Glossary

Quick definitions, A to Z. Terms point to the guide that explains them in context.

ABS — strong, heat-resistant filament that warps without an enclosure. See Filament.

Adhesion — how well the first layer grips the build plate. Most print failures start here.

ASA — ABS's weather-resistant sibling, good for outdoor parts.

Bed leveling / tramming — making the build plate parallel to the nozzle's movement. Auto bed leveling does it with a probe.

Bowden — extruder style where the feed motor sits on the frame and pushes filament through a tube. See How It Works.

Brim — a flat rim printed around the part's base for extra grip. Snaps off after.

Build plate / bed — the surface the object prints on, usually heated.

Build volume — the maximum printable size, e.g. 220 × 220 × 250 mm.

Direct drive — extruder style with the feed motor on the print head. Better for flexible filament.

Enclosure — a box around the printer holding in heat. Needed for ABS/ASA.

Extruder — the mechanism that grips filament and feeds it into the hot end.

FDM — fused deposition modeling: building objects from melted plastic layers. The home-printer method.

Filament — plastic string on a spool, the raw material. Usually 1.75 mm diameter.

G-code — the move-by-move instructions the slicer generates for the printer.

Hot end — the assembly that melts filament: heater, nozzle, and cooling.

Infill — the interior pattern (often honeycomb or grid). 15–20% is typical; parts aren't printed solid.

Layer height — thickness of each printed layer. 0.2 mm is the everyday default.

Nozzle — the tiny tip plastic squeezes through, usually 0.4 mm. A wear item; replaceable and cheap.

Overhang — part of the model sticking out sideways past ~45°. Needs supports or reorienting.

PEI — a build-plate surface coating with excellent adhesion for common plastics.

PETG — tough, slightly flexible filament for functional parts.

PLA — the beginner filament: easy, low-odor, brittle.

Raft — a plastic mat printed under the whole part. Rarely needed on modern printers.

Retraction — the slicer pulling filament back during travel moves to prevent stringing.

Slicer — software converting 3D models into G-code. Examples: OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Cura, Bambu Studio.

Stringing — thin plastic hairs between parts, from oozing during travel.

Supports — temporary scaffolding for overhangs, removed after printing.

TPU — flexible, rubber-like filament.

Walls / perimeters — the solid outer shells of a print. More walls beat more infill for strength.

Warping — corners lifting off the bed as plastic cools and shrinks.

Z-offset — the fine nozzle-gap adjustment above the bed. Set with the paper-drag test.