Algebraic provides a free, open‑source Blender add‑on that implements the Material Point Method for high‑fidelity simulation of deformable, granular, and fluid‑like materials. The plugin offers a native UI, Geometry Nodes integration, and remote compute offloading, allowing artists and developers to run and export MPM simulations without writing code. Documentation, tutorials, and a Discord community support rapid adoption.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Artists and developers who need high‑fidelity physics simulation often rely on heavyweight, proprietary tools or custom code, making it difficult to prototype realistic material behavior directly within their preferred 3D authoring environment. This limits rapid iteration and raises the barrier for small teams to incorporate advanced continuum‑mechanics methods such as the Material Point Method (MPM) into interactive projects.
Solution
Algebraic delivers “Squishy Volumes,” a free, open‑source Blender add‑on that implements the Material Point Method for simulating deformable, granular, and fluid‑like materials. The plugin provides a native UI that lets users set up and run MPM simulations without writing code, while exposing parameters for fine‑grained control. Simulation data can be streamed to remote compute nodes to accelerate large‑scale runs, and the results integrate seamlessly with Blender’s Geometry Nodes and rendering pipelines. Documentation, tutorial videos, and an active Discord community help users get started quickly and troubleshoot issues. By publishing the source on GitHub, Algebraic enables developers to extend or customize the solver for specialized workflows.
Target Audience
The primary users are Blender artists, indie game developers, and visual‑effects studios that require accessible, high‑quality physics simulation within their existing 3D workflow. Researchers and educators exploring continuum‑mechanics concepts also benefit from the open‑source implementation.
Features
- Full‑featured MPM solver embedded in Blender, based on continuum mechanics and validated against real‑world benchmarks.
- One‑click UI for initializing particles, defining material properties, and launching simulations, requiring no scripting.
- Compatibility with Geometry Nodes, allowing procedural generation of simulation inputs and downstream effects.
- Remote compute support that offloads heavy particle calculations to cloud or local GPU clusters, reducing local render times.
- Open‑source codebase on GitHub with permissive licensing, enabling modification and integration into custom pipelines.
- Community support via Discord, Patreon‑backed development, and regular tutorial releases on YouTube.
- Export of simulation caches in standard formats (e.g., Alembic, VDB) for use in downstream VFX or game engines.