Private, in your browser
Your scan is converted on your own computer and never uploaded, so scans of people and products stay private.
PLY to STL Converter
Turn PLY meshes from 3D scanners and photogrammetry into STL you can slice. Binary or ASCII, nothing uploaded.
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Converted in your browser. Files are never uploaded.
Continue with your scan
Check the STL for holes, set the print scale, or pack it for your slicer.
How to convert PLY to STL
- 1
Add your PLY scan
Drop a binary or ASCII .ply that contains faces, as most scanning apps export.
- 2
Scale it for print
Scans are often in meters or arbitrary units. Resize the longest side to the size you want.
- 3
Download the STL
Save a binary STL. Run a repair in your slicer if the scan had holes.
Why use this PLY to STL converter
Built for meshes from 3D scanners and photogrammetry apps.
Batch convert
Add several PLY scans at once and download all the STLs together in one ZIP.
Size shown before you download
The scan sits on a build plate with its width, depth and height in millimeters or inches, plus its triangle count.
Large scans welcome
Scans up to 300 MB per file are accepted. Decimate bigger ones in MeshLab first.
What changes when PLY becomes STL
PLY often carries color for every vertex. STL keeps the surface and leaves the color behind.
Kept
- Every face of the scanned mesh
- Quads and polygons, split into triangles
- The coordinates exactly as stored
- Binary and ASCII PLY input
Left behind
- Vertex colors
- Normals, confidence and other custom properties
- Point clouds without faces
- Textures referenced by the scan
PLY to STL questions
Answers about point clouds, scale, colors, holes and privacy.
Why does my PLY say it is a point cloud?
The file only stores points, not faces, so there is no surface to print. Mesh it first in your scanning app or in MeshLab with Poisson reconstruction, then convert.
What size will my scan be?
PLY has no unit, so the numbers are read as millimeters. Phone scanning apps often save meters, which makes a 0.2 m object 0.2 mm. Use Resize longest side to fix it.
Will the STL keep the scan's colors?
No. STL cannot store color. Keep the PLY if you need the color for reference or painting.
My scan has holes. Will it print?
Small holes are common in scans. Most slicers can repair them on import; for bigger gaps, close them in Meshmixer or Blender before printing.
Is my scan uploaded?
No. The PLY is converted in your browser and stays on your device.