Geometry
1:1
every triangle copied
Convert / PLY → OBJ
PLY to OBJ
PLY in, OBJ out, in this tab. Both formats keep a vertex list, so this is a syntax change rather than a rebuild: PLY properties become v lines, the face list becomes f lines.
→ASCII PLY, binary PLY in · v + f lines out
Source
Result
.
OBJ file · v + f lines
Same triangles, PLY-style geometry rewritten as OBJ. Convert, then download the . file.
—
- Triangles
- —
- Vertices
- —
- Time
- —
- Size
- —
Materials
in → no .mtl
geometry only
Units
none
PLY stores no unit field
Engine
in-page JS
PLY reader · OBJ writer
First load
0 KB
no external script
Status
live
runs in this tab
PLY → OBJ · mesh to meshoutput v + f lines
What actually changes in the file
Both formats keep a vertex list, so this is a syntax change rather than a rebuild: PLY properties become v lines, the face list becomes f lines. Scanner extras such as colour or confidence are dropped because the OBJ writer emits geometry only.
| Field | PLY (source) | OBJ (target) | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triangles | stored | stored | copied 1:1, never remeshed |
| Vertices | shared list | shared list | coincident points merged on write |
| Normals | optional | not written | your importer recomputes them from the faces |
| UVs | optional | not written | nothing in PLY to carry over |
| Objects | none | one o line | every shell lands in the same object |
| Units | none | none | no scaling is applied |
| Materials | per-vertex colour | no .mtl | geometry only, no sidecar file |
What this converter does, and what it does not
- Reads
- ASCII PLY, binary PLYdetected from the file contents, not the extension
- Writes
- v + f linesOBJ output carries geometry only
- Merges vertices
- yescoincident points collapse before writing
- Scales units
- nocoordinates are copied as they are
- Repairs meshes
- noholes and non-manifold edges pass through unchanged
- Size limit
- memorybounded by the tab, not by a server quota
Convert, or convert to something else
PLY → OBJ is the right move when the next tool wants OBJ. It is the wrong move when it does not.
Convert to OBJ when
- You want the scan in a tool that reads OBJ but not PLY
- You need a text mesh you can open in Blender without plugins
- You are cleaning up geometry and want a format with a simple face syntax
Do not convert to OBJ when
- The per-vertex colour is the point of the file
- You need binary size; OBJ text is larger
- The PLY has no faces
Waiting for a file
Frequently asked
Does the OBJ keep vertex colour?
No. OBJ can carry colour through a .mtl sidecar, but this writer does not emit one, so the RGB properties are dropped.
Are binary PLY files supported?
Yes, little-endian. The header is parsed first, so property types and list layouts are read from the file rather than assumed.
Will Blender import it cleanly?
Yes. Plain v and f lines are the least surprising OBJ a DCC tool can receive. Normals are recalculated on import.
What happens to faces with more than three vertices?
They are fan-triangulated. PLY face lists can hold any count; OBJ could too, but this writer emits triangles only.
Is the triangle count preserved?
Yes, one to one, after duplicate vertices are merged.
Related pairs
- STL to OBJsame family
- OBJ to STLsame family
- STL to PLYreverse
- PLY to STLsame family
- OBJ to PLYreverse
- All 132 pairsmatrix