A tap on your phone
The print waits for you at kiln3d.com/monitor. Open it on your phone and tap Approve. Kiln has to be signed in on the computer it runs on.
Kiln for OpenClaw
Text your 3D printer.
Add Kiln to your OpenClaw agent and ask for a print the way you would ask a friend, from Telegram or any chat app your agent is on. Kiln designs it, checks it will print, and runs it on your own printer.
What it looks like
Two people, two printers: a Bambu Lab A1 Mini and a Prusa Mini.
What texting your printer looks like
You talk to your own agent. Kiln is the part that knows printers.
An example conversation
Can you make me a coaster with a honeycomb pattern?
Here it is. It fits your printer and passed the print check. Want me to print it?
Yes
It’s waiting for your OK. Tap Approve in Kiln on your phone.
You tap Approve
Printing. I’ll tell you when it’s done.
- Ask in your own words. “A hook for my headphones.” “Print that bracket again.” “How long is left?”
- See it before it exists. You are shown the model before anything prints, and Kiln says so if something will not print well.
- Hear how it went. Your agent can watch the print and message you when it finishes, or if something looks wrong.
What Kiln adds
OpenClaw can write the code. Kiln turns it into a part.
The same job both ways, from a description to a part on your printer.
| Step | OpenClaw on its own | OpenClaw with Kiln |
|---|---|---|
| Make it | Writes CAD code. Seeing the shape takes a CAD program on your computer. | Kiln builds the model and hands you a link that opens it in 3D. |
| Check it | A problem shows up in the slicer, or partway through the print. | Kiln checks overhangs, thin walls, warping risk, and whether it fits your printer, before anything prints. |
| Change it | Ask again and get new code. Keeping track of which version was better is on you. | Ask for a change in the same chat, and Kiln keeps every try tied to what you first asked for. Pro makes it Git for 3D: what changed, drawn on the part, and a branch for the risky idea. |
| Slice it | Export the file, open your slicer, and pick the settings. | Kiln slices it in the slicer you already have: PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer, or Bambu Studio. |
| Print it | Send the file to your printer yourself. | OpenClaw sends it to your printer, and it starts only after you say yes. |
| Watch it | Check on it in the printer’s own app. | Kiln watches every print it starts and stops it if a heater fails. Watch it live on kiln3d.com/monitor, with the camera, progress, and pause and stop, or ask OpenClaw how it’s going. |
| More printers | You run each one yourself. | Business runs several at once and picks the printer for each job. Free and Pro drive one at a time. |
The camera shows when your printer has one. A print can still fail, with Kiln or without it; Kiln catches what it can see before the print starts, and asks before it uses your plastic.
Set it up
If you already text an OpenClaw agent, this is one message.
Have an OpenClaw agent you can message
OpenClaw is an AI agent that runs on your own computer and answers you in a chat app. If you do not have one yet, OpenClaw’s own guides cover it: getting started and connecting Telegram.
Tell it to install Kiln
Send your agent a message like this one:
Install Kiln from ClawHub and connect it to my 3D printer.
Kiln is listed on ClawHub, OpenClaw’s skill registry. Your agent sets Kiln up on the computer it runs on. Kiln’s own instructions tell it to ask you before it installs anything.
Prefer to type it yourself?
On the computer your OpenClaw runs on:
openclaw skills install @codeofaxel/kilnThen install Kiln itself by following the install guide.
Point it at your printer
Kiln has to run on a computer that can reach the printer, on the same network or by USB. Ask your agent to find your printer, or tell it the brand and model. See the printers Kiln works with.
Text it what you want
Describe the object, or send a file. Kiln designs or checks it, shows you a preview, and asks for your OK before the printer starts.
Before it prints, Kiln asks you
A print uses real plastic on a real machine, so your agent cannot start one alone. Kiln shows you the model, then waits for a yes that only a person can give.
A prompt in your chat
When your setup can show Kiln’s approval prompt, you answer it right where you are talking.
Yes for a while
Say yes for the next two hours or the rest of today, and Kiln prints on that printer without asking again until then. You can end it early.
If neither the tap nor the prompt is available, Kiln shows a four-digit code on the screen of the computer it runs on, and you type it into the chat. Kiln never gives that code to your agent. There is also auto-print, a setting you turn on yourself. It is off unless you turn it on.
Questions
Can OpenClaw 3D print?
Yes, with Kiln. Describe a part in OpenClaw; Kiln designs it, checks it will print, and hands back a link that opens it in 3D in your browser. Kiln runs on the computer next to your printer, so OpenClaw can send the print there, and you approve it.
Can OpenClaw make 3D models?
Yes. With Kiln connected, OpenClaw turns a plain description into a real 3D model you can turn over, measure and change in the same chat, then print or download. No CAD skills needed.
What does Kiln add to OpenClaw?
OpenClaw can write the code for a 3D model. Kiln builds it, hands you a link that opens it in 3D, checks it will print (overhangs, thin walls, warping, and whether it fits your printer), slices it in your own slicer, and sends it to your printer after you say yes.
Which model works best with Kiln in OpenClaw?
Whichever is most capable among the models your agent can run. Kiln does the checking and the printing; the model does the thinking, so a stronger model means better designs and fewer retries.
How do I connect OpenClaw to my 3D printer?
Tell your OpenClaw agent to install Kiln; it is on ClawHub, and the agent sets it up on the computer it runs on. The setup steps on this page take a few minutes.
Is Kiln a Telegram bot?
No. The bot you text is your own OpenClaw agent. Kiln is a skill that agent uses to design, check and print on your 3D printer.
Will it print without asking me?
No. Kiln shows you the model, then waits for your yes before every print. You can say yes for the next two hours or the rest of the day so it stops asking for a while, and you can turn on auto-print yourself. Auto-print is off unless you turn it on.
Does it work with WhatsApp, Discord or iMessage?
Kiln talks to your OpenClaw agent, not to the chat app. Whichever chat apps your OpenClaw is connected to, you ask the same way.
Does my computer have to stay on?
Yes. OpenClaw and Kiln both run on your own computer, and Kiln reaches the printer from there. If that computer is off or asleep, nothing can print.
Can someone else text my printer?
By default OpenClaw answers only people you have approved, and Kiln still waits for a yes before each print.
Which printers does it work with?
The same ones Kiln works with everywhere else. The full list is on the supported printers page.