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Slicer for iPad
A 3D printer slicer for your iPad, in Safari
OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura and Bambu Studio have no iPad version. The online slicer runs in Safari instead: choose the STL or 3MF in the Files app, pick your printer among 380+, and download G-code sliced by OrcaSlicer with that printer's profile to Files, ready for an SD card, the printer's web page or its app.How it works
Slicing on an iPad, step by step
Safari and the Files app do all the work on the iPad; the slicing runs on the server.2
Choose the file from Files
Tap Choose a file. iPadOS offers the Files browser (depending on the version, after a short menu with photos and the camera): iCloud Drive, On My iPad, a connected USB drive, or another storage app. Files up to 50 MB open in 3D.3
Pick the printer and the settings
Brand, model and nozzle, then the print profile, material, infill and supports. The printer is saved on your account for next time.4
Slice and download to Files
Safari saves the G-code (a .gcode.3mf for Bambu Lab) in the Downloads folder of the Files app. The download arrow in Safari's toolbar opens it.5
Send it to the printer
Copy it to an SD card or USB stick through a card reader, upload it in the printer's web interface in Safari, or share it to the printer maker's app if the app accepts files.What works on an iPad
| Works on an iPad? | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| SpeakCAD online slicer | Yes, in Safari or Chrome | Nothing to install |
| OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura, Bambu Studio | No | Desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux; no iPad version |
| SD card or USB stick | Yes, through the Files app | A USB-C reader on USB-C iPads; an adapter on Lightning iPads |
| Mainsail, Fluidd, OctoPrint, PrusaLink | Yes, in Safari | On the same network as the printer |
| 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 an iPad?: Yes, in Safari or ChromeNotes: Nothing to install
OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura, Bambu StudioWorks on an iPad?: NoNotes: Desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux; no iPad version
SD card or USB stickWorks on an iPad?: Yes, through the Files appNotes: A USB-C reader on USB-C iPads; an adapter on Lightning iPads
Mainsail, Fluidd, OctoPrint, PrusaLinkWorks on an iPad?: Yes, in SafariNotes: On the same network as the printer
PriceWorks on an iPad?: 1 free slice; then Slicer pack: 20 slices for $3, once, never expire, or 5 credits a slice; included in Pro and Unlimited
Why an iPad needs a browser slicer
The slicers most people use (OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura, Bambu Studio) are desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux, and none of them has an iPad version. An iPad with an M-series chip does not run Mac apps either. So on an iPad, slicing means a slicing app from the App Store, whose printer profiles you would need to check, a printer maker's app for that maker's printers, or a slicer in the browser.
How the online slicer works on an iPad
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.
The iPad's screen is large enough to see the whole model in 3D and the settings side by side, which makes it a comfortable slicing device next to the printer.
Picking the file and finding the G-code
Tap Choose a file. Depending on the iPadOS version, you get the Files browser directly or a short menu first, with the photo library, the camera and an option to browse files. In Files, the model can come from iCloud Drive, On My iPad, a USB stick or SD card plugged into the iPad, or an app that provides storage, such as Google Drive or Dropbox when it is installed.
Safari saves downloads to a Downloads folder in Files, in iCloud Drive or on the iPad depending on Safari's download setting. If a file name lost its extension or gained a number, rename it in Files (touch and hold, Rename): the contents do not change. Bambu Lab files must end in .gcode.3mf.
Getting the G-code to the printer
- SD card or USB stick. iPads with a USB-C port take a USB-C card reader or a USB-C stick, which appear under Locations in Files. iPads with a Lightning port need an adapter, such as Apple's Lightning to SD card reader. Copy the file from Downloads to the card, wait for the copy to finish, then put the card in the printer.
- The printer's web interface. Mainsail and Fluidd on Klipper printers, OctoPrint, and PrusaLink on networked Prusa printers are web pages. Open the printer's IP address in Safari, tap upload, and choose the G-code in the Files browser.
- Bambu Lab printers. The microSD card always works: copy the .gcode.3mf to it and start the print on the printer's screen. Bambu Handy, Bambu Lab's app, monitors and starts prints; whether it can send a file from your iPad's storage depends on the app version, so check it in the app.
- Prusa Connect runs in Safari for Prusa printers connected to it, and takes a G-code upload.
Before you slice
If you want to know the print time and the filament a model needs before slicing it, the print time and cost calculator estimates both without an account. How to 3D print from an iPad walks through a whole print.
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, in the browser. SpeakCAD's online slicer runs in Safari on an iPad: choose the STL or 3MF in Files, pick your printer among 380+ models, and download G-code sliced by OrcaSlicer with that printer's profile. OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura and Bambu Studio have no iPad version.
No. They are desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux, and an iPad does not run them, including iPads with an M-series chip. A browser-based slicer, or a slicing app from the App Store that covers your printer, is the way to slice on an iPad.
To the Downloads folder in the Files app, in iCloud Drive or on the iPad depending on Safari's download setting. The download arrow in Safari's toolbar lists recent downloads.
Copy it to the printer's SD card or USB stick through a card reader (USB-C, or a Lightning adapter on older iPads), or upload it in the printer's web interface (Mainsail, Fluidd, OctoPrint, PrusaLink) in Safari. Some printer makers' apps also accept a file shared from Files.
Yes. The card shows up under Locations in the Files app, where you can copy the G-code onto it. iPads with USB-C take a USB-C reader; iPads with a Lightning port need an adapter such as Apple's Lightning to SD card reader.
Yes. Pick your Bambu Lab model and download the sliced .gcode.3mf, then copy it to the printer's microSD card through a card reader. Whether Bambu Handy can send a file from the iPad's storage depends on the app version.
Yes. The slicing runs on the server; the iPad shows the 3D preview and the settings, then downloads the finished file.
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 an iPadA whole print, from the file to the printer, on an iPad.From a phone to the slicerWhere downloads land on iOS and the routes to the printer.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 ChromebookSlicing on ChromeOS, school Chromebooks included.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.