The honest pipeline for getting a model from your phone onto the print bed — which apps actually deliver a file to the printer, and where the slicing has to happen.
Updated November 7, 2026 · Published by Forma3D
Open your STL or 3MF in Forma3D: repair non-manifold geometry, rescale in millimeters, split oversized parts, or paint faces for multi-color. Then export — the file lands in the Files app under On My iPhone, ready for any of the paths below.
Printers run sliced G-code (or project files like .3mf/.gcode.3mf), not STL meshes. On a desktop this is what a slicer does. On iPhone there is no full native slicer — so every path below answers the same question differently: where does the slicing happen?
Cloud slicers answer it best: MakerWorld print profiles, Prusa Connect's EasyPrint, and Creality Cloud all slice remotely. Kiri:Moto slices right in Safari. USB and SD card paths mean you slice elsewhere and copy the G-code.
Open makerworld.com in Safari, sign in, and upload the STL/3MF as a private model. It appears in Bambu Handy on the same phone — pick a print profile and send it to the printer. Slicing happens in Bambu's cloud via the profile.
Full walkthrough: upload models to MakerWorld from iPhone.
If the printer is linked to Prusa Connect (PrusaLink on MK4-series, Core One, XL), upload the STL in the Connect web app from Safari and let EasyPrint slice it in the cloud — then send straight to the printer queue. The closest open-source answer to the Bambu pipeline.
With a Raspberry Pi running OctoPrint or Klipper (Mainsail/Fluidd), the companion apps (OctoPod, Obico, OctoApp) upload files and start prints from the phone. Mainsail/Fluidd also upload directly in Safari.
Creality Cloud has built-in cloud slicing: upload the model in the app or browser, it slices for your K-series/Ender printer profile and sends it to print. The ecosystem is buggier than Bambu's, but the phone-only chain is real.
USB-C iPhones and iPads write to flash drives and SD card readers natively through Files. Older Lightning devices need a Lightning card reader. Copy the G-code over — remember the printer cannot read STL — then plug it into the printer.
Everything stays on the iPhone: edit and repair in Forma3D → upload to MakerWorld → send from Bambu Handy → watch the camera. For non-Bambu printers the equivalent is: Forma3D → slice in Kiri:Moto (Safari) → upload G-code via your printer's app or web interface.
Almost never — printers run sliced G-code or project files, not raw STL. On iPhone the slicing happens in the cloud: MakerWorld print profiles for Bambu, EasyPrint for Prusa Connect, or Creality Cloud. For your own STL, slice it with Kiri:Moto in Safari, or upload to a service that slices for you.
Bambu path: upload the model to MakerWorld in Safari, pick a print profile, and send from Bambu Handy on the same phone — cloud handles slicing. Prusa path: upload in Prusa Connect and let EasyPrint slice in the browser.
Use a USB-C flash drive or an SD card reader (USB-C iPhones and iPads work natively, Lightning devices need a Lightning card reader). Copy the G-code file in the Files app — but slice it first, since printers can't read STL.
Yes — every method on this page works identically on iPad. Safari uploads, Files copy, Bambu Handy, OctoPrint apps and Prusa Connect all behave the same way.
Available on iPhone and iPad