CAD formats

What is the PLY format?

PLY — Polygon File Format 3D Model

PLY (Polygon File Format) stores 3D scans and point clouds, often with a colour for every vertex.

RW converts both ways PLY Converter

Convert PLY to

Convert to PLY

About the PLY format

PLY was designed at Stanford University in the 1990s for data from 3D scanners; the well-known Stanford Bunny is a PLY file. It holds vertices, faces and per-vertex properties such as colour and normals, in text or binary form.

Scanning apps and photogrammetry software export PLY, but printers, game engines and web viewers want other formats. Convert.Online writes binary PLY and converts scans to STL for printing, OBJ for editing or GLB for the web.

Programs that open PLY

  • MeshLab
  • CloudCompare
  • Blender
  • Polycam
  • Meshmixer

What PLY is used for

  • 3D scans
  • Point clouds
  • Photogrammetry
  • Research data

Other CAD formats

All 12 CAD formats · all supported formats