Anycubic Slicer Next Guide: Setup, ACE Multicolor, Tips
Anycubic Slicer Next is Anycubic's slicer for its own printers. It is a fork of OrcaSlicer, so anyone who has used Orca or Bambu Studio will find the layout familiar. It adds Anycubic printer profiles, ACE multi-color support and Anycubic's cloud features. This guide covers setup, the settings that matter and the ACE workflow, and it marks anything that depends on your version or printer.
Quick start
- Download Slicer Next from anycubic.com/slicerNextDownload and install it.
- Choose your printer in the setup wizard and keep the matching filament profile.
- Import a model, slice, and check the preview.
- Send the job over your network, or export G-code and print from USB.
Step 1: Install
Download the installer for your operating system from Anycubic's site, not from third-party mirrors. Check the download page for current system requirements. An Anycubic account is only needed for cloud features such as remote monitoring; local slicing and exporting work without one.
Step 2: Choose your printer
Pick your model in the printer selection screen. Profiles exist for current Anycubic printers; availability varies by version, so update the app if your model is missing. Check these facts against your own printer's spec sheet rather than assuming:
- Kobra 3 and Kobra 3 V2: single-extruder printers that use the ACE Pro for multi-color.
- Kobra 3 Max: large-format, 420 × 420 × 500 mm.
- Kobra S1: enclosed CoreXY, 250 × 250 × 250 mm.
- Kobra 2 Pro: uses LeviQ 2.0 auto-leveling.
Printers not made by Anycubic can be added as custom profiles, but expect to build the machine settings yourself.
Step 3: Slicer Next versus OrcaSlicer
Because Slicer Next is based on OrcaSlicer, most settings behave the same way: Quality, Strength, Speed, Support and Others tabs, Arachne walls, tree supports, adaptive layer height and the calibration menu. Anycubic's version ships with Anycubic profiles and ACE handling. OrcaSlicer is updated independently, so features in the newest Orca release may not appear in Slicer Next yet. For detailed explanations of the shared settings, see the OrcaSlicer settings guide on this site.
Step 4: Core print settings
- Layer height: smaller for detail, larger for speed. The printer profile provides sensible presets.
- Walls: use Arachne unless you have a reason not to. Add walls for strength.
- Top and bottom layers: enough solid layers to close the surface without pillowing.
- Seam: choose a position that hides it, or use the scarf options if your version has them.
- Infill: choose density and pattern for the job. Gyroid and cubic are common choices.
- Ironing: optional smoothing pass for flat top surfaces; adds print time.
Step 5: Speed and acceleration
Start with the printer profile's speeds. Raise them only after you have calibrated flow, pressure advance and input shaping on your own machine. High speeds are limited by the hotend's maximum volumetric flow, so under-extrusion at speed means the hotend is the bottleneck, not a slicer bug.
Step 6: Supports
Tree supports use less material and are easier to remove on organic shapes. Normal supports suit flat undersides. Use support painting to add enforcers or blockers where the automatic result isn't right. A smaller top Z distance gives a cleaner surface but is harder to remove.
Step 7: Filament settings
Use the profile for your filament type and brand as a start. Then calibrate:
- Temperature: adjust in small steps using a temperature tower.
- Flow ratio: run the flow calibration and apply the result.
- Pressure advance: run the pressure advance calibration for your printer and filament.
- Max volumetric speed: find your limit with the calibration test.
- Retraction: direct-drive and Bowden printers need very different values; start from the printer profile.
Step 8: ACE multi-color
Printers that support ACE show multi-material options in the slicer once the printer is selected.
- Assign filaments to the ACE slots and set the colors in the filament list.
- Paint or assign colors to parts of the model, or import a multi-part 3MF.
- Slicer Next adds a prime or purge tower for color changes. Tune flush volumes if you see color bleed, using larger values when changing from dark to light.
- Compatibility depends on the unit: the ACE Pro works with the Kobra 3 series, while some newer printers, such as the Kobra S1 Max, need the ACE 2 Pro. Check Anycubic's compatibility information for your printer.
Flexible filaments don't feed reliably through multi-filament units; load them directly when possible.
Step 9: Calibration tools
The Calibration menu contains tests for temperature, flow rate, pressure advance, max volumetric speed and retraction. Run them in that order for a new filament, and save results into the filament profile. See the OrcaSlicer guide for how each test works.
Step 10: Sending the print
Sending over Wi-Fi requires the printer and computer to be on the same network and the printer to be added in the Device tab. You can always export G-code and print from USB. Cloud features need an Anycubic account and may vary by printer and firmware.
Troubleshooting common problems
- Printer not found: confirm both devices are on the same network, then try adding it by IP address.
- Profile missing: update Slicer Next, or use a custom profile.
- Color bleed in ACE prints: increase flush volumes.
- Filament jams in the ACE: check tension and filament path, and see the ACE Pro tension guide on this site.
- Under-extrusion at speed: lower speed or recalibrate max volumetric speed.
- Stringing: dry filament first, then tune temperature and retraction.
Tips
- Start with the official profile and change one thing at a time.
- Calibrate each new filament once and save the result.
- Save projects as 3MF to keep models, settings and color assignments together.
- Keep both the slicer and printer firmware up to date.
Version note
Slicer Next version numbers and features change often, and public sources disagree on the current release number. Check Anycubic's download page for the current version, and confirm menu names in your installed copy.