Bake Wrangler is a nodes based add-on for baking in blender. It greatly improves the texture baking workflow, providing a highly configurable yet simple to use nodes system to set up your bakes.

Some of the primary features are:

•     Node based, letting you create as simple or as complex baking set ups as you need. (Being a node tree they can easily be imported and reused in any project)
•     Full background batch baking. Hit bake and continue working.
•     Pack images how you want, putting data in any channel including Alpha.
•     Under active development to implement features as required by the users.

Video: https://youtu.be/Zg6mm07qhuk

For full details check out the User Guide and join the discussion on blenderartists.org

I started this project when I became frustrated with the builtin baking work-flow in blender. The amount of messing around with materials required between each bake when trying to produce a PBR texture set along with no way to channel pack maps in a single image were both annoying me and consuming my time. Especially when I wanted to go back and alter previously created maps.

Other solutions exist, but I found their interfaces somewhat clunky or they were really only aimed at a specific workflow. I really wanted a system that could handle a simple bake but also extend to much more complicated set ups and handle different workflows.

With the help of the blenderartists community giving feedback on what they needed, I've created a tool that lets you bake what you want, how you want, regardless of your workflow.

(If you really need this product and for some reason cannot afford it, send me a message and we will try to work something out)