Inkscape extension for "unwinding" paths
For each selected path element consisting of straight segments, this extension creates an additional path element consisting of horizontal line segments which are the same size as the original line segments.
Installing:
Copy hlines.inx and hlines.py into your Inkscape user extensions directory. Where is that? Open Inkscape and go to the System section of the Preferences menu (Edit --> Preferences --> System). You will find a User extensions item containing the path to your user extensions directory.
NOTE: As of this time, this extension works under Inkscape 1.0, but not the 1.1 release candidate. However, it will work on 1.1 (and above) by commenting out line 45 of hlines.py and uncommenting line 46.
Update: 06/24/2021 new version handles transforms better
