Fields with Denoising Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.12231/) (2023)
- [Variational Autoencoder with Arbitrary Conditioning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.02382/) (2018)
- [Slicedit: Zero-Shot Video Editing With Text-to-Image Diffusion Models Using Spatio-Temporal Slices](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.12211/) (2024)
- [Diff-DAgger: Uncertainty Estimation with Diffusion Policy for Robotic Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.14868/) (2024)
- [Refining Diffusion Planner for Reliable Behavior Synthesis by Automatic Detection of Infeasible Plans](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.19427/) (2023)
- [Diffusion-Informed Probabilistic Contact Search for Multi-Finger Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.00841/) (2024)
- [Many-Objective-Optimized Semi-Automated Robotic Disassembly Sequences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.01817/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Non-destructive extraction of the target internal part, such as batteries and motors, by cutting surrounding structures is crucial at recycling and disposal sites. However, the diversity of products and the lack of information on disassembly procedures make it challenging to decide where to cut. This study explores a method for non-destructive extraction of a target internal part that iteratively estimates the internal structure from observed cutting surfaces and formulates cutting plans based on the estimation results. A key requirement is to estimate the probability of the target part's presence from partial observations. However, learning conditional generative models for this task is challenging: The high dimensionality of 3D shape representations makes learning difficult, and conventional models (e.g., conditional variational autoencoders) often fail to capture multi-modal predictive uncertainty due to mode collapse, resulting in overconfident predictions. To address these issues, we propose VoxelDiffusionCut, which iteratively estimates the internal structure represented as voxels using a diffusion model and plans cuts for non-destructive extraction of the target internal part based on the estimation results. Voxel representation allows the model to predict only attributes at fixed grid positions, i.e., types of constituent parts, making learning more tractable. The diffusion model completes the voxel representation conditioned on observed cutting surfaces, capturing uncertainty in unobserved regions to avoid erroneous cuts. Experimental results in simulation suggest that the proposed method can estimate internal structures from observed cutting surfaces and enable non-destructive extraction of the target internal part by leveraging the estimated uncertainty.