Convert PLY to STL in your browser

Turn an ASCII PLY scan mesh into print-ready ASCII STL without installing anything. The parsing and the facet-normal maths both run in your tab.

Strumento ed etichette sono in italiano. Le note di riferimento restano in inglese.

PLY → STL converter

Runs entirely in this browser tab. Your file is never uploaded and nothing is stored.

Trascina qui il file PLY, oppure fai clic per sceglierlo

or — no sign-up required

Ti serve un tecnico CAD/BIM per modificare questo file?

Stuck on CAD or 3D file cleanup? Post a drafting role specifying the source format, target format and checks you need. Agree the scope before work starts.

Passo per passo

  1. 1Make sure the PLY is ASCII, not binary (re-save from MeshLab or CloudCompare if needed).
  2. 2Drop the file above and download the .stl.
  3. 3Open it in your slicer and check the bounding box against the real object before printing.
  4. 4If the slicer reports non-manifold edges, repair the mesh — a scan surface is rarely watertight as exported.

A cosa fare attenzione

  • Scan colour is lost: STL stores triangles and nothing else.
  • Scan meshes are dense. Decimating to the detail you actually need keeps slicing times sane.
  • Output is ASCII STL; re-save as binary in the slicer if you need a smaller file.
PLY — Polygon File Format

The Stanford scan format. Plain text in its ASCII flavour, which is why photogrammetry and laser-scan meshes can be rewritten here.

STL — Stereolithography mesh

The triangle-soup format every 3D printer and mesh tool reads. Openly documented in both ASCII and binary form, with no units, colours or structure.

Domande dei disegnatori

Is the result printable straight away?

Geometrically yes, but scan meshes usually need a hole-filling and manifold pass before a printer will accept them.

Does it handle point clouds?

No. Without faces there are no triangles to write — mesh the cloud first.

Paid to draft, model or coordinate?

Browse employer-posted roles with disclosed pay and external CAD/BIM listings; check source pay, location eligibility and closing dates.