diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/CMakeLists.txt b/tesseract_urdf/CMakeLists.txt
index 1a6f1c358f5..7a84308d57b 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@ add_library(
   src/capsule.cpp
   src/collision.cpp
   src/cone.cpp
-  src/convex_mesh.cpp
   src/cylinder.cpp
   src/dynamics.cpp
   src/geometry.cpp
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/collision.h b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/collision.h
index d74775d65ec..547b20614d6 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/collision.h
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/collision.h
@@ -49,11 +49,12 @@ static const char* COLLISION_ELEMENT_NAME = "collision";  // NOLINT
  * @brief Parse xml element collision
  * @param xml_element The xml element
  * @param locator The Tesseract resource locator
- * @param version The version number
+ * @param make_convex_meshes Flag to indicate if the meshes should be converted to convex hulls
  * @return A Collision object
  */
 std::shared_ptr<tesseract_scene_graph::Collision> parseCollision(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
-                                                                 const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator);
+                                                                 const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
+                                                                 bool make_convex_meshes);
 
 /**
  * @brief writeCollision Write collision object to URDF XML
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/convex_mesh.h b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/convex_mesh.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 76481b80af4..00000000000
--- a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/convex_mesh.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,76 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * @file convex_mesh.h
- * @brief Parse convex_mesh from xml string
- *
- * @author Levi Armstrong
- * @date September 1, 2019
- * @version TODO
- * @bug No known bugs
- *
- * @copyright Copyright (c) 2019, Southwest Research Institute
- *
- * @par License
- * Software License Agreement (Apache License)
- * @par
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * @par
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-#ifndef TESSERACT_URDF_CONVEX_MESH_H
-#define TESSERACT_URDF_CONVEX_MESH_H
-
-#include <tesseract_common/macros.h>
-TESSERACT_COMMON_IGNORE_WARNINGS_PUSH
-#include <memory>
-#include <vector>
-TESSERACT_COMMON_IGNORE_WARNINGS_POP
-
-#include <tesseract_common/fwd.h>
-#include <tesseract_geometry/fwd.h>
-
-namespace tinyxml2
-{
-class XMLElement;  // NOLINT
-class XMLDocument;
-}  // namespace tinyxml2
-
-namespace tesseract_urdf
-{
-static const char* CONVEX_MESH_ELEMENT_NAME = "tesseract:convex_mesh";  // NOLINT
-
-/**
- * @brief Parse xml element convex_mesh
- * @param xml_element The xml element
- * @param locator The Tesseract resource
- * @param visual Indicate if it visual
- * @param version The version number
- * @return A Tesseract Geometry ConvexMesh
- */
-std::vector<std::shared_ptr<tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh>>
-parseConvexMesh(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element, const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator, bool visual);
-
-/**
- * @brief writeConvexMesh Write convex mesh to URDF XML.  This is non-standard URDF / tesseract-exclusive
- * @param mesh Mesh to be written
- * @param doc XML document to which xml will belong
- * @param package_path /<path>/<to>/<your-package>.  If set, geometry will be saved relative to the package.  If not
- * set, geometry will be saved with absolute paths.
- * @param filename Desired file location.  If package_path is set, this should be relative to the package.  If not,
- * this should be an absolute path.
- * @return XML element representing the convex mesh object in URDF format.
- */
-tinyxml2::XMLElement* writeConvexMesh(const std::shared_ptr<const tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh>& mesh,
-                                      tinyxml2::XMLDocument& doc,
-                                      const std::string& package_path,
-                                      const std::string& filename);
-
-}  // namespace tesseract_urdf
-
-#endif  // TESSERACT_URDF_CONVEX_MESH_H
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/geometry.h b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/geometry.h
index 58029b94758..18e8bdb45e2 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/geometry.h
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/geometry.h
@@ -50,12 +50,13 @@ static const char* GEOMETRY_ELEMENT_NAME = "geometry";  // NOLINT
  * @param xml_element The xml element
  * @param locator The Tesseract resource locator
  * @param visual Indicate if visual
- * @param version The version number
+ * @param make_convex_meshes Flag to indicate if the meshes should be converted to convex hulls
  * @return A Tesseract Geometry
  */
 std::shared_ptr<tesseract_geometry::Geometry> parseGeometry(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
                                                             const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
-                                                            bool visual);
+                                                            bool visual,
+                                                            bool make_convex_meshes);
 
