Anycubic Slicer Next Complete Guide: Every Setting for Kobra 3, ACE Multi-Material, and Beyond

Introduction

Anycubic Slicer Next is Anycubic's next-generation slicing software, built to support their latest printer lineup including the Kobra 3 series with ACE multi-material system, the S1 high-speed printers, and the upcoming S2 Pro. It shares DNA with Bambu Studio and PrusaSlicer but adds deep integration with Anycubic's ecosystem: automatic printer detection, cloud printing, multi-material management for the ACE system, and hardware-specific optimizations for Anycubic printers. This guide covers every setting and feature in Anycubic Slicer Next, from the unique multi-material workflows for the ACE Pro to the advanced slicing parameters that optimize print quality on every Anycubic printer model.

Step 1: Installation and Account Setup

Download Anycubic Slicer Next from anycubic.com or the Anycubic app store.
Install for Windows, macOS, or Linux.
Launch and create or sign in to your Anycubic account.
The account syncs printer profiles, filaments, and print history across devices.

Account benefits:

Cloud print history and statistics
Remote printer monitoring via the Anycubic cloud
Filament profile sharing with the community
Automatic firmware update notifications

Step 2: Printer Selection and Profile Setup

Adding a printer:

Settings > Printer > Add Printer
Select your Anycubic model:

Kobra 3 / Kobra 3 V2: Full ACE multi-material support, 600 mm/s high speed, input shaping built-in
Kobra 3 Max: Large format (350x350x450 mm), single extruder
Kobra S1 / S1 Combo: High-speed direct drive, 300 mm/s, compact
Kobra 2 series: Up to 500 mm/s with LeviQ 3.0 auto-leveling
Kobra Neo/Go: Entry-level, manual bed leveling
Vyper: Older model with auto-leveling
Custom: Manual profile creation for non-Anycubic printers

Printer-specific auto-configurations:

Anycubic Slicer Next auto-sets these based on your printer model:

Bed size and shape
Max speeds and accelerations
Retraction settings (direct drive vs Bowden)
Input shaper frequencies (if applicable)
Pressure advance values (if applicable)
Start/end G-code optimized for Anycubic firmware

Step 3: The Interface — Complete Tour

Top navigation:

Prepare: Model import, arrangement, orientation, supports
Preview: Sliced G-code visualization with layer slider
Device: Printer connection and monitoring (USB, Wi-Fi, Cloud)
History: Past print jobs with success/failure tracking

Left toolbar (Prepare view):

Add Model: Import STL, 3MF, OBJ, STEP
Multi-Material Import: Import multi-part models for ACE printing
Auto-Arrange: Smart arrangement with spacing optimization
Auto-Orient: Rotates models for optimal support and surface quality
Split: Separate multi-body STLs
Cut: Slice models at a plane
Mesh Repair: Fix non-manifold geometry
Support Painter: Manual support area painting
Per-Model Settings: Different settings for each object on the plate

Right panel — Settings tabs:

Quality: Layer height, line width, walls, top/bottom
Strength: Infill, walls, overlap
Speed: All speed and acceleration controls
Support: Support generation, tree supports, interface
Other: Bridges, thin walls, advanced options
Filament: Temperature, flow, cooling, pressure advance
Multi-Material: ACE-specific settings (purge volumes, tool changes)

Step 4: Quality Tab — Every Setting

Layer Height

Range: 0.04-0.32 mm (machine-dependent)
Kobra 3/S1 presets: 0.08 (Ultra Detail), 0.12 (Detail), 0.2 (Standard), 0.24 (Draft), 0.28 (Fast)
Adaptive layer height: Automatically varies layer height based on surface curvature. Steep curves get fine layers, flat areas get thick layers. Reduces print time while maintaining surface quality.

Line Width

Auto (0.4 mm for 0.4 mm nozzle) or manual override
First layer: 0.42-0.45 mm for extra bed adhesion
External walls: Can be set independently for finer surface detail

Wall Generator

Classic: Fixed-width lines. Reliable.
Arachne: Variable line width that fills gaps perfectly. Recommended for Anycubic printers.

Wall Loops

2-5 loops. 3 is standard for Kobra 3 series.
Extra perimeters on overhangs: Adds extra wall lines on overhanging areas to improve unsupported surface quality.

Top/Bottom Layers and Pattern

Top: 3-6 layers. Pattern: Monotonic (smooth) or Concentric.
Bottom: 2-3 layers.
Ironing: Final top-layer smoothing pass. Flow: 10-15%. Speed: 20 mm/s. Spacing: 0.1 mm.

Seam Position

Nearest, Aligned, Rear, Random, Contiguous
Scarf Joint: Experimental diagonal seam that makes the layer start/stop nearly invisible.

