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Slicer for Chromebook
A 3D printer slicer for your Chromebook, in Chrome
Desktop slicers are apps for Windows, macOS and Linux, and ChromeOS runs them only through its Linux environment, which many school and work Chromebooks have switched off. The online slicer runs in Chrome instead: upload the STL or 3MF from the Files app, pick your printer among 380+, and download G-code sliced by OrcaSlicer with that printer's profile. Nothing to install or approve.How it works
Slicing on a Chromebook, step by step
Everything happens in a Chrome tab and the Files app. The slicing runs on the server, so the Chromebook's processor does not matter.2
Choose the STL or 3MF in the Files app
Click Choose a file, or drag the file onto the page. The picker is the Files app, so Downloads, Google Drive and a USB stick or SD card are all in the left column. Files up to 50 MB open in 3D before anything is sliced.3
Pick the printer and the settings
Brand, model and nozzle, then the print profile (layer height), the material, infill and supports. The printer is saved on your account, so any Chromebook you sign in on has it.4
Slice and download
The G-code (a .gcode.3mf for Bambu Lab) lands in Downloads, with the print time and filament weight shown on the page.5
Send it to the printer
Drag the file onto an SD card or USB stick in the Files app and eject it, or upload it through the printer's web interface in Chrome.What works on a Chromebook
| Works on a Chromebook? | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| SpeakCAD online slicer | Yes, in Chrome | Managed Chromebooks too, unless the site is blocked |
| OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura, Bambu Studio | Only through the Linux development environment | Needs Linux turned on, a Linux build for the processor and enough memory |
| SD card or USB stick | Yes, in the Files app | A USB-C card reader if there is no slot |
| Mainsail, Fluidd, OctoPrint, PrusaLink | Yes, in Chrome | The Chromebook must reach the printer's network |
| Price | 1 free slice; then Slicer pack: 20 slices for $3, once, never expire, or 5 credits a slice; included in Pro and Unlimited |
SpeakCAD online slicerWorks on a Chromebook?: Yes, in ChromeNotes: Managed Chromebooks too, unless the site is blocked
OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura, Bambu StudioWorks on a Chromebook?: Only through the Linux development environmentNotes: Needs Linux turned on, a Linux build for the processor and enough memory
SD card or USB stickWorks on a Chromebook?: Yes, in the Files appNotes: A USB-C card reader if there is no slot
Mainsail, Fluidd, OctoPrint, PrusaLinkWorks on a Chromebook?: Yes, in ChromeNotes: The Chromebook must reach the printer's network
PriceWorks on a Chromebook?: 1 free slice; then Slicer pack: 20 slices for $3, once, never expire, or 5 credits a slice; included in Pro and Unlimited
Why a Chromebook needs a browser slicer
A slicer turns a 3D model into G-code, the moves and temperatures one printer runs. OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura and Bambu Studio are desktop programs for Windows, macOS and Linux. ChromeOS is none of those, so there are two routes:
- Linux on the Chromebook. Many Chromebooks can run Linux programs through the Linux development environment, and the main slicers have Linux builds. It works when the device lets you turn Linux on, the slicer has a build for the Chromebook's processor (many Linux builds target Intel and AMD chips, which narrows the choice on ARM Chromebooks) and there is enough memory and storage for a 3D program in a container. On school and work Chromebooks, the administrator often turns the Linux environment off, and it is a heavy setup for a device with 4 GB of memory.
- A slicer in the browser. An online slicer is a website, so it runs on any Chromebook that can open it.
How the online slicer works on ChromeOS
SpeakCAD's online slicer is a web page: you upload an STL or 3MF of up to 50 MB, pick your printer among 380+ models from 60+ brands, choose the layer height, filament, infill, supports, speed, walls and bed adhesion, and download G-code. The slicing is done by the unmodified OrcaSlicer 2.4.2 command-line slicer, with your printer's own profile, on SpeakCAD's slicer service. Your device only shows the model and the settings, so an entry-level device gets its file as quickly as a workstation.
Picking the file and finding the G-code
When you click Choose a file, ChromeOS opens the Files app as the picker. Downloads, Google Drive, and any SD card or USB stick you have plugged in appear in its left column, so a model you downloaded from Printables or saved to Drive is two clicks away. You can also drag the file from a Files window onto the page.
The G-code downloads to Downloads (under My files), unless you changed Chrome's download location. Bambu Lab files end in .gcode.3mf; keep that full name.
Getting the G-code to the printer
- SD card or USB stick. Some Chromebooks have an SD or microSD slot; otherwise a small USB-C card reader works. In the Files app, drag the file from Downloads onto the card, click the eject icon next to the card, then start the print from the printer's screen. This works with nearly every printer, connected or not.
- The printer's web interface. Klipper printers usually run Mainsail or Fluidd, Marlin printers can have OctoPrint on a small computer such as a Raspberry Pi, and networked Prusa printers have PrusaLink. Type the printer's IP address into Chrome, upload the G-code and start it. On a school network the printers may sit on a network the Chromebooks cannot reach; ask whoever runs it.
