LinkForge: Rig and Export Simulation-Ready Robots (URDF/Xacro)

Coding Released Scripts and Themes
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Hi Blender Community,

I’m excited to share LinkForge v1.1.1, a new extension I’ve built to help roboticists and riggers work with the ROS (Robot Operating System) ecosystem directly in Blender.

What it is: Use Blender as a precise engineering tool to create URDF and Xacro robot descriptions.

Why use it? Usually, robot engineering requires hand-coding XML files. LinkForge lets you use Blender’s 3D Viewport, Outliner, and Properties Panel to define physical properties (mass, inertia, collision) visually.

Features:

  • Native UI: Integrated seamlessly into the N-Panel.
  • Physics Engine: Auto-calculates Inertia Tensors from mesh geometry.
  • Round-Trip: Import URDF → Edit → Export URDF (lossless where possible).
  • Python API: Built on the new Blender 4.2+ Extensions system.

It’s open source (GPL v3).

Extension: https://github.com/arounamounchili/linkforge
GitHub: https://linkforge.readthedocs.io/

I’d love to hear feedback on the UI/UX from the Blender perspective!

robot_arm
robot_arm1920×1254 286 KB

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hei there - i am trying to use your addon. overall helps already to collaborate with my team. but there are some questions about the project. is this still in development?

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Hi , Thanks for trying the add-on! I’m glad to hear it’s already helping your team collaborate.

The project is still maintained. For questions, feature requests, or general discussions, I’d appreciate it if you could open a GitHub Discussion (or an Issue if you’ve found a bug). That way everything stays in one place, it’s easier to track, and other users can benefit from the answers as well.

Looking forward to hearing your feedback!

GitHub: https://github.com/arounamounchili/linkforge