 /**
  * @brief writeGeometry Write geometry to URDF XML
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/link.h b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/link.h
index 6fe40a7193d..ce05f65853f 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/link.h
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/link.h
@@ -50,12 +50,13 @@ static const char* LINK_ELEMENT_NAME = "link";  // NOLINT
  * @param xml_element The xml element
  * @param locator The Tesseract resource locator
  * @param available_materials The current available materials
- * @param version The version number
+ * @param make_convex_meshes Flag to indicate if the meshes should be converted to convex hulls
  * @return A Tesseract Link
  */
 std::shared_ptr<tesseract_scene_graph::Link>
 parseLink(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
           const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
+          bool make_convex_meshes,
           std::unordered_map<std::string, std::shared_ptr<tesseract_scene_graph::Material>>& available_materials);
 
 /**
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/mesh.h b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/mesh.h
index 6830bbc8c14..049041d07e0 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/mesh.h
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/mesh.h
@@ -50,12 +50,14 @@ static const char* MESH_ELEMENT_NAME = "mesh";  // NOLINT
  * @param xml_element The xml element
  * @param locator The Tesseract resource locator
  * @param visual Indicate if visual
- * @param version The version number
+ * @param make_convex Flag to indicate if the mesh should be converted to a convex hull
  * @return A vector of Tesseract Meshes
  */
-std::vector<std::shared_ptr<tesseract_geometry::Mesh>> parseMesh(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
-                                                                 const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
-                                                                 bool visual);
+std::vector<std::shared_ptr<tesseract_geometry::PolygonMesh>>
+parseMesh(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
+          const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
+          bool visual,
+          bool make_convex);
 
