NDO to PLY Converter
FileFlip converts NDO to PLY entirely inside your browser, using Assimp compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. That means no file-size limit, no queue and no account.
How do I convert an NDO file to PLY?#
- Drop your NDO file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer. You can add as many as you like.
- Leave the target set to PLY and the conversion starts on its own. FileFlip downloads 11.2 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, then runs Assimp on your own machine.
- Save the PLY file. Your browser writes it straight to your downloads folder, because there was never a server holding it.
Does converting NDO to PLY lose quality?#
Not in the sense of pixels or samples. Converting NDO to PLY rebuilds the file in PLY's own model rather than re-encoding it, so everything PLY can represent comes through exactly and anything it cannot has to be dropped. Expect the geometry to be exact, and anything the target has no place for, such as a rig, to be left behind.
Is it safe to convert NDO files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts NDO files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What NDO to PLY actually does to the file#
Converting NDO to PLY runs on Assimp, downloads 11.2 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, rebuilds the file in the target's own model, and drops skeleton and animation.
| Engine | Assimp |
|---|---|
| Conversion path | One step: NDO → PLY |
| Downloaded to your browser | 11.2 MB, once, then cached by your browser |
| Quality | Rebuilt in the target's model |
| You get back | One file |
| Where it runs | In a background worker, so the page stays responsive |
What survives the conversion
| What is in the file | This conversion | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | Sometimes | Survives for some files and not others. |
| Textures | Sometimes | Survives for some files and not others. |
| Skeleton and animation | Dropped | The target format has nowhere to put it. |
Worth knowing before you start:
- if the source carries a skeleton or animation, this target has no place to store it
What is an NDO file?#
An NDO file is Nendo's native mesh format, a binary file identified by a "nendo" header that stores an object's edge, face and vertex tables along with UV and texture data for Izware's subdivision modeller.
There's little reason to author new NDO files today; it matters only for opening a model saved by a copy of Nendo.
Convert NDO to OBJ or FBX to bring an old Nendo model into a modeller that's still maintained.
What is a PLY file?#
A PLY file stores a point cloud or mesh as a list of elements, typically vertices and faces, each carrying whatever properties its writer chose to attach, such as colour, normals or scan confidence, which is why 3D scanners and photogrammetry tools favour it over formats with a fixed vertex layout.
Use PLY straight out of a 3D scanner or photogrammetry tool, since it's built to carry exactly the per-point data those pipelines produce.
Convert PLY to OBJ or glTF once the scan needs to go into a rendering or animation pipeline that expects UV-mapped textures instead of vertex colour.
NDO to PLY questions people ask#
What is an NDO file?
An NDO file is a Nendo model: an object's edges, faces, vertices and UV data stored in a binary file that starts with a "nendo" header. Nendo was a subdivision modeller from Izware known for a distinctive, box-free workflow built around edge and face selection.
Is Nendo still available to open NDO files?
No. Nendo's publisher, Izware, is no longer active, and there's no current source for the software, which means an NDO file today can only realistically be opened through a library like Assimp that includes a reverse-engineered NDO importer.
Is NDO related to Wings 3D?
Only by inspiration, not compatibility. Wings 3D, the open-source polygon modeller, describes itself as inspired by Nendo and Mirai, two earlier Izware applications, but Wings 3D does not read the NDO format itself.
What is a PLY file used for?
A PLY file stores a point cloud or mesh, most commonly the raw output of a 3D scanner or photogrammetry tool, because it can carry arbitrary per-vertex data like colour, normals and scan confidence alongside position. It came out of Stanford's graphics lab in the mid-1990s for exactly that purpose.