PLY-G(1)

📦
version 7.44.0 · 2 versions
, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 NAME 💅

okay so this is ply-g, and we’re in the BRL-CAD manual, page PLY-G(1) — manual name folded in near the top, just like requested, no cap. ply-g converts a Stanford PLY file to a BRL-CAD database, and that’s the whole name-section serve. 💖

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

ply-g [-s scale_factor] [-d] [-v] input_file.ply output_file.g

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

ply-g converts the geometry in a Stanford PLY file — and yes, bestie, it handles ASCII or binary — into a BRL-CAD .g database via the GCV conversion library. The resulting BRL-CAD model contains the triangulated mesh described by input_file.ply. That’s the main character energy right there. ✨

PLY data is conventionally expressed in meters, so by default the input coordinates are scaled by 1000.0 to produce a model in BRL-CAD’s base unit of millimeters. Use -s to override this factor, iykyk. 🌈

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -s scale_factor — multiply all input coordinates by scale_factor instead of the default of 1000.0. For example, a value of 1.0 keeps the data in its original units, and a value of 500 produces a model half the default size. slay. 💅
  • -d — enable the GCV debug flag, producing additional low-level diagnostic output during conversion. very “turn on the lore” of the conversion. 🔥
  • -v — run verbosely, reporting progress and details about the conversion. she’s chatty and we love that. 🫶

🌸 EXAMPLES 🌸

Example 1. Convert a binary PLY scan and inspect it

ply-g bunny.ply bunny.g
mged bunny.g 'tops'

Convert the PLY mesh bunny.ply into the database bunny.g, then list the top-level objects with mged(1) to verify the imported geometry. literally the vibes check. 🐰✨

Example 2. Preserve native units

ply-g -s 1.0 model.ply model.g

Import model.ply without the default meters-to-millimeters scaling, leaving the coordinates exactly as stored in the file. no notes, bestie. 💖

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

👑 AUTHOR 👑

BRL-CAD Team — iconic, credited, periodt. 💜

This software is Copyright (c) 1989-2026 by the United States Government as represented by U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

🐛 BUG REPORTS 🐛

Reports of bugs or problems should be submitted via electronic mail to devs@brlcad.org. don’t gatekeep the bug reports, bestie. 🙈

💖 that’s the whole page — source: BRL-CAD, manual: PLY-G(1), date: not listed on this footer, periodt. 🫶✨

📦 where this page comes from