- Bambu Lab printers. Copy the .gcode.3mf to the printer's microSD card in the Files app and choose it on the printer's screen.
- Prusa Connect. Prusa's web dashboard runs in Chrome for Prusa printers that are connected to it.
On a school Chromebook
Nothing has to be installed or approved, the printer and settings follow the student's account rather than the device, and every slice shows the print time and the filament in grams before anything is printed, which helps when the printer is booked in lesson-sized slots. Each student needs an account. How to 3D print from a Chromebook goes further into classrooms, and the print time and cost calculator estimates a print without an account.
What the online slicer does not do
It slices one single-material model with your printer's standard profile and the settings listed above. It does not do multi-colour painting, modifiers, variable layer height, custom start G-code or a layer-by-layer G-code preview. For those, a desktop slicer (OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura, Bambu Studio) on a Windows, macOS or Linux computer remains the better tool. Online slicer vs desktop slicer sets out the trade-offs.
What it costs
The online slicer gives every account 1 free slice, its first (a free account, no card). After that, a slice uses one slice from a Slicer pack (20 slices for $3, once, never expire) or 5 credits, and slicing is included in Pro and Unlimited. Re-slicing the same file with other settings within 10 minutes is free. Slicer pack slices work only in the online slicer. Starter credits ($5 once, 50 credits, no subscription) also pay for 10 slices. Pro ($14.99 a month) and Unlimited ($39.99 a month) include slicing. On every plan, an account can start up to 60 slices a day.
Your file
The file goes from your browser straight to the slicer service, never through SpeakCAD's web servers. It is sliced in a temporary folder that is deleted when the job ends, and it is not kept. The one exception is a file dropped on SpeakCAD's slicer page before signing up: it waits, as a compressed 3MF, in private storage until you open it in the slicer and for 24 hours at most, then it is deleted.
Questions
Yes. SpeakCAD's online slicer runs in Chrome on any Chromebook: upload the STL or 3MF, pick your printer among 380+ models, and download G-code sliced by OrcaSlicer with that printer's profile. Desktop slicers run on a Chromebook only through its Linux environment.
Sometimes. It takes the Linux development environment turned on, a Linux build of the slicer for the Chromebook's processor, and enough memory and storage. School and work Chromebooks often have Linux switched off by the administrator. A browser-based slicer needs none of that.
Yes, as long as the school has not blocked the website. There is nothing to install and no extension, so the Linux and app restrictions of a managed Chromebook do not apply. Each student signs in with their own account, and the printer settings follow the account.
To Downloads, under My files in the Files app, unless Chrome's download location was changed. From there, drag it onto an SD card or USB stick, or upload it through the printer's web interface.
Copy it to the printer's SD card or USB stick in the Files app (a USB-C card reader if the Chromebook has no slot) and eject the card before pulling it out. If the printer runs Mainsail, Fluidd, OctoPrint or PrusaLink, open its address in Chrome and upload the file there.
Yes. The slicing runs on the server; the Chromebook only draws the 3D preview and the settings, then downloads the finished file. A very large model can make the 3D preview slow on a low-end device, but not the slicing.
Yes. Pick your Bambu Lab model and the online slicer gives a sliced .gcode.3mf. Copy it to the printer's microSD card in the Files app and start it from the printer's screen.
Partly: 1 free slice with a free account, no card. It does not renew. After that, a slice uses one slice from a Slicer pack (20 slices for $3, once, never expire) or 5 credits, and slicing is included in Pro ($14.99 a month) and Unlimited ($39.99 a month). Re-slicing the same file with other settings within 10 minutes spends nothing. It is not unlimited: an account can start up to 60 slices a day.
The file goes from your browser straight to the slicer service, never through SpeakCAD's web servers. It is sliced in a temporary folder that is deleted when the job ends, and it is not kept. The one exception is a file dropped on SpeakCAD's slicer page before signing up: it waits, as a compressed 3MF, in private storage until you open it in the slicer and for 24 hours at most, then it is deleted.
380+ printer models from 60+ brands, each with the profile OrcaSlicer 2.4.2 bundles for it: Bambu Lab, Prusa, Creality, Elegoo, Anycubic, Voron, Qidi, Sovol, Flashforge, Snapmaker and more. Bambu Lab printers get a sliced .gcode.3mf, every other brand a plain .gcode.
Read more
How to 3D print from a ChromebookThe full route, school Chromebooks and web uploads included.Slicing on a school or work computerWhen you cannot install software on the computer in front of you.Slice an STL without installing a slicerEvery setting, step by step.Online slicerPrinters by brand, every setting, and when a desktop slicer is the better tool.Slicer for iPadFrom the Files app to G-code, then to the printer.Slicer for iPhoneSlice in Safari on the phone next to the printer.Slicer for AndroidAndroid phones and tablets: Chrome, Downloads, USB-C.Print time and cost calculatorEstimate print time, filament grams and cost before you slice, no account.