assembly.removing can remove parts from branches

cadquery/assembly.py

@@ -281,26 +281,40 @@ def remove(self, name: str) -> "Assembly":
         """
         Remove a part/subassembly from the current assembly.
 
-        :param name: Name of the part/subassembly to be removed
+        :param name: Name of the part/subassembly to be removed. The entire
+            assembly tree is searched, so the object does not need to be a
+            direct child.
         :return: The modified assembly
 
         *NOTE* This method can cause problems with deeply nested assemblies and does not remove
         constraints associated with the removed part/subassembly.
         """
 
-        # Make sure the part/subassembly is actually part of the assembly
-        if name not in self.objects:
-            raise ValueError(f"No object with name '{name}' found in the assembly")
+        # Try exact key match first (supports full paths like "sub/part1"),
+        # then fall back to searching by simple name across the tree
+        if name in self.objects:
+            key = name
+        else:
+            key = None
+            for k, v in self.objects.items():
+                if v.name == name:
+                    key = k
+                    break
+
+            if key is None:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"No object with name '{name}' found in the assembly"
+                )
 
         # Get the part/assembly to be removed
-        to_remove = self.objects[name]
+        to_remove = self.objects[key]
 
         # Remove the part/assembly from the parent's children list
         if to_remove.parent:
             to_remove.parent.children.remove(to_remove)
 
         # Remove the part/assembly from the assembly's object dictionary
-        del self.objects[name]
+        del self.objects[key]
 
         # Remove all descendants from the objects dictionary
         for descendant_name in to_remove._flatten().keys():

tests/test_assembly.py

@@ -2385,6 +2385,31 @@ def test_remove_without_parent():
     assert len(assy.objects) == 1
 
 
+def test_assembly_remove_nested():
+    """
+    Tests the ability to remove a nested part from an assembly by name,
+    without knowing the full path (issue #2013).
+    """
+
+    outer = cq.Assembly(name="outer")
+    inner = cq.Assembly(name="inner")
+    inner.add(cq.Workplane("XY").box(1, 1, 1), name="box_a")
+    inner.add(cq.Workplane("XY").box(2, 2, 2), name="box_b")
+    outer.add(inner)
+
+    # Should be: outer, inner, box_a, box_b
+    assert len(outer.objects) == 4
+
+    # Remove a nested part by simple name
+    outer.remove("box_a")
+
+    assert len(outer.objects) == 3
+    assert "box_a" not in [v.name for v in outer.objects.values()]
+
+    # The other nested part should still be there
+    assert "box_b" in [v.name for v in outer.objects.values()]
+
+
 def test_step_color(tmpdir):
     """
     Checks color handling for STEP export.