Geometry
1:1
every triangle copied
Convert / PLY → STL
PLY to STL
PLY in, STL out, in this tab. PLY files from scanners usually arrive with extra per-vertex properties.
→ASCII PLY, binary PLY in · binary facets out
Source
Result
.
STL file · binary facets
Same triangles, PLY-style geometry rewritten as STL. Convert, then download the . file.
—
- Triangles
- —
- Vertices
- —
- Time
- —
- Size
- —
Materials
in → none
geometry only
Units
none
PLY stores no unit field
Engine
in-page JS
PLY reader · STL writer
First load
0 KB
no external script
Status
live
runs in this tab
PLY → STL · mesh to meshoutput binary facets
What actually changes in the file
PLY files from scanners usually arrive with extra per-vertex properties. STL keeps none of them, so this conversion is a geometry extraction: read the vertex and face lists, drop everything else, write binary facets.
| Field | PLY (source) | STL (target) | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triangles | stored | stored | copied 1:1, never remeshed |
| Vertices | shared list | repeated per facet | coincident points merged on write |
| Normals | optional | per facet, recomputed | your importer recomputes them from the faces |
| UVs | optional | not written | nothing in PLY to carry over |
| Objects | none | one shell | every shell lands in the same object |
| Units | none | none | no scaling is applied |
| Materials | per-vertex colour | none | 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
- binary facetsSTL 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 → STL is the right move when the next tool wants STL. It is the wrong move when it does not.
Convert to STL when
- You scanned a part and need to print it
- Your slicer refuses PLY or ignores its colour data anyway
- You want a compact binary file instead of a large text one
Do not convert to STL when
- The colour or confidence data matters to your next step
- You need the mesh to stay editable as text
- The PLY is a point cloud with no faces; there is nothing to convert
Waiting for a file
Frequently asked
What if the PLY is a point cloud with no faces?
It is rejected with a message. A triangle mesh needs a face element; points alone cannot become an STL surface.
Which PLY variants are supported?
ASCII and binary little-endian, with any scalar property types in the header. Unknown properties are skipped, not misread.
Does it keep per-vertex colour?
No. STL has no slot for it. If you need colour downstream, keep the PLY or convert to 3MF once that pair ships.
Are normals recomputed?
Yes. The STL writer computes a facet normal from the three corners, which is what slicers expect even though most of them ignore it.
How big is the result?
Fifty bytes per triangle plus an 84-byte header. A 100k-triangle scan lands near 5 MB.
Related pairs
- STL to OBJsame family
- OBJ to STLsame family
- STL to PLYreverse
- OBJ to PLYreverse
- PLY to OBJsame family
- All 132 pairsmatrix