XY Compensation and Elephant Foot

Contour compensation for dimensional accuracy
Elephant foot compensation: reduces first layer flare (0.1-0.2 mm typical)

Step 5: Strength Tab — Every Setting

Infill

Density: 0-100%. Presets: Light (10%), Standard (20%), Strong (30%), Solid (100%).
Pattern: Gyroid, Adaptive Cubic, Grid, Triangles, Honeycomb, Line, Lightning.
Lightning infill: Generates sparse tree-like internal supports instead of full infill. Incredibly fast, sufficient for non-structural parts. The interior is mostly hollow with branches connecting to supported surfaces.

Infill/Wall Overlap

15-25%. Controls how firmly infill bonds to perimeter walls.

Wall Sequence

Inner/Outer/Inner: Best surface quality
Inner/Outer: Good balance
Outer/Inner: Best for overhangs (outer wall prints first while inner is still cooling)

Step 6: Speed Tab — Every Setting

Kobra 3 V2 Speed Presets:

Silent: 150 mm/s max, quiet operation
Standard: 300 mm/s max, balanced quality and speed
Sport: 500 mm/s max, fast printing with good quality
Ludicrous: 600 mm/s max, maximum speed. Requires perfect input shaping and PA calibration.

Speed controls:

External walls: 100-200 mm/s (slow for surface quality)
Internal walls: 200-400 mm/s
Infill: 300-600 mm/s (speed limited by max volumetric flow)
Top surface: 50-100 mm/s (slow for smoothness)
First layer: 20-30 mm/s (slow for adhesion)
Travel: 300-600 mm/s

Acceleration:

Kobra 3: up to 20000 mm/s2 on infill, 5000-10000 mm/s2 on walls
Auto-adjusted by the Sport/Ludicrous presets

Jerk:

Controls direction change smoothness. Higher = faster direction changes but more vibration.

Step 7: Support Tab — Every Setting

Support Type

Tree (Auto): Organic branching supports. Best for most Anycubic prints.
Tree (Manual): Paint support areas with the support brush.
Normal: Traditional vertical supports. Grid or snug pattern.

Tree Support Parameters

Branch angle: 40-60 degrees
Tip diameter: 2-4 mm
Branch diameter: 3-6 mm

Support Interface

Interface layers: 2-3
Top Z distance: 0.1-0.2 mm
Interface pattern: Rectilinear or concentric

Support Painting

Click the support brush in the left toolbar
Paint green where supports are needed
Paint red where supports are blocked

Overhang Threshold

45-60 degrees. Lower = more supports generated.

Step 8: Filament Tab — Every Setting

Temperature

Nozzle: Material-specific (PLA 200-220C, PETG 230-250C, etc.)
Bed: Material-specific (PLA 60C, PETG 80C, ABS 110C)

Flow Ratio

1.0 default. Calibrate with the built-in flow test.

Pressure Advance (for Klipper-based printers like Kobra 3)

PLA: 0.02-0.04
PETG: 0.04-0.06
TPU: 0.08-0.15
Use the built-in calibration tower to find the exact value.

Max Volumetric Speed

Kobra 3 stock hotend: 20-25 mm3/s
Upgraded hotend: 30-40 mm3/s
This limits print speed to prevent under-extrusion.

Retraction

Kobra 3 (direct drive): 0.5-1.0 mm, 25-35 mm/s
Kobra 2 (Bowden): 4-6 mm, 25-35 mm/s
Z-hop: 0.2-0.4 mm
Wipe: 1-2 mm

Cooling

Fan speed: Material-dependent
Smart cooling: Anycubic Slicer Next adjusts fan speed based on layer time automatically.

Step 9: Multi-Material Tab (ACE System)

The Multi-Material tab appears when a multi-material-capable printer (Kobra 3 with ACE) is selected.

Filament Assignment

Assign model parts to ACE material slots (1-4 or 1-8)
Each slot can have different filament types, colors, or brands

Purge Volume (Color Change Flushing)

Controls how much filament is purged during color changes
Light to Dark: 200-300 mm3 (less flushing needed)
Dark to Light: 400-800 mm3 (more flushing to avoid color contamination)
Auto-calculate: Anycubic Slicer Next estimates purge volumes based on color difference

Purge Tower / Prime Tower

Enabled for multi-material prints
Automatically positioned on the build plate
Size adjusts based on the number of color changes

Loading and Unloading Speeds

Optimized for the ACE Pro's loading mechanism
Faster than manual changes but requires tuning for flexible filaments

