Convert E57 to PLY (Free)
Also converts OBJ, GLB, WRL, XYZ, 3DM, PDF from the same file.
Runs in your browser. No upload, no signup, nothing to install.
Also from Innerscene: Circadian Lab, a free lighting calculator for room illuminance, melanopic EML, and glare.
How to convert E57 to PLY
- 1
Open your .e57 file
Drag it onto the viewer above, or click "Open an E57 File". Files up to 200 MB open directly; the parse runs in a worker so the page stays responsive.
- 2
Pick Polygon File Format in the Export menu
Click Export in the toolbar, then PLY (.ply).
- 3
Download
The .ply is written in the browser and saved straight to your downloads folder. No queue, no email, no watermark.
What survives the conversion
A file conversion is a translation, and formats do not carry the same things. Here is exactly what moves from E57 into PLY, and what does not.
| Geometry | Kept | points are written as triangle meshes. |
|---|---|---|
| Colors and materials | Kept | PLY carries per-vertex color, which is at least what E57 stores, so the colors come across. |
| Layers and structure | Dropped | PLY is a single flat body with no layers or named parts. Everything merges into one object. If you need the structure, export to GLB, Rhino .3dm instead. |
| Units and scale | Dropped | PLY stores no unit. Coordinates are written in meters, so set the import unit to meters if the destination asks. |
| Map coordinates | Kept | PLY gets the survey coordinates back: easting, northing and height in meters, Z up, the convention scanners write. |
What the PLY writer emits: Binary little-endian PLY with x/y/z and per-vertex RGB, faces for meshes, edges for linework, vertices only for clouds.
The source: ASTM E57 Point Cloud (.e57)
Every scan in the file, cartesian or spherical, placed by its registration pose, with RGB or intensity and one layer per scan, read by range and sampled evenly to the device’s point budget. Panoramas and photos in the file are not drawn.
The target: Polygon File Format (.ply)
The scanning and photogrammetry format, and the one interchange format that treats point clouds as first-class.
Opens in: CloudCompare, MeshLab, Blender, Metashape, RealityCapture.
Your file never leaves your computer
Both the E57 parser and the PLY writer are JavaScript and WebAssembly running in your own browser tab. There is no upload step, no server-side conversion queue, and no copy of your file anywhere but your machine. That matters for drawings under NDA, for client work, and for anything you would not email to a stranger.
Free to Use, No Signup
There are no accounts and no watermarks on this converter. If it saved you time, the one thing we ask is a mention: a post, a link from your blog or course page, or a reply to someone asking how to open a file.
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Hear about new formats
Occasional emails when the viewer learns a new format or gets a new tool.
Frequently asked questions
▶Is this E57 to PLY converter free?
Yes. No signup, no watermark, no per-file limit and no paid tier. Innerscene.
▶Is my E57 file uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read with the browser file API and converted in the same tab. Nothing is sent to a server unless you explicitly click Share, which is a separate, opt-in feature.
▶Will my colors and materials survive the PLY export?
PLY carries per-vertex color, which is at least what E57 stores, so the colors come across.
▶Do layers and named parts carry into the PLY file?
PLY is a single flat body with no layers or named parts. Everything merges into one object. If you need the structure, export to GLB, Rhino .3dm instead.
▶Will the PLY open at the right size?
PLY stores no unit. Coordinates are written in meters, so set the import unit to meters if the destination asks.
▶How large an E57 file can I convert?
Up to 200 MB, and the ceiling adapts to how much memory your device reports. The conversion runs on your own hardware, so a desktop with plenty of RAM will handle more than a phone.
▶Can I convert PLY back to E57?
Not here. We read E57 and write PLY, but not the reverse. the universal 3D viewer
▶Which browsers does it work in?
Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. No plugin and no extension.
Convert E57 to something else
Convert something else to PLY
Or start from the universal 3D viewer.