 /**
  * @brief writeMesh Write a mesh to URDF XML and PLY file
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/visual.h b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/visual.h
index 41c76fc625d..481696c0238 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/visual.h
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/include/tesseract_urdf/visual.h
@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@ static const char* VISUAL_ELEMENT_NAME = "visual";  // NOLINT
  * @brief Parse xml element visual
  * @param xml_element The xml element
  * @param locator The Tesseract resource locator
- * @param version The version number
  * @return A Visual object
  */
 std::shared_ptr<tesseract_scene_graph::Visual>
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/src/collision.cpp b/tesseract_urdf/src/collision.cpp
index ecea7b0b4ae..c3a5b1a25bb 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/src/collision.cpp
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/src/collision.cpp
@@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ TESSERACT_COMMON_IGNORE_WARNINGS_POP
 namespace tesseract_urdf
 {
 tesseract_scene_graph::Collision::Ptr parseCollision(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
-                                                     const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator)
+                                                     const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
+                                                     bool make_convex_meshes)
 {
   // get name
   std::string collision_name = tesseract_common::StringAttribute(xml_element, "name", "");
@@ -71,7 +72,7 @@ tesseract_scene_graph::Collision::Ptr parseCollision(const tinyxml2::XMLElement*
   tesseract_geometry::Geometry::Ptr geom;
   try
   {
-    geom = parseGeometry(geometry, locator, false);
+    geom = parseGeometry(geometry, locator, false, make_convex_meshes);
   }
   catch (...)
   {
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/src/convex_mesh.cpp b/tesseract_urdf/src/convex_mesh.cpp
deleted file mode 100644
index c6487b31772..00000000000
--- a/tesseract_urdf/src/convex_mesh.cpp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,150 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * @file convex_mesh.cpp
- * @brief Parse convex_mesh from xml string
- *
- * @author Levi Armstrong
- * @date September 1, 2019
- * @version TODO
- * @bug No known bugs
- *
- * @copyright Copyright (c) 2019, Southwest Research Institute
- *
- * @par License
- * Software License Agreement (Apache License)
- * @par
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * @par
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-#include <tesseract_common/macros.h>
-TESSERACT_COMMON_IGNORE_WARNINGS_PUSH
-#include <boost/algorithm/string.hpp>
-#include <stdexcept>
-
-#include <tesseract_common/utils.h>
-#include <tinyxml2.h>
-TESSERACT_COMMON_IGNORE_WARNINGS_POP
-
-#include <tesseract_collision/bullet/convex_hull_utils.h>
-#include <tesseract_geometry/impl/mesh.h>
-#include <tesseract_geometry/mesh_parser.h>
-#include <tesseract_common/resource_locator.h>
-#include <tesseract_urdf/convex_mesh.h>
-#include <tesseract_urdf/utils.h>
-
-namespace tesseract_urdf
-{
-std::vector<tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh::Ptr> parseConvexMesh(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
-                                                                 const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
-                                                                 bool visual)
-{
-  std::vector<tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh::Ptr> meshes;
-
-  std::string filename;
-  if (tesseract_common::QueryStringAttribute(xml_element, "filename", filename) != tinyxml2::XML_SUCCESS)
-    std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("ConvexMesh: Missing or failed parsing attribute 'filename'!"));
-
-  std::string scale_string;
-  Eigen::Vector3d scale(1, 1, 1);
-  if (tesseract_common::QueryStringAttribute(xml_element, "scale", scale_string) == tinyxml2::XML_SUCCESS)
-  {
-    std::vector<std::string> tokens;
-    boost::split(tokens, scale_string, boost::is_any_of(" "), boost::token_compress_on);
-    if (tokens.size() != 3 || !tesseract_common::isNumeric(tokens))
-      std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("ConvexMesh: Failed parsing attribute 'scale'!"));
-
-    double sx{ 0 }, sy{ 0 }, sz{ 0 };
-    // No need to check return values because the tokens are verified above
-    tesseract_common::toNumeric<double>(tokens[0], sx);
-    tesseract_common::toNumeric<double>(tokens[1], sy);
-    tesseract_common::toNumeric<double>(tokens[2], sz);
-
-    if (!(sx > 0))
-      std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("ConvexMesh: Scale x must be greater than zero!"));
-
-    if (!(sy > 0))
-      std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("ConvexMesh: Scale y must be greater than zero!"));
-
-    if (!(sz > 0))
-      std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("ConvexMesh: Scale z must be greater than zero!"));
-
-    scale = Eigen::Vector3d(sx, sy, sz);
-  }
-
-  bool convert = false;
-  xml_element->QueryBoolAttribute("convert", &convert);
-
-  if (visual)
-    meshes = tesseract_geometry::createMeshFromResource<tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh>(
-        locator.locateResource(filename), scale, true, true, true, true, true);
-  else
-  {
-    if (!convert)
-    {
-      meshes = tesseract_geometry::createMeshFromResource<tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh>(
-          locator.locateResource(filename), scale, false, false);
-    }
-    else
-    {
-      std::vector<tesseract_geometry::Mesh::Ptr> temp_meshes =
-          tesseract_geometry::createMeshFromResource<tesseract_geometry::Mesh>(
-              locator.locateResource(filename), scale, true, false);
-      for (auto& mesh : temp_meshes)
-      {
-        auto convex_mesh = tesseract_collision::makeConvexMesh(*mesh);
-        convex_mesh->setCreationMethod(tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh::CONVERTED);
-        meshes.push_back(convex_mesh);
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (meshes.empty())
-    std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("ConvexMesh: Error importing meshes from filename: '" + filename + "'!"));
-
-  return meshes;
-}
-
-tinyxml2::XMLElement* writeConvexMesh(const std::shared_ptr<const tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh>& mesh,
-                                      tinyxml2::XMLDocument& doc,
-                                      const std::string& package_path,
-                                      const std::string& filename)
-{
-  if (mesh == nullptr)
-    std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("Mesh is nullptr and cannot be converted to XML"));
-  tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element = doc.NewElement(CONVEX_MESH_ELEMENT_NAME);
-  Eigen::IOFormat eigen_format(Eigen::StreamPrecision, Eigen::DontAlignCols, " ", " ");
-
-  try
-  {
-    writeMeshToFile(mesh, trailingSlash(package_path) + noLeadingSlash(filename));
-  }
-  catch (...)
-  {
-    std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("Failed to write convex mesh to file: " + package_path + filename));
-  }
-
-  // Write the path to the xml element
-  xml_element->SetAttribute("filename", makeURDFFilePath(package_path, filename).c_str());
-
-  // Write the scale to the xml element
-  if (!mesh->getScale().isOnes())
-  {
-    std::stringstream scale_string;
-    scale_string << mesh->getScale().format(eigen_format);
-    xml_element->SetAttribute("scale", scale_string.str().c_str());
-  }
-
-  xml_element->SetAttribute("convert", false);
-
-  return xml_element;
-}
-
-}  // namespace tesseract_urdf
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/src/geometry.cpp b/tesseract_urdf/src/geometry.cpp
index f71df8dc918..7fd2d7e63ab 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/src/geometry.cpp
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/src/geometry.cpp
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ TESSERACT_COMMON_IGNORE_WARNINGS_POP
 #include <tesseract_urdf/box.h>
 #include <tesseract_urdf/cylinder.h>
 #include <tesseract_urdf/cone.h>
-#include <tesseract_urdf/convex_mesh.h>
 #include <tesseract_urdf/capsule.h>
 #include <tesseract_urdf/geometry.h>
 #include <tesseract_urdf/mesh.h>
@@ -51,7 +50,8 @@ namespace tesseract_urdf
 {
 tesseract_geometry::Geometry::Ptr parseGeometry(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
                                                 const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
-                                                bool visual)
+                                                bool visual,
+                                                bool make_convex_meshes)
 {
   const tinyxml2::XMLElement* geometry = xml_element->FirstChildElement();
   if (geometry == nullptr)
@@ -110,10 +110,10 @@ tesseract_geometry::Geometry::Ptr parseGeometry(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_
 
