by Hattiffnat·Modeling
Illustrative cover generated by AnyPlugins — no product screenshot available.
Separate by Collision earns its place in the blender_extensions library for a specific job: separating a mesh by loose parts while grouping parts that collide. The choice between Surface and Bounding box modes lets you weigh calculation detail against speed on heavier meshes.
Separate by Collision is a Blender add-on developed by Hattiffnat for splitting a mesh into parts. It works like separating by loose parts, except parts are joined together when they collide. The tool runs from Object mode, where the W menu includes a Separate by Collision command, and you can adjust the mesh surface radius to influence the result.
The add-on provides two modes. Surface mode is the standard option, calculating surface collisions; on large meshes with many islands it can run slowly. Bounding box mode calculates only bounding box collisions and is very fast, trading detail for speed. Which mode fits depends on the size and complexity of the mesh you are working with.
Separate by Collision is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer, and runs on macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows and Linux. It requires no special permissions and is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. You can install it by dragging and dropping it into Blender or using Install from Disk, and the developer maintains a GitHub repository for source and issue reporting.
Separate by Collision is best for blender users who need to separate a mesh into parts while keeping colliding parts grouped together.
Separate by Collision is completely free to download and use.
Separate by Collision is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer, so anyone on a current long-term support release or a later version can run it. The add-on ships for macOS on both Apple Silicon and Intel hardware, plus Windows and Linux, and it requires no special permissions inside Blender. If you are on an older Blender build, you would need to update to at least 4.2 before installing. Check the developer's GitHub page for the latest version details and any notes tied to newer Blender releases.
Separate by Collision offers two modes. Surface mode is the standard option, where surface collisions are calculated; it can be slow on large meshes with many islands. Bounding box mode calculates only bounding box collisions and is very fast. You can also adjust the mesh surface radius to influence how the separation behaves. Choosing between the two comes down to the trade-off between calculation detail and speed on heavier meshes with many parts.
Separate by Collision runs from Object mode, where pressing W opens a menu with the Separate by Collision command. To install it, you can drag and drop the add-on into Blender, or download it and use Install from Disk. The extension requires no special permissions once added. It then works alongside Blender's other tools for splitting a mesh into parts. For source files and issue reporting, the developer maintains a GitHub repository.
Separate by Collision is listed as free here, and it is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. That license covers how you can use, modify and redistribute the add-on. For current licensing terms and any future changes, the developer's GitHub page is the place to check. The extension also states that it requires no special permissions within Blender, and it is available across macOS, Windows and Linux.
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