Free 3DS (.3ds) to PLY (.ply) converter — running entirely in your browser. No upload, no signup, no file limits: your files never leave your device.
STEP · IGES · BREP · STL · OBJ · PLY · GLB · glTF · 3MF · COLLADA · AMF · FBX · 3DS · OFF · LAS · PCD · XYZ · PTS
The .3ds format comes from Autodesk 3D Studio for DOS and is one of the oldest mesh formats still in circulation. Despite hard limits — 16-bit vertex counts, 8.3 material names — enormous archives of legacy models exist in .3ds, so being able to read it still matters.
PLY was designed at Stanford for storing 3D-scanned data. Beyond plain geometry it can attach arbitrary per-vertex properties — most importantly vertex colors — which makes it the format of choice for 3D scans, photogrammetry output and point-cloud-derived meshes.
| 3DS | PLY | |
|---|---|---|
| Geometry | Polygon mesh | Triangle mesh / scan data |
| Units | No | No |
| Colors & materials | Basic materials | Per-vertex colors |
| Animations | Limited | No |
| Typical use | Legacy model archives | 3D scans & photogrammetry |
Yes — free with no accounts, no watermarks and no file-size limits. Conversion runs on your own machine, so there are no server costs behind it.
No. The converter runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly. Your .3ds file never leaves your device, which makes it safe for confidential designs.
Yes — parts and assembly hierarchy are preserved where PLY supports them, and you can optionally merge everything into a single mesh during conversion.
Yes. Every converted model opens in the built-in 3D viewer with an assembly tree, display modes and section views, so you can inspect the result first.
3DS is reduced to geometry, hierarchy and one flat base color per part before export, so format-specific metadata and animation do not carry through. The PLY result has no declared units and does not carry textures, animation or an assembly tree.