STL to PLY
Please find below the list of our other useful resources related to STL and PLY interoperability and exchange that could help you with the STL to PLY conversion.
STL File
STL (STereoLithography) is a file format developed by 3D Systems company, the world leader in the 3D printing industry. STL files contain triangular mesh only, without face color, texture, transparency and named groups data. While it is possible to assign RGB color value for each individual vertex, Autoconverter our STL file converter doesn't support this STL file extension. You can save STL files in binary or ASCII text file format, with the preference for the former one due to significant STL file size reduction. The triangles in STL files are always defined in millimeters therefore our STL converters will make the necessary unit conversion if required.
PLY File
PLY (Polygon File Format or Stanford Triangle Format) is a file format developed to store three dimensional triangles with additional properties e.g. color, normals, transparency or texture coordinates. However, Autoconverter our PLY file converter can only read and write mesh geometry without the material properties, as in the PLY file they can vary between triangle vertices. You can save PLY files in a binary or ASCII text file format, with the preference for the binary version due to a significant PLY file size saving.