Place the ACE Pro on a stable surface next to the Kobra 3, on the printer’s left side. Anycubic specifies the left position because of how the PTFE tube and hub are laid out; the right side can cause uneven feeding. Leave room for the spool doors to open fully and for the tube to reach the printer without a sharp bend.
Connect the ACE Pro to the Kobra 3 with the printer powered off. Attach the signal and power cable, then route the PTFE tube from the ACE Pro’s output to the printer’s inlet, keeping the curve smooth and clear of moving parts. Power on the printer and check that the ACE Pro appears on the touchscreen or in the app before loading any filament.
Load one spool at a time into an open slot. Confirm the spool width sits within the ACE Pro’s supported range of 60 to 68 mm; anything outside that range will not seat properly in the holder. Push the filament tip into the inlet until the feeder grabs it, then check that the slot registers the spool. If the filament has Anycubic’s intelligent identification, the ACE Pro should read material and color on its own. If it does not, set both manually so the Kobra 3 slices with the right profile.
One ACE Pro gives four color slots. A second unit extends that to eight, but eight-color printing only works with filaments carrying synced intelligent identification across both units, so check that before committing a multi-spool print. The ACE Pro cannot dry filament or feed the printer by itself. It only runs while connected to a powered-on Kobra 3.
Everything here assumes the Kobra 3 itself is already set up and ready to print, covered in the Kobra 3 setup guide if that step is still pending. Once the ACE Pro is connected and recognized, loading a spool follows the same care as loading filament directly into the printer, and keeping spools dry between prints is covered in the general guide to filament storage.