diff --git a/ir/src/lib.rs b/ir/src/lib.rs
index 9e49db0..0c2ef9e 100644
--- a/ir/src/lib.rs
+++ b/ir/src/lib.rs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ use serde::{
 
 pub mod constraints;
 pub mod geometry;
+pub mod loader;
 pub mod model;
 pub mod part;
 
diff --git a/ir/src/loader.rs b/ir/src/loader.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cfaa631
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ir/src/loader.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
+//! Convenience wrapper for loading and baking parts by ID.
+//!
+//! [`PartLoader`] reduces the standard "load one part" recipe from ~7 lines
+//! of ceremony (manual `.dat` suffix, `Arc<RwLock<PartCache>>`, per-call
+//! `load_colors`, no-op `on_update` callback) down to a single call.
+//!
+//! ```no_run
+//! # #[cfg(not(target_arch = "wasm32"))]
+//! # async fn example() -> Result<(), ldraw::error::ResolutionError> {
+//! use ldraw_ir::loader::PartLoader;
+//! use std::path::PathBuf;
+//!
+//! let loader = PartLoader::from_library_root(PathBuf::from("/path/to/ldraw")).await?;
+//! let part = loader.load_part("3001").await?;
+//! # Ok(())
+//! # }
+//! ```
+
+use std::sync::{Arc, RwLock};
+
+use ldraw::{
+    color::ColorCatalog,
+    error::ResolutionError,
+    library::{CacheCollectionStrategy, LibraryLoader, PartCache, resolve_dependencies_multipart},
+    PartAlias,
+};
+
+#[cfg(not(target_arch = "wasm32"))]
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+#[cfg(not(target_arch = "wasm32"))]
+use ldraw::resolvers::local::LocalLoader;
+
+use crate::part::{bake_part_from_multipart_document, Part};
+
+/// A pre-warmed loader that caches colors and a part cache so individual
+/// part loads don't have to.
+///
+/// Wraps any [`LibraryLoader`] together with its already-loaded
+/// [`ColorCatalog`] and an internal [`PartCache`]. Use [`load_part`] to
+/// go from a part ID to a baked [`Part`] in a single call.
+///
+/// After each successful `load_part`, the cache's part entries are
+/// collected (primitives are retained), so a long-lived `PartLoader`
+/// loading many distinct parts does not grow unboundedly. For full
+/// control, see [`clear_cache`].
+///
+/// [`load_part`]: PartLoader::load_part
+/// [`clear_cache`]: PartLoader::clear_cache
+pub struct PartLoader<L: LibraryLoader> {
+    loader: L,
+    colors: ColorCatalog,
+    cache: Arc<RwLock<PartCache>>,
+}
+
+impl<L: LibraryLoader> PartLoader<L> {
+    /// Constructs a `PartLoader` from an existing loader and color catalog.
+    ///
+    /// Use this when you already have a `ColorCatalog` (e.g. from a previous
+    /// call to `loader.load_colors()`) and want to avoid re-reading
+    /// `LDConfig.ldr`.
+    pub fn new(loader: L, colors: ColorCatalog) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            loader,
+            colors,
+            cache: Arc::new(RwLock::new(PartCache::default())),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Constructs a `PartLoader` by calling `load_colors()` on the
+    /// underlying loader once, up front.
+    pub async fn with_loaded_colors(loader: L) -> Result<Self, ResolutionError> {
+        let colors = loader.load_colors().await?;
+        Ok(Self::new(loader, colors))
+    }
+
+    /// Returns the cached [`ColorCatalog`].
+    pub fn colors(&self) -> &ColorCatalog {
+        &self.colors
+    }
+
+    /// Returns a reference to the underlying loader.
+    pub fn inner(&self) -> &L {
+        &self.loader
+    }
+
+    /// Collects unreferenced entries from the internal [`PartCache`]
+    /// according to `strategy`.
