STL to XYZ
Please find below the list of our other useful resources related to STL and XYZ interoperability and exchange that could help you with the STL to XYZ 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.
XYZ Point Cloud File
XYZ (Point cloud data) is a file extension used for ASCII text files with the point cloud data. Each row of XYZ file contains 3D point coordinates separated by a special character, usually a TAB and optionally 3D normal vector coordinates for that point. The normal vectors for the points are optional as it is possible to generate them on the fly based on the point cloud structure. Autoconverter is our XYZ file converter which allows you to automatically reconstruct the mesh surface from the point cloud data. Autoshaper is another XYZ file converter which allows you to reconstruct a smooth NURBS surface from scattered points stored in the XYZ file. The alternative file extension for point cloud data can be either ASC or TXT.