Inspect Stanford PLY scans + meshes.
Drop a .ply from Polycam / RealityCapture / LiDAR scanners. Per-vertex colours + point-cloud rendering auto-detected — all local.
- .ply
About PLY Viewer
Loft PLY Viewer is a free online PLY (.ply) file viewer that opens binary and ASCII Stanford Polygon Library files in your browser without any upload, install, or signup. It renders the mesh in a Three.js orbit scene with shaded / wireframe / shaded + edges modes, point-to-point measurement, and PNG export. Opens PLY files from LiDAR scans, photogrammetry outputs (Meshroom, RealityCapture, Polycam), and research datasets; also auto-detects STL, OBJ, GLB, glTF, and 3MF when dropped. Files never leave your device.
What it does
- Manufacturability check read from the mesh — minimum wall, undercuts, draft, cost
- Binary and ASCII PLY parsing
- Three.js WebGL2 renderer with orbit, pan, zoom
- Shaded, wireframe, and shaded-with-edges render modes
- Point-to-point measurement (click two surface points)
- Reset-camera button frames the mesh in one click
- PNG screenshot export
- Drag-drop or file-picker input
More features
- Also accepts STL, OBJ, GLB, glTF, 3MF — format auto-detected on drop
- Triangle count + file size in the status footer
- Works offline after the first visit (PWA cache)
How to use PLY Viewer
Drop your PLY file
Drag any binary or ASCII .ply into the browser, or click Open and pick one. The model loads instantly — nothing leaves your device.
Orbit and inspect
Drag to orbit. Right-click drag (or two-finger drag on a trackpad) to pan. Scroll to zoom. Switch between shaded, wireframe, and shaded-with-edges modes.
Measure
Click Measure, then click two points on the surface. Distance shows in the status bar in the file's native units.
Screenshot
Use Screenshot to capture the point cloud or mesh view at the current camera angle as a PNG.
Frequently asked questions
What PLY variants are supported?
Binary (little-endian and big-endian) and ASCII PLY. Vertex colour data in the file is currently not displayed — geometry renders with a default shaded material.
Will my file leave the browser?
No. Parsing and rendering happen in your browser tab. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
Can I open STL, OBJ, GLB, or 3MF files here too?
Yes — drop any of those and the viewer auto-detects the format. Separate landing pages exist for each format.
Does it handle LiDAR point clouds?
PLY point clouds load and display but render as small triangulated patches — this is a mesh viewer, not a dedicated point-cloud viewer. For dense LiDAR data, a tool like Potree or CloudCompare gives better results.
Why is my model pitch black?
If the PLY file lacks vertex normals, the viewer computes them automatically. Very flat or planar meshes may look dark in the default lighting — try wireframe mode or rotate the model.