Exploded views for Maya

RFX Unfold

Show how it fits together.
Then take it apart.

Select your model, create an exploded view and adjust the space between its parts. Key the amount yourself or build an assembly animation from the panel.

Get Unfold €4.99See how it works
Exploded turbojet engine with separated metal casings, compressor stages and accessory parts
Turbojet assembly AI concept illustration. Visual direction, not a Maya output.
Radial & axis layoutsIndividual piece weightsKeyframes & staggerDock or float

Your model.
A different perspective.

Unfold captures polygon copies of your selected objects at the current frame. The assembled shape stays as your starting point; Amount controls how far the pieces travel.

  1. Select the parts

    Choose a model group or its meshes. Use Split disconnected shells when separate parts live inside one combined mesh.

  2. Set the spacing

    Choose radial spacing or stack along X, Y or Z. Adjust the spread, reverse an axis, or set a custom center.

  3. Keep control

    Pin the parts that should stay still. Give the others their own travel weights, then key or animate the setup.

Copies keep their UVs and share the source materials. A welded mesh remains one piece unless you separate its parts first.

Inside Maya 2026 Actual plugin panel
RFX Unfold panel in Maya showing31 pieces, Amount, radial layout, axis gains and custom center
Opens beside the Attribute Editor and Channel Box. Float it when you need more room; closing the floating window returns it to the dock.
Camera concept illustration with body panels, sensor assembly and lens elements spaced apart
Camera assembly AI concept illustration

Give every part
its moment.

Set a start frame and travel duration. Stagger delays each piece after the one before it, while Hold and Return control the pause and the journey back.

A timing example

Pieces
10
Travel
24 frames
Stagger
2 frames
Last piece arrives
Start + 42

Once created, the animation lives in the Maya scene. You can close the panel and keep scrubbing. Use Key amount for individual poses, or replace the existing Amount keys to rebuild the sequence.

Product internals, mechanical assemblies or an architectural breakdown. Prepare the real parts in your model, then decide how you want them to move.

Brass clockwork movement with gears and plates separated into an exploded arrangement
Clockwork Reveal the assembly
Clay concept illustration of separated gearbox housing, shafts and gears
Gearbox Read the spacing in clay
Exploded robotic gripper in a grayscale clay illustration
Robotic gripper Separate moving parts
Architectural concept illustration with building levels spaced vertically
Architecture Build a vertical breakdown

These are AI concept illustrations, not renders produced by RFX Unfold. Models and example scenes aren't included. Beauty, clay and wireframe are presentation styles you create with your Maya materials and viewport settings.

A setup you can keep working with.

Keep the sources

Hide your originals while you work, then restore their recorded visibility. Remove setup cleans up its generated nodes and restores the sources; Maya Undo brings the setup back.

Choose what moves

Pin selected parts at their assembled position. Weight 2 doubles a piece's travel; weight 0 keeps it still. Select in Maya picks the same pieces in the viewport and Outliner.

Use existing animation carefully

Keyed Amount follows the timeline. Type a new value and click Key amount to apply it at the current frame. Locked inputs and external drivers are protected from replacement.

Know the geometry

Unfold works with polygon objects and disconnected shells. It captures the current deformation; it doesn't copy live source animation, fracture welded geometry or solve collisions.

Take your next
model apart.

RFX Unfold 0.2.3 for Autodesk Maya 2026.
The download includes the plugin, Reimagine Fx Tools Installer and a short installation guide.

€4.99 One-time purchase
Buy on Gumroad

Download the plugin, bundled installer and two-page PDF guide.

Start with the installer

  1. Extract the entire ZIP.
  2. Drag RFX_Installer/install.py into a Maya viewport.
  3. Select RFX Unfold and Maya 2026, then click Install.
  4. Open the ReimagineFx_Tools shelf and click RFX Unfold.
Read the installation guide (PDF)

Compatibility

Verified in Maya 2026.3.2 on Windows. Polygon geometry only. Make instances unique before capture. Each setup has a 1,000-piece limit; playback speed depends on your scene.

Other Maya versions, operating systems, production render and export workflows haven't been qualified.