Multi-Material Import

Import a multi-body 3MF or a folder of STLs
Each body/part can be assigned to a different material slot
Anycubic Slicer Next generates the color change sequences automatically

Step 10: Calibration Tools

Anycubic Slicer Next includes calibration tools accessed from the Calibration menu:

Pressure Advance Calibration:

Generates a tower with varying PA values
Print, identify best value, enter into filament profile

Flow Rate Calibration:

Single-wall cube test
Measure wall thickness, adjust flow ratio

Max Volumetric Speed:

Speed tower at increasing flow rates
Find the maximum before under-extrusion

Temperature Tower:

Multi-section tower with different temperatures
Evaluate bridging, overhangs, surface quality

Retraction Test:

Two-tower stringing test
Optimize retraction distance and speed

Step 11: Cloud Printing and Remote Management

Connecting your printer:

Ensure your Anycubic printer is on the same Wi-Fi network
Device > Add Printer > Search
Select your printer from the list
Verify the connection with a test print

Cloud features:

Remote start: Start prints from anywhere via the cloud
Live camera: Monitor prints remotely (on camera-equipped printers)
Print history: Track success rates, filament usage, print times
Firmware updates: One-click firmware updates pushed through the cloud

Offline printing (LAN mode):

Send files directly over local network without cloud
Faster upload, no internet dependency
Required for printers on isolated networks

Step 12: Preview, Export, and Print

Preview mode:

Layer-by-layer slider
Color-coded line types (walls, infill, support, travel)
Click any line to see speed, flow, and time data
Estimated total time and filament weight

Export options:

Send to Printer: Direct Wi-Fi upload
Upload to Cloud: Store for remote printing
Export G-code: Save to SD card or USB
Save Project (3MF): Save everything for later

Advanced Features Worth Knowing

Per-Object and Modifier Settings: right-click any object on the plate to override global settings just for that part — different infill density, wall count, or even a different material assignment than the rest of the plate. Genuinely useful when printing a batch of mixed-purpose parts (a display piece next to a functional bracket) in one job rather than running them as separate prints.

Sequential Printing: for plates with multiple small, well-separated objects, enable sequential mode to print each one to completion before starting the next, rather than printing all objects layer-by-layer together. This removes the risk of one failed part taking the whole plate down with it, at the cost of needing enough Z clearance for the gantry to clear already-finished prints.

Camera Monitoring and Print Detection: Kobra 3 series printers with the onboard camera support live remote monitoring through the Anycubic app, and can flag obvious print failures (spaghetti, detached prints) for a remote pause — worth enabling for any print you're not going to be physically present for.

Custom G-code Macros: Printer Settings lets you inject custom G-code snippets at specific points (start, end, layer change, color change) — useful for things like a custom LED lighting cue at print start, or a specific parking position at print end for easier part removal.

Auto-Arrange and Auto-Orient: the arrange tool packs multiple objects onto the plate efficiently respecting minimum spacing, and auto-orient analyzes a model's geometry to suggest the rotation that minimizes support material — both genuinely save time over manual placement for plates with more than a couple of objects.

Tips for Anycubic Slicer Next

Use the built-in printer profiles. Anycubic profiles are extensively tested. Start with the profile and adjust only what you need.
Run all calibrations for new filament. The built-in calibration suite saves hours of trial and error.
Enable adaptive layer height for curved parts. It maintains surface quality while reducing print time significantly.
Use tree supports with manual painting. Paint only the areas that truly need support. Less material, faster prints, cleaner surfaces.
Set max volumetric speed correctly. The Kobra 3 hotend maxes out around 25 mm3/s. Setting this prevents the slicer from generating speeds your hotend cannot handle.
Use ironing for visible top surfaces. The difference is immediately visible.
Save projects as 3MF. The project file stores everything: models, positions, settings, material assignments. Reopen months later and print an exact duplicate.
Keep firmware updated. Anycubic pushes firmware improvements frequently. Updated firmware often improves print quality and speed.
Use LAN mode for large files. Cloud upload can be slow for large multi-material projects. LAN mode is faster and more reliable.

Conclusion

Anycubic Slicer Next is a fully mature slicer that leverages the strengths of the PrusaSlicer/Bambu Studio foundation while adding deep integration with Anycubic's printer ecosystem. The ACE multi-material workflow is its standout feature — automatic color management, intelligent purge volume calculation, and seamless 3MF project handling make multi-color printing accessible rather than intimidating. The built-in calibration tools, cloud connectivity, and hardware-optimized profiles mean less time tuning and more time printing. For Anycubic printer owners, it is the definitive slicer choice. For non-Anycubic users, the core slicing engine is still competitive but the unique features — particularly multi-material and cloud printing — are what justify the choice.

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