PLY → STL · Online Conversion Guide
Turn scanned colored points/meshes into printer‑friendly geometry Remove color attributes to shrink size Facilitates mesh fixing and slicing downstream
PLY: PLY is used for 3D scanning and point cloud/mesh exchange; may include vertex colors for reconstruction and visualization.
STL as the target format: STL is commonly used for 3D printing/rapid prototyping, keeping triangle shells only (no materials/hierarchy).
Practical tips: Reconstruct/close meshes first when needed; Simplify overly dense regions to shorten print time.
Typical scenarios: 3D scan reconstruction, point cloud cleanup, scientific visualization.
Why convert PLY → STL
- Turn scanned colored points/meshes into printer‑friendly geometry
- Remove color attributes to shrink size
- Facilitates mesh fixing and slicing downstream
Quick steps
- Upload PLY on the homepage
- Choose STL as the output and convert
- For very large models, run 3D Tiles tiling
- Open the 3D viewer for interactive preview/sharing
Inline conversion (no redirect)
More common conversions
FAQ
Q: What information may be lost from PLY to STL?
Parametric features/constraints/history become polygon meshes; verify materials and textures.
Q: How to reduce size for PLY → STL?
Remove hidden parts, lower tessellation where acceptable, compress textures, enable Draco, merge materials.
Q: Batch or very large models supported?
Use 3D Tiles tiling for massive assemblies; consider splitting by hierarchy/area.
Q: Can I further edit after converting?
After converting to STL, geometry is mesh-based; you can clean meshes and tweak materials, but parametrics are not preserved.