Glossary of 3D Printing Terms

3D Printer (Also Modeler): An additive fabrication machine that is designed to join materials to make objects from 3D model data through depositing of material usually layer upon layer, also known as 3D printing.

3D Printing: A process of fabricating objects from 3D model data through depositing of material usually layer upon layer.

3D CAD: Three-dimensional computer-aided design.

3D CAD Model: Three-dimensional computer-aided design model.

4D Printing: 4D printing refers to “time” as the fourth dimension. (Newtonian definition of time: Time, as perceived by Sir Isaac Newton, is part of the fundamental structure of the universe—a dimension in which events occur in sequence. Without time, there is no motion and no transformation. Our universe would stay frozen.) 4D printing is the printing of combined materials that are programmed to transform and self-assemble through time. 3D Printed models that contain the potential for change over time. When exposed to the correct stimulus, they rearrange their shape according to pre-programmed patterns.

Additive Fabrication: (Synonyms: 3D Printing, Rapid Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing, Layer Manufacturing)—An automated method to build models, prototypes, tools and manufactured parts directly from CAD data, that constructs these parts by depositing and bonding materials on a layer-by-layer basis.

Air Gap: The distance between roads (rasters or contours).

Anisotropy: The property of being directionally dependent, which implies different properties in different directions, as opposed to isotropy, which describes uniformity in all directions.

Anisotropic Digital Material: Digital materials that have an anisotropic 3D phase structure design, with corresponding anisotropic properties along different axes within a single object.

Base Layer (Synonyms: Pedestal, Brim, Raft, Skirt)—Sacrificial initial layers used to stabilize the part on the build tray to create a strong foundation and ensure a level build plane.

BASS: Break-Away Support Structure.

Bead: (Synonyms: Road, Path)—The data used to describe extruder tip position and extrusion properties when building a part on an FDM™ printer. It also describes the thin strip of extruded thermoplastic deposited by the 3D printer.

Binder Jetting (BJ): A binder jetting machine will distribute a layer of powder onto a build platform. A liquid bonding agent is applied through inkjet print heads, bonding the particles together. The build platform will be lowered, and the next layer of powder will be laid out on top. The parts are built up in the powder bed by repeating the process of laying out powder and bonding. Binder jetting does not require any support structures. The built parts lie in the bed of unbonded powder. The entire build volume can therefore be filled with several parts, including stacking and pyramiding of parts. These are then all produced together. Binder Jetting works with almost any material that is available in powder form. Source: https://www.additively.com/en/learn-about/binder-jetting#read-more

Boundary Curves: A closed curve used to define a region in the XY plane. Two different types of boundary curves are present in the system: part boundary curves (as a result of slicing) and support boundary curves (as a result of support generation).

Bounding Box: A particular area of the build tray that encompasses all of the designs to be printed.

Build Plate: (Synonyms: Tray, Platen, Bed, Build Sheet, Substrate, and Foundation)—See Platen.

Build Sheet: (Synonyms: Tray, Platen, Build Plate, Bed, Substrate, and Foundation)—See Platen.

Build Time: Print time.

CAD: Computer-Aided Design.

CAGD: Computer-Aided Geometric Design.

CAM: Computer Aided Manufacturing.

CMB: Chromeleon Backup Archive. File format supported by Stratasys FDM printers.

Concept Model: The parts that are used early in the design process when alternatives are being conceived. The primary use is for product visualization and design communication.

Contour: Toolpaths that follow the outline of a region. Regions are defined by contours and then filled with rasters.

Curl: A distortion of horizontal walls that involve two or more layers in which shrinkage of a newly-formed layer while adhering to the previous layer causes those layers to curl.

Curve: A generic term used to describe any of the planar paths (contained in x-y plane) that are present in the software at every z-layer. Curves are the result of slicing, support generation, and toolpath generation.

Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM): The process of going directly from a digital representation of a part to the final product (finished goods) via additive fabrication technologies.

Digital Material: Engineered materials manufactured from two or more different constituent materials, according to a digitally encoded three-dimensional phase structure design (the DM code), and produced by an additive manufacturing process.

Drill Guide: Device that aligns a boring tool and controls the depth of penetration.

Envelope: The modeling envelope is the space where the part is built. The part must be small enough to fit inside the modeling envelope. The left side of the modeling envelope corresponds to the plane defined by X = 0. The front of the modeling envelope corresponds to the plane defined by Y = 0. The bottom of the modeling envelope corresponds to the plane defined by Z = 0.

