Glossary · Data

3D printing

Point cloud

The raw result of a 3D scan: very many individual measurement points in space which together describe the surface of the object.

Explained in more detail

Every point in a point cloud has coordinates in X, Y and Z, often with a colour as well. A scan quickly consists of millions of points. A point cloud does not yet have a closed surface and cannot be printed as it is; only the software connects the points into a triangle mesh. Before that, you remove stray points, for example from the background, and align several scans with one another. A suitable exchange format is PLY, for example, which can store colour directly at each point.

Where does the term come from?

A loan translation of the English point cloud. The name describes how the unordered points look on screen: like a cloud that traces the shape of the object.

In practice

• Remove stray points that float above the object or come from the table before you calculate the mesh.
• The denser the dots, the more detail, but also the larger the file and the slower the processing.
• Free programs such as MeshLab open, clean and mesh point clouds.

Not to be confused

A point cloud is not yet a printable model: the slicer needs a closed mesh, meaning a surface made of triangles.

Frequently asked questions

Can I print a point cloud directly?

No. First the scanning software or a program such as MeshLab has to calculate a closed triangle mesh from it, which you export as STL or 3MF.