3D Printing Glossary
Plain English definitions of 62 common 3D printing terms, from auto bed leveling to Z offset.
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- 3MF
- A modern 3D model file format that can store colors, materials, multiple objects and print settings in one file. Many slicers now prefer it over STL.
A
- ABS
- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. A tough, heat resistant filament that warps easily and releases fumes, so it prints best in an enclosure. See the Material Guide.
- ASA
- A filament similar to ABS but with much better UV and weather resistance, making it a common choice for outdoor parts.
- Auto bed leveling
- A sensor that probes the print bed at several points and lets the printer compensate for small dips and tilts. It makes a reliable first layer far easier.
B
- Bed adhesion
- How well the first layer sticks to the build plate. Poor adhesion causes prints to lift, warp or detach during printing.
- Bowden extruder
- An extruder mounted on the frame that pushes filament through a long PTFE tube to the hotend. It keeps the print head light but handles flexible filament less well.
- Bridging
- Printing a horizontal span between two supports with nothing underneath. Good cooling and the right speed keep bridges straight.
- Brim
- A few flat loops printed around the base of a model and attached to it. It increases contact area to reduce warping and is trimmed off afterward.
- Build plate
- The surface the model is printed on. Common types include textured PEI, smooth PEI, glass and magnetic spring steel sheets.
- Build volume
- The largest size a printer can produce, given as width by depth by height in millimeters.
C
- Calibration
- Tuning settings such as flow, temperature, retraction and Z offset so the printer produces accurate, clean parts.
- CoreXY
- A motion system where two motors work together to move the print head in X and Y while the bed only moves in Z. It allows high speeds with good accuracy.
D
- Direct drive
- An extruder mounted directly on the print head, close to the hotend. It gives precise control and handles flexible filaments well.
E
- E-steps
- The number of motor steps needed to push one millimeter of filament. Calibrating it ensures the extruder feeds the right amount.
- Elephant's foot
- A bulge at the bottom layers of a print where they spread outward. It is usually caused by a bed that is too hot or a nozzle set too close to the bed.
- Enclosure
- A cabinet or box around the printer that keeps heat in and drafts out. Important for ABS, ASA, nylon and polycarbonate.
- Extruder
- The mechanism that grips and pushes filament into the hotend at a controlled rate.
F
- FDM
- Fused Deposition Modeling, also called FFF. The most common type of 3D printing, where melted plastic filament is laid down layer by layer.
- FEP film
- The clear, non stick film at the bottom of a resin vat. Light passes through it to cure each layer, and it wears out over time.
- Filament
- The plastic wire, usually 1.75 mm thick, that FDM printers melt to build parts.
- Filament dryer
- A heated box that removes absorbed moisture from filament. Wet filament causes stringing, bubbles and weak parts.
- Firmware
- The software running on the printer board that controls motors, heaters and sensors. Popular examples include Marlin and Klipper.
- First layer
- The bottom layer of a print. Getting it right is the single biggest factor in print success.
G
- G-code
- The text instructions a slicer generates and a printer follows, telling it where to move, how fast and how much to extrude.
- Ghosting
- Faint repeated ripples on a surface next to sharp corners, caused by vibration. Also called ringing. Input shaping greatly reduces it.
H
- Heat creep
- Heat traveling up into the cold part of the hotend, softening filament too early and causing jams. Common with PLA in hot rooms.
- Heated bed
- A build plate that warms up to help the first layers stick and to reduce warping.
- Hotend
- The part that melts filament. It includes the heater, temperature sensor, heat break, heat sink and nozzle.
I
- Infill
- The internal structure inside a print. Percentage and pattern affect strength, weight and print time.
- Input shaping
- A firmware feature that measures and cancels printer vibrations, allowing faster printing without ghosting.
K
- Klipper
- A popular printer firmware that runs heavy calculations on a separate computer, enabling advanced features and high speeds.
L
- Layer height
- The thickness of each printed layer. Smaller values give smoother surfaces but take longer. 0.2 mm is a common default.
- Layer shift
- A defect where part of a print is offset sideways from the layers below, usually from a collision, loose belt or skipped motor steps.
- Lithophane
- A thin printed image that reveals a photo when light shines through it, created by varying the thickness.
M
- MSLA
- Masked Stereolithography. A resin printing method that uses an LCD screen to cure an entire layer at once. Most consumer resin printers use it.
- Multi material system
- An add on or built in unit that feeds several filaments automatically, allowing multi color or multi material prints.
N
- Nozzle
- The small brass, steel or hardened tip that filament exits from. 0.4 mm is the standard size.
O
- Overhang
- Part of a model that extends outward over empty space. Angles beyond about 45 degrees usually need supports.
P
- PEI
- Polyetherimide. A popular build plate coating that grips prints when hot and releases them once cooled.
- Perimeters
- The outer walls of each layer. More perimeters make parts stronger than adding more infill.
- PETG
- A tough, slightly flexible filament with better heat and impact resistance than PLA. Easy to print, though it can string.
- PLA
- Polylactic Acid. The most popular filament: easy to print, low warping and available in countless colors, but it softens at low temperatures.
- Pressure advance
- A firmware feature that adjusts extrusion pressure during speed changes, giving sharper corners and more even lines. Called linear advance in Marlin.
R
- Raft
- A thick base printed under a model to improve adhesion on difficult materials or uneven beds.
- Resin
- A liquid photopolymer that hardens under UV light. Used in SLA and MSLA printers for highly detailed parts.
- Retraction
- Pulling filament back slightly before the print head travels, to prevent oozing and stringing.
S
- Skirt
- A loop printed around a model without touching it, used to prime the nozzle before the real print starts.
- SLA
- Stereolithography. Resin printing that uses a laser to trace and cure each layer.
- Slicer
- Software that turns a 3D model into G-code layers. Examples include Cura, PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio.
- STL
- The most common 3D model file format. It describes only the surface shape as triangles, with no color or settings.
- Stringing
- Thin hairs of plastic between separate parts of a print, caused by oozing during travel moves.
- Supports
- Temporary structures that hold up overhangs during printing and are removed afterward.
T
- Thermal runaway protection
- A safety feature that shuts down the heaters if temperatures stop behaving as expected. Every printer should have it enabled.
- TPU
- Thermoplastic Polyurethane. A flexible, rubber like filament used for gaskets, phone cases and grips.
- Tree supports
- Branching supports that touch the model at fewer points, saving material and leaving cleaner surfaces.
U
- Under extrusion
- Not enough plastic coming out of the nozzle, leaving gaps, weak layers or thin walls.
- UV curing
- Exposing a washed resin print to UV light so it fully hardens and reaches its final strength.
V
- Vat
- The tank that holds liquid resin in a resin printer.
- Volumetric flow rate
- How much plastic a hotend can melt per second, in cubic millimeters. It sets the real speed limit of a printer.
W
- Warping
- Corners or edges lifting off the bed as plastic cools and shrinks. Common with ABS, ASA and nylon.
Z
- Z hop
- Lifting the nozzle slightly before travel moves so it does not drag across the printed surface.
- Z offset
- The fine adjustment of the gap between the nozzle and the bed. It is the key setting for a good first layer.
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Want to put these terms into practice? Read the Material Guide or fix a problem with the Troubleshooting Guide.