End-Use Parts (EUP): (Synonyms: Production Parts)—The components, sub-assemblies or products that are sold to a customer or put into service.

Extruder: The extruder draws the filament from the spool, melts it, and pushes it through a nozzle onto the build plate.

Facet: A triangular element of an STL file that has an outward-facing surface normal.

FDM: Fused Deposition Modeling. The Stratasys-patented additive manufacturing process extrudes a filament of semi-molten thermoplastic to build parts.

Fill: Density of the material inside the 3D printed model. Fill influences the model’s weight and strength.

Fill Style: The pattern of roads used to create the interior of a part. FDM fill styles are Solid-Normal, Sparse, Sparse–Double Dense, Sparse–High Density and Sparse–Low Density.

Filament: The thermoplastic filament material (both model and support material) that is used to build parts in FDM technology. The filament comes on a spool and is loaded into the 3D printer.

Finished Goods: Manufactured items that are ready for shipment and sale to the customer. These items may be the final product or a sub-assembly, component or raw material in a receiving plant or post-processed (such as sanded, painted, and polished).

Fixture: A device that locates and holds workpieces in manufacturing operations.

Foundation: (Synonyms: Tray, Platen, Build Plate, Bed, Build Sheet and Substrate)

Functional Prototyping: The process of making physical models or parts for design verification and performance testing.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM): A modeler with a temperature-controlled head that extrudes thermoplastic material layer by layer. A fused deposition modeling machine melts a plastic filament and extrudes it through a nozzle. The melted material is laid down on the build platform, where it cools and solidifies. By laying down layer on layer, the part is built.

Fused deposition modeling requires support structures that anchor the parts on the build platform and supports overhanging structures. Through the use of a second nozzle, the support structure can be built in a different material. Several parts can be produced simultaneously as long as they are all anchored on the platform.

Source: https://www.additively.com/en/learn-about/fused-depositionmodeling#read-...

Gantry: The apparatus that allows the extruder assembly to move around.

Gauge: Any device for measuring or checking the dimensions of an object.

Head: Liquefies the thermoplastic modeling material and extrudes it into precise layers that fuse to form the complete model.

Home: A head and platen position for the FDM hardware. It is the mechanical X = 0, Y = 0, Z = 0 position. (The head is positioned in the left corner of the modeling envelope and the platen is at the top position.)

Homing: Moves the modeling material head and the platen to the home position. Homing readies 3D Printers and production system for model building, including initializing the head and platen locations, XYZ starting coordinates, and purging material from the tip. This is done automatically when a file is sent to the 3D printer or production system before the model is built.

Hygroscopic: A tendency to absorb moisture.

Insight: Software used by Fortus® 3D Printers to prepare STL files for 3D print production. This powerful software tool allows users to maximize the efficiency of the building process by changing default settings for each layer and creating custom part characteristics (e.g., manipulating the infill, toolpath generation). Once the toolpaths are generated and optimized for the model, the file is exported in the .cmb format (See CMB definition), which will be read by the 3D printer to print the model.

Jig: A device that locates and holds workpieces in manufacturing operations while guiding or locating tools.

Layer: A 2D, horizontal cross-section used to additively construct a part. The thickness of each layer is equal to the slice height.

Layer Thickness: The height of the slices used to manufacture an FDM part. Thicknesses can be 0.005 in. (0.127 mm), 0.007 in. (0.178 mm), 0.010 in. (0.254 mm) and 0.013 in. (0.33 mm). Shorthand for these thicknesses are 5 slice, 7 slice, 10 slice and 13 slice, respectively.

Manufacturing Center: The designation applied to Fortus 3D Production Systems (e.g., Fortus 400mc™).

Manufacturing Tools: Any item that plays a role in the production of finished goods. Examples include hand tools, molds, and gauges. These are categorized into four areas: patterns; molds and dies; shop tools (jigs); and work holders (fixtures) and gauges.

Material Jetting: Material jetting machines utilize inkjet print heads to jet melted materials, which then cool and solidify. By adding layer on layer, the part is built. Wax materials are used with this technology. Material jetting requires support structures for overhangs, usually built in a different material.

Source: https://www.additively.com/en/learn-about/material-jetting#read-more

Material: The substance used by the modeler to build or support the part. This is generally a type of polymer plastic.

Mesh: Collection of stitched surface patches to represent 3D data model. A way to represent solid objects through polygon division.

Modeler: (Synonym: 3D Printer) An additive fabrication machine that manufactures parts. The process forms three-