Get promising Maya real-time Boolean plugin speedCut

3D artist Joe Wu has released speedCut, a promising-looking real-time Boolean modelling add-on for Maya, as a free open beta.

The Python plugin makes it possible to create Boolean assemblies non-destructively inside Maya, with changes displayed in the viewport in real time.

Create Boolean assemblies interactively in Maya, with options to instance or bevel the cuts
Wu, whose resume includes work at Australian VFX studios including Iloura and Fin Design + Effects, has a number of other custom tools on his website, but speedCut seems to be the first to get a public release.

It implements functionality similar to Modo’s MeshFusion or ZBrush’s Live Boolean toolset within Maya, making it possible to create more complex Boolean systems than using Maya’s native functionality.

There doesn’t seem to be any written documentation, but Wu’s tutorial video shows the basic workflow.

Users can create Boolean systems interactively by positioning cutter objects within the Maya viewport, with the option to edit their forms – and therefore the shape of the Boolean union – in real time.

Cutter objects can be instanced, arranged in arrays, or multiple cutters combined into one.

It is also possible to draw cutter objects directly by selecting points on a control grid that snaps to any selected face of the model being Booleaned.

Once created, the form of a Boolean can be modified through a set of bevel controls.

The demos only show relatively simple set-ups, so it’s hard to say how many cutter objects you can add before Maya starts to lag, but it’s possible to bake down cutters to restore interactivity.

Availability and system requirements
speedCut is currently available as a free beta from Joe Wu’s Gumroad store. The plugin was tested with Maya 2018.5, but this Polycount thread suggests that it also works in Maya 2019.

Download the beta of speedCut for Maya via Gumroad
(Enter a figure of $0 to download the plugin for free)