A 3D printer slicer on your iPhone, in Safari
There is no iPhone version of OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura or Bambu Studio. The online slicer runs in Safari: choose the STL or 3MF in Files, pick your printer among 380+, and download G-code sliced by OrcaSlicer with that printer's profile, standing next to the printer.Slicing on an iPhone, step by step
The phone shows the model and the settings; the slicing runs on the server.Choose the file from Files
Tap Choose a file and browse Files: Downloads, iCloud Drive, On My iPhone, or a storage app such as Google Drive. Files up to 50 MB open in 3D; turn the model with a finger to check it.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, so the next slice starts with it.Slice and download
Safari saves the G-code (a .gcode.3mf for Bambu Lab) to Downloads in Files, and the page shows the print time and filament weight.Send it to the printer
Upload it in the printer's web interface in Safari, copy it to an SD card through a card reader, or share it to the printer maker's app if the app accepts files.What works on an iPhone
| Works on an iPhone? | 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 |
| SD card or USB stick | Yes, through the Files app | A USB-C reader on USB-C iPhones; an adapter on Lightning iPhones |
| Mainsail, Fluidd, OctoPrint, PrusaLink | Yes, in Safari | On the same Wi-Fi 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 |
Why slice on the phone
The phone is the device that is next to the printer. A part broke, a download on Printables is exactly what you need, the laptop is in another room: with a slicer in the browser, the file goes from the phone to the printer without a computer in between. Desktop slicers have no iPhone version, so the browser is the way to do it with your printer's own profile.
How the online slicer works on an iPhone
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.
On a phone screen the settings stack under the 3D view. Scroll to each one, tap Slice, and the numbers (print time, filament in grams and metres, layer count, supports) come back with the file. To try another setting, change it and slice again: re-slicing the same file within 10 minutes spends nothing.
Picking the file and finding the G-code
A model you downloaded in Safari is in the Downloads folder of Files, in iCloud Drive or on the iPhone depending on Safari's download setting. Tap Choose a file on the slicer page and browse to it; iOS may first offer the photo library and the camera, with an option to browse files. A model someone sent you by message or e-mail needs to be saved to Files first (Share, then Save to Files).
The G-code downloads to the same Downloads folder. If Safari changed the name or the extension, rename the file in Files; Bambu Lab files must end in .gcode.3mf.
Getting the G-code to the printer
- The printer's web interface. From a phone this is usually the shortest route. Klipper printers run Mainsail or Fluidd, OctoPrint runs on a small computer connected to the printer, and networked Prusa printers have PrusaLink. Open the printer's IP address in Safari, tap upload, choose the G-code in Files, and start the print.
- SD card or USB stick. iPhones with a USB-C port (iPhone 15 and later) take a USB-C card reader or stick; older iPhones need a Lightning adapter. The card appears under Locations in Files; copy the file onto it.
- Bambu Lab printers. The microSD card always works. Bambu Handy, Bambu Lab's phone app, monitors and starts prints; whether it can send a .gcode.3mf from your phone's storage depends on the app version, so check it in the app.
- Other printer makers' apps. Some accept a file from the Share sheet in Files. Try it once with a small file.
Before you slice
The print time and cost calculator estimates the print time, filament and cost of a model without an account. How to 3D print from your iPhone walks through a whole print, and can you 3D print without a computer? says what a phone can and cannot replace.
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 iPhone: 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 iPhone version.
Yes. An online slicer takes the STL from the phone's files, slices it on a server with your printer's profile, and downloads the G-code back to the phone. The phone only shows the model and the settings.
To the Downloads folder in the Files app, in iCloud Drive or on the iPhone depending on Safari's download setting. The download arrow in Safari lists recent downloads.
Upload it in the printer's web interface (Mainsail, Fluidd, OctoPrint or PrusaLink) in Safari, on the same Wi-Fi as the printer, or copy it to the printer's SD card or USB stick through a card reader. Some printer makers' apps also accept a file shared from Files.
Yes. Slice for your Bambu Lab model to get a .gcode.3mf, then copy it to the printer's microSD card through a card reader. Whether Bambu Handy can send a file from the iPhone's storage depends on the app version.
No. The slicing runs on the server; the phone draws the 3D preview and downloads the finished file. A very large model can make the preview slow on an older phone.
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.