| Extension | PCD |
| Full Name | Point Cloud Library |
| Type | 3D Model/Point Cloud |
| Mime Type | application/octet-stream |
| Format | Binary |
The PCD file format, short for Point Cloud Data, is a 3D graphics format designed specifically for storing 3D point clouds. A point cloud is simply a collection of points in 3D space, along with optional colour information.
Points are stored within the PCD file in the form of their X, Y, and Z coordinates. If the point is to be rendered in a particular colour, this is also included with the coordinate. PCD files can be either plain ASCII text or binary in format, with the binary format being more compact.
PCD files can be opened with several 3D editing packages and also converted to other point cloud formats, such as PTX, using our suite of PCD conversion tools that are designed specifically for point cloud data conversion.
PCD Converter Capabilities
When converting 3D model or mesh files using our PCD converter, we will attempt to convert colour materials into a suitable format for use in the converted file.
| Extension | PNG |
| Full Name | Portable Network Graphics |
| Type | Image |
| Mime Type | image/png |
| Format | Binary |
| Opens With | Paint.Net, Photoshop |
PNG files are a widely used graphics file format used in areas where high-quality images (often with transparency) are required while also retaining a small file size. They are one of the most common formats of file used for web and print mediums and are particularly useful for logos, icons, and other images where multi-level transparency is desired.
The format itself was created in the 1990's with the main aim of storing computer graphics in a high-quality format while minimizing the required storage space. The longer-term aim was to displace the GIF file format and make PNG the number one format for non-lossy, high-quality image formats on the then-burgeoning world wide web.
One of the selling points of the PNG format is its support for multiple levels of transparency, making it superior to the GIF format, which can only handle a single level of transparency. Also, like GIFs, the PNG format supports palletizing image colours down to 256 or 16 colours to help reduce the file size of the PNG.
