Slicing, materials and profiles

The plugin can slice on the printer with a built-in copy of OrcaSlicer, so you can go from a CommunityCAD model to a print without a computer.

Slicing is optional and needs a 64-bit OS (Raspberry Pi OS / Debian 12 or newer) on a Pi 4 or Pi 5. Install it separately; see Installing.

What to expect: a typical slice takes tens of seconds on a Pi 4, using most of its processor and up to about 1 GB of memory. Larger or more detailed models take longer. Slicing is only allowed while the printer is idle, so it never competes with a running print.

Projects and plates#

Projects works like Orca's home screen. Projects are saved in ~/printer_data/projects, and models waiting to be sliced in ~/printer_data/models; both are kept if you uninstall. Open a model from Models on the printer or a model page, then on the plate:

• lay on face, rotate, and move (with snapping);
• arrange several objects with even spacing;
• choose the material and print profile, and adjust process settings;
• Slice, then Preview the toolpaths layer by layer with the slider.

After slicing, Send saves the G-code to your printer's files, or Print plate starts it (with confirmation). Sliced files are never overwritten; each slice gets its own file.

Not on the printer: scaling, mirroring, cutting and support painting stay in desktop OrcaSlicer.

Quick print#

Quick print on a model page slices with your last material and the default profile, then asks you to confirm the print. Models that need more than one plate open in the slicer instead.

Pause or change filament at a layer#

Add a pause or filament change at any layer from the preview. It's saved in the project (compatible with Orca) and uses your printer's M600 or PAUSE macro; the plugin checks the macro exists first.

When you can slice#

One slice at a time, and not while the printer is printing. That's planned for a later version.

Printer facts#

Most of what the slicer needs is read from your printer.cfg: build volume, kinematics, speed and acceleration limits, nozzle and extruder. A few things can't be read from it, so you add them yourself:

The plugin's printer card (Settings) shows which facts are missing and the exact lines to add, with a copy button. Add them to printer.cfg in Mainsail or Fluidd, save, and restart Klipper:

[gcode_macro _COMMUNITYCAD]
description: Printer facts for the CommunityCAD slicer (not a command)
variable_bed_surface: "textured_pei"
variable_hotend: "revo_voron_40w"
variable_part_cooling: "stock"
gcode:

Keep the quotes around text values; Klipper won't start with a value it can't read. The macro only holds settings and does nothing if run. Missing facts are fine: the slicer uses a safe default (a textured PEI bed, for example) and says so. The plugin never edits printer.cfg itself.

Materials#

Settings → Materials holds your filaments: type, colour, temperatures, cooling and so on. They're saved in materials.cfg next to your printer.cfg, so you can back them up or edit them by hand.

Print profiles#

Settings → Print profiles holds layer height, walls, infill, supports, speeds and the rest:

• Orca's default profiles are read-only. You can hide ones you don't use and restore them later.
• Your own profiles are saved in print_profiles.cfg next to your printer.cfg.
• Speeds and accelerations are capped at your printer's max_velocity and max_accel.

Both editors have a Simple view, grouped into sections with icons, tooltips and units, and an Advanced view with every setting. The plugin remembers your choice in each browser.

Importing from and exporting to OrcaSlicer#

• Import Orca presets as .json, a .zip, .orca_printer or .orca_filament.
• Export materials and profiles to use as user presets in desktop Orca.

For safety, post-processing scripts (post_process) are never imported or used.

Licenses#

OrcaSlicer is a separate program under the AGPL-3.0 license. The installer downloads it from its official release; it isn't part of the plugin's own code.