Glossary
3D printing terms explained in one sentence, with the full entry one click away. If a definition helps you, cite it.
40 results
40 results
#
- 3MF3mf · .3mf · archivo 3mf · 3d manufacturing format
- 3MF is a modern file format that, on top of geometry, stores colour, materials, units, object hierarchy and sometimes the slicer's full settings.
A
- Automatic bed levellingnivelacion automatica · auto bed leveling · abl · mesh bed leveling · sonda de cama · bltouch
- Automatic bed levelling is the process where the printer probes several points on the bed and compensates for height differences in software during the first layer.
B
- Bowden extruderbowden · extrusor bowden · tubo bowden · ptfe
- In a bowden system the extruder motor is fixed to the frame and pushes filament to the head through a PTFE tube.
- Bridgingpuenteo · bridging · puentes · bridge · cruzar al aire
- Bridging is the printer's ability to lay material across a gap between two supports, with nothing underneath, and have it come out straight.
- Brimbrim · faldon · faldón · ala de adherencia · borde de adhesion
- A brim is a flat single-layer ring the slicer prints attached to the part's outline to increase its contact area with the bed.
C
- Curingcurado · curing · polimerizacion · polimerización · curar resina
- Curing is the reaction by which liquid resin solidifies when it receives ultraviolet light, both during printing and in the finishing step afterwards.
D
- Densitydensidad · density · gravedad especifica · g/cm3 · peso especifico
- A printing material's density, in grams per cubic centimetre, is the figure that turns the volume reported by the slicer into grams and, from there, into money.
- Direct drive extruderextrusor directo · direct drive · directo · extrusor en el cabezal
- In a direct drive extruder the motor that pushes the filament is mounted on the print head itself, a few centimetres from the nozzle.
F
- FDM / FFFfdm · fff · modelado por deposicion fundida · impresion por filamento · fused deposition modeling
- FDM, also called FFF, is the 3D printing technology that builds a part by depositing molten filament layer by layer through a moving nozzle.
- Filamentfilamento · filament · carrete · bobina · spool · 1.75 mm
- Filament is the plastic thread wound on a spool that feeds FDM-type printers, normally 1.75 mm in diameter.
- Filament dryingsecar filamento · secado · filament drying · secadora de filamento · drybox · caja seca
- Drying filament means holding it for hours at a temperature below its softening point so absorbed water evaporates before printing.
- First layerprimera capa · first layer · capa inicial · adhesion a la cama · adherencia
- The first layer is the one deposited directly onto the bed and it determines whether the part stays put for the whole print.
G
- G-codegcode · g-code · codigo g · código g · .gcode · .bgcode
- G-code is the instruction file the printer executes line by line: where to move each axis, how much filament to extrude and what temperature to hold at each moment.
- Glass transition temperature (Tg)transicion vitrea · transición vítrea · tg · glass transition · hdt · temperatura de deflexion
- The glass transition temperature is the point at which an amorphous plastic goes from rigid to rubbery, and it marks the practical service limit of a printed part.
H
- Heated bedcama caliente · heated bed · heatbed · base caliente · plataforma calefactada
- The heated bed is the heated surface you print on; keeping the first layer above a certain temperature stops the part from contracting and lifting.
- Hotendhotend · hot end · fusor · bloque calefactor · heatbreak · barrera termica
- The hotend is the assembly that melts filament: heater block, cartridge, thermistor, heatbreak and nozzle.
- Hygroscopichigroscopico · higroscópico · hygroscopic · absorbe humedad · filamento humedo
- A hygroscopic material is one that absorbs moisture from the air; in a filament, that water turns to steam inside the nozzle and ruins the print.
I
- Infillrelleno · infill · porcentaje de relleno · densidad de relleno · patron de relleno
- Infill is the internal structure the slicer generates inside the part, expressed as a percentage of material relative to a solid block.
L
- Layer heightaltura de capa · layer height · grosor de capa · resolucion vertical · resolución vertical
- Layer height is the vertical thickness of each deposited band of material, and it is the setting that most affects visible quality and print time at the same time.