   if (geometry_type == MESH_ELEMENT_NAME)
   {
-    std::vector<tesseract_geometry::Mesh::Ptr> meshes;
+    std::vector<tesseract_geometry::PolygonMesh::Ptr> meshes;
     try
     {
-      meshes = parseMesh(geometry, locator, visual);
+      meshes = parseMesh(geometry, locator, visual, make_convex_meshes);
     }
     catch (...)
     {
@@ -172,24 +172,6 @@ tesseract_geometry::Geometry::Ptr parseGeometry(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_
     return octree;
   }
 
-  if (geometry_type == CONVEX_MESH_ELEMENT_NAME)
-  {
-    std::vector<tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh::Ptr> meshes;
-    try
-    {
-      meshes = parseConvexMesh(geometry, locator, visual);
-    }
-    catch (...)
-    {
-      std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("Geometry: Failed parsing geometry type 'convex_mesh'!"));
-    }
-
-    if (meshes.size() > 1)
-      return std::make_shared<tesseract_geometry::CompoundMesh>(meshes);
-
-    return meshes.front();
-  }
-
   if (geometry_type == SDF_MESH_ELEMENT_NAME)
   {
     std::vector<tesseract_geometry::SDFMesh::Ptr> meshes;
@@ -303,22 +285,6 @@ tinyxml2::XMLElement* writeGeometry(const std::shared_ptr<const tesseract_geomet
       std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("Could not write geometry marked as mesh!"));
     }
   }
-  else if (type == tesseract_geometry::GeometryType::CONVEX_MESH)
-  {
-    try
-    {
-      tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_convex_mesh =
-          writeConvexMesh(std::static_pointer_cast<const tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh>(geometry),
-                          doc,
-                          package_path,
-                          filename + ".ply");
-      xml_element->InsertEndChild(xml_convex_mesh);
-    }
-    catch (...)
-    {
-      std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("Could not write geometry marked as convex mesh!"));
-    }
-  }
   else if (type == tesseract_geometry::GeometryType::SDF_MESH)
   {
     try
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/src/link.cpp b/tesseract_urdf/src/link.cpp
index 09e7a08cf64..96606caede6 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/src/link.cpp
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/src/link.cpp
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ namespace tesseract_urdf
 tesseract_scene_graph::Link::Ptr
 parseLink(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
           const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
+          bool make_convex_meshes,
           std::unordered_map<std::string, tesseract_scene_graph::Material::Ptr>& available_materials)
 {
   std::string link_name;
@@ -93,7 +94,7 @@ parseLink(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
     tesseract_scene_graph::Collision::Ptr temp_collision;
     try
     {
-      temp_collision = parseCollision(collision, locator);
+      temp_collision = parseCollision(collision, locator, make_convex_meshes);
     }
     catch (...)
     {
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/src/mesh.cpp b/tesseract_urdf/src/mesh.cpp
index 79e9ec90caf..4ac3e147593 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/src/mesh.cpp
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/src/mesh.cpp
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ TESSERACT_COMMON_IGNORE_WARNINGS_PUSH
 #include <tinyxml2.h>
 TESSERACT_COMMON_IGNORE_WARNINGS_POP
 
+#include <tesseract_collision/bullet/convex_hull_utils.h>
 #include <tesseract_geometry/impl/mesh.h>
 #include <tesseract_geometry/mesh_parser.h>
 #include <tesseract_urdf/mesh.h>
@@ -43,12 +44,11 @@ TESSERACT_COMMON_IGNORE_WARNINGS_POP
 
 namespace tesseract_urdf
 {
-std::vector<tesseract_geometry::Mesh::Ptr> parseMesh(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
-                                                     const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
-                                                     bool visual)
+std::vector<tesseract_geometry::PolygonMesh::Ptr> parseMesh(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
+                                                            const tesseract_common::ResourceLocator& locator,
+                                                            bool visual,
+                                                            bool make_convex)
 {
-  std::vector<tesseract_geometry::Mesh::Ptr> meshes;
-
   std::string filename;
   if (tesseract_common::QueryStringAttribute(xml_element, "filename", filename) != tinyxml2::XML_SUCCESS)
     std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("Mesh: Missing or failed parsing attribute 'filename'!"));
@@ -80,6 +80,8 @@ std::vector<tesseract_geometry::Mesh::Ptr> parseMesh(const tinyxml2::XMLElement*
     scale = Eigen::Vector3d(sx, sy, sz);
   }
 