+    ///
+    /// `load_part` already calls this internally with
+    /// [`CacheCollectionStrategy::Parts`] after each load to bound
+    /// part-document growth; this method is exposed for callers that want
+    /// stronger guarantees (e.g. dropping primitives too via
+    /// [`CacheCollectionStrategy::PartsAndPrimitives`]).
+    ///
+    /// Returns the number of entries collected.
+    pub fn clear_cache(&self, strategy: CacheCollectionStrategy) -> usize {
+        self.cache.write().unwrap().collect(strategy)
+    }
+
+    /// Loads and bakes the part identified by `part_id`.
+    ///
+    /// `part_id` may be supplied with or without an LDraw file extension
+    /// (`"3001"` and `"3001.dat"` are equivalent; `"foo.ldr"` and `"foo.mpd"`
+    /// are passed through). Primitive documents (studs, cylinders, etc.) are
+    /// retained in the internal cache across calls, so loading many parts
+    /// amortizes primitive parsing. Full part documents are released after
+    /// the bake to bound memory growth — see [`clear_cache`] for explicit
+    /// control.
+    ///
+    /// [`clear_cache`]: PartLoader::clear_cache
+    pub async fn load_part(&self, part_id: &str) -> Result<Part, ResolutionError> {
+        let alias = alias_with_default_suffix(part_id);
+        let (_, document) = self.loader.load_ref(alias, false, &self.colors).await?;
+        let resolutions = resolve_dependencies_multipart(
+            &document,
+            Arc::clone(&self.cache),
+            &self.colors,
+            &self.loader,
+            &|_, _| {},
+        )
+        .await;
+        let part = bake_part_from_multipart_document(&document, &resolutions, false);
+        // Drop `document` and `resolutions` so their Arc references release
+        // before we collect. `Parts` (not `PartsAndPrimitives`) keeps the
+        // primitives that successive loads will reuse.
+        drop(resolutions);
+        drop(document);
+        self.cache
+            .write()
+            .unwrap()
+            .collect(CacheCollectionStrategy::Parts);
+        Ok(part)
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(not(target_arch = "wasm32"))]
+impl PartLoader<LocalLoader> {
+    /// Convenience constructor: build a `PartLoader` backed by a
+    /// filesystem-rooted LDraw library.
+    ///
+    /// Equivalent to:
+    ///
+    /// ```ignore
+    /// PartLoader::with_loaded_colors(LocalLoader::new(Some(root), None)).await
+    /// ```
+    ///
+    /// Unavailable on `wasm32` targets (the underlying [`LocalLoader`] is
+    /// gated to non-wasm targets). On wasm, construct a `PartLoader` from
+    /// an `HttpLoader` instead, via [`PartLoader::with_loaded_colors`].
+    pub async fn from_library_root(root: PathBuf) -> Result<Self, ResolutionError> {
+        Self::with_loaded_colors(LocalLoader::new(Some(root), None)).await
+    }
+}
+
+/// If `part_id` has no LDraw extension (`.dat`, `.ldr`, `.mpd`), append
+/// `.dat`. Trims surrounding whitespace.
+fn alias_with_default_suffix(part_id: &str) -> PartAlias {
+    let trimmed = part_id.trim();
+    let lower = trimmed.to_lowercase();
+    if lower.ends_with(".dat") || lower.ends_with(".ldr") || lower.ends_with(".mpd") {
+        PartAlias::from(trimmed.to_string())
+    } else {
+        PartAlias::from(format!("{trimmed}.dat"))
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn alias_with_default_suffix_appends_dat() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            alias_with_default_suffix("3001").original,
+            "3001.dat",
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            alias_with_default_suffix("  3001 ").original,
+            "3001.dat",
+            "whitespace should be trimmed before suffix check",
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn alias_with_default_suffix_preserves_existing_extension() {
+        for input in ["3001.dat", "model.ldr", "scene.mpd", "3001.DAT"] {
+            assert_eq!(
+                alias_with_default_suffix(input).original,
+                input.trim(),
+                "should not add .dat to {input}",
+            );
+        }
+    }
+}