M
- MSLAmsla · lcd · impresora de resina lcd · masked stereolithography
- MSLA is the resin printing technology that uses an LCD screen as a mask to cure an entire layer at once with ultraviolet light.
- Multi-material system (AMS)ams · multimaterial · multicolor · mmu · cambio de filamento automatico
- A multi-material system is an accessory that loads several spools and swaps them automatically during a print to produce parts in several colours or materials.
N
- Nozzleboquilla · nozzle · tobera · punta · boquilla 0.4
- The nozzle is the final piece of the hotend, with a calibrated orifice through which molten material exits; its diameter sets the achievable detail and speed.
O
- Overhangvoladizo · overhang · saliente · angulo de voladizo · regla de los 45 grados
- An overhang is the part of a model that juts out with nothing beneath to support it, measured as the angle from vertical.
P
- Perimeters (walls)perimetros · perímetros · paredes · walls · wall count · shells · contornos
- Perimeters are the outline passes the extruder traces at the edge of each layer; their number defines the real wall thickness of the part.
- PLApla · acido polilactico · ácido poliláctico · polylactic acid
- PLA is a plant-derived thermoplastic, the most used filament in home 3D printing thanks to how easily it prints and how little it warps.
- Post-curingposcurado · post curado · post-curing · curado final · lavado y curado
- Post-curing is the final ultraviolet exposure a resin part receives after washing, and it is what leaves it hard and no longer tacky.
R
- Raftraft · balsa · base de impresion · cama de sacrificio
- A raft is a multi-layer platform printed first, on top of which the part is built, instead of printing directly onto the bed.
- Resinresina · resin · fotopolimero · fotopolímero · resina 405nm · resina uv
- 3D printing resin is a photopolymer liquid that solidifies when it receives ultraviolet light, normally at a 405 nanometre wavelength.
- Retractionretraccion · retracción · retraction · retraer filamento
- Retraction is the movement in which the extruder pulls filament back before a non-printing travel move, so the nozzle does not ooze and leave strings.
S
- SLAsla · estereolitografia · estereolitografía · stereolithography · laser resina
- SLA is the resin printing technology that traces each layer with a focused ultraviolet laser point by point, instead of projecting the whole layer at once.
- Slicerslicer · laminador · rebanador · programa para impresora 3d · software de laminado
- A slicer is the program that cuts a 3D model into horizontal layers and generates the G-code with the paths, temperatures and speeds the printer will execute.
- SLSsls · sinterizado selectivo por laser · selective laser sintering · sinterizado de polvo
- SLS is the technology that builds parts by laser-fusing successive layers of powder, usually polyamide, with no need for supports.
- STEPstep · .step · .stp · iso 10303
- STEP is a CAD interchange format that stores a part's exact geometry as mathematical surfaces rather than as an approximated triangle mesh.
- STLstl · .stl · archivo stl · stereolithography · estereolitografía
- STL is a file format that describes a 3D object's surface as a mesh of triangles, with no colour, no units and no printing information.
- Stringingstringing · hilos · telarañas · oozing · rezumado · pelos
- Stringing is the fine threads of material left between parts of a print when the nozzle oozes during non-printing travel moves.
- Supportssoportes · supports · estructuras de soporte · soporte de arbol · tree supports
- Supports are temporary structures the slicer adds under overhangs so material is not printed into thin air, and which are removed once the print is done.
T
- Tolerancetolerancia · tolerance · holgura · clearance · ajuste · encaje
- Tolerance is the clearance you must leave between two parts so they fit, because 3D printing never reproduces the nominal dimension exactly.
W
- Warpingwarping · alabeo · se despega · levantamiento de esquinas · curling · deformacion
- Warping is the deformation where the part's corners lift off the bed because the material contracts unevenly as it cools.
- Watertight mesh (manifold)manifold · malla cerrada · malla estanca · watertight · non-manifold · malla abierta
- A watertight or manifold mesh is one where every edge belongs to exactly two faces, so the solid has no holes and the slicer can tell what is inside from what is outside.
Z
- Z-offsetz offset · z-offset · offset z · altura de boquilla · live z
- Z-offset is the fine distance between the nozzle tip and the bed on the first layer, normally adjustable while the printer is running.