+  std::vector<tesseract_geometry::Mesh::Ptr> meshes;
+
   if (visual)
     meshes = tesseract_geometry::createMeshFromResource<tesseract_geometry::Mesh>(
         locator.locateResource(filename), scale, true, true, true, true, true);
@@ -90,7 +92,40 @@ std::vector<tesseract_geometry::Mesh::Ptr> parseMesh(const tinyxml2::XMLElement*
   if (meshes.empty())
     std::throw_with_nested(std::runtime_error("Mesh: Error importing meshes from filename: '" + filename + "'!"));
 
-  return meshes;
+  bool make_convex_override = false;
+  auto make_convex_override_status = xml_element->QueryBoolAttribute("tesseract:make_convex", &make_convex_override);
+  if (make_convex_override_status != tinyxml2::XML_NO_ATTRIBUTE)
+  {
+    // Make convex override attribute is specified
+    // Check that it was loaded successfully
+    if (make_convex_override_status != tinyxml2::XML_SUCCESS)
+      std::throw_with_nested("Mesh: Failed to parse attribute 'tesseract:make_convex'");
+
+    // Override the global make_convex flag with the value from the attribute
+    make_convex = make_convex_override;
+  }
+
+  if (make_convex)
+  {
+    std::vector<tesseract_geometry::PolygonMesh::Ptr> convex_meshes;
+    convex_meshes.reserve(meshes.size());
+
+    for (const auto& mesh : meshes)
+    {
+      tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh::Ptr convex_mesh = tesseract_collision::makeConvexMesh(*mesh);
+      convex_mesh->setCreationMethod(tesseract_geometry::ConvexMesh::CONVERTED);
+      convex_meshes.push_back(convex_mesh);
+    }
+
+    return convex_meshes;
+  }
+
+  // Convert to base class for output
+  std::vector<tesseract_geometry::PolygonMesh::Ptr> output;
+  output.reserve(meshes.size());
+  std::copy(meshes.begin(), meshes.end(), std::back_inserter(output));
+
+  return output;
 }
 
 tinyxml2::XMLElement* writeMesh(const std::shared_ptr<const tesseract_geometry::Mesh>& mesh,
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/src/urdf_parser.cpp b/tesseract_urdf/src/urdf_parser.cpp
index eba7a04e5aa..6412072c495 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/src/urdf_parser.cpp
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/src/urdf_parser.cpp
@@ -75,6 +75,12 @@ std::unique_ptr<tesseract_scene_graph::SceneGraph> parseURDFString(const std::st
                                               std::to_string(urdf_version) +
                                               "', this is not supported, please set it to 1.0."));
 
+  // Check for global attribute for converting meshes to convex hulls
+  bool make_convex;
+  auto make_convex_status = robot->QueryBoolAttribute("tesseract:make_convex", &make_convex);
+  if (make_convex_status != tinyxml2::XML_NO_ATTRIBUTE && make_convex_status != tinyxml2::XML_SUCCESS)
+    std::throw_with_nested("URDF: Failed to parse attribute 'tesseract:make_convex' for robot '" + robot_name + "'");
+
   auto sg = std::make_unique<tesseract_scene_graph::SceneGraph>();
   sg->setName(robot_name);
 
@@ -103,7 +109,7 @@ std::unique_ptr<tesseract_scene_graph::SceneGraph> parseURDFString(const std::st
     tesseract_scene_graph::Link::Ptr l = nullptr;
     try
     {
-      l = parseLink(link, locator, available_materials);
+      l = parseLink(link, locator, make_convex, available_materials);
     }
     catch (...)
     {
diff --git a/tesseract_urdf/src/visual.cpp b/tesseract_urdf/src/visual.cpp
index 47e76da0c58..12c13c5bc4e 100644
--- a/tesseract_urdf/src/visual.cpp
+++ b/tesseract_urdf/src/visual.cpp
@@ -89,7 +89,9 @@ parseVisual(const tinyxml2::XMLElement* xml_element,
   tesseract_geometry::Geometry::Ptr geom;
   try
   {
-    geom = parseGeometry(geometry, locator, true);
+    // Set `make_convex_meshes` argument to false for visual geometry
+    // Note: mesh elements can still override
+    geom = parseGeometry(geometry, locator, true, false);
   }
   catch (...)
   {