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Auto dismemberment

Auto dismemberment lets you detach limbs from a single, uncut skeletal mesh. You do not need a separate SKM per arm / leg / head. The plugin clones the character (or Limbs Mesh), hides everything that is not the broken hierarchy, and simulates the remaining bodies.

If you already have pre-cut limb meshes, leave auto-dismemberment off and assign those meshes in Body Map → Mesh.

When to use it

Situation Use
One skinned character, no separate limb assets Auto dismemberment on, Mesh left empty
You baked / split limbs in Blender Auto off, assign each Mesh
You want a wounded cavity mesh on the flying limb Auto on, set Limbs Mesh
Lyra / Control Rig hide Also enable Control Rig Procedural , Control Rig

Enable it

  1. In each Body Map entry you want to auto-clone, leave Mesh empty.

Leave Mesh empty

  1. Check Enable Auto Dismemberment.

Enable Auto Dismemberment

  1. If the skin is not already split at the joint, also check Enable Stretching Fix.

Enable Stretching Fix

  1. Assign Global Anim Instance for this skeleton and a usable Physics Asset.

Requirements (any skeleton)

These apply to Mixamo, custom rigs, and anything that is not the UE mannequin. See the Mixamo skeleton video.

  • The skeletal mesh hierarchy must start with a bone named Root.
  • Create an Anim Blueprint for that skeleton and set the nodes the same way as the examples. Details: Limb AnimBP.
  • The mesh needs a good Physics Asset.

Videos

Limitations

  • Stretching Fix costs extra CPU. Under a heavy physics load you may see a short glitch until the frame budget recovers.
  • You cannot dismember a limb that is already detached. The flying arm is a new component; it is not a second Body Map target.
  • You cannot break a parent after a child in the same hierarchy is already gone.
    Example: hand_l is destroyed → a later upperarm_l detach is rejected, because hand_l is a child of that chain.
    upperarm_r, head, thigh_r still work , they are other branches.

If you already have pre-cut limb meshes, leave auto-dismemberment off and assign those meshes in Body Map → Mesh.

Baking separate pieces in Blender: Divide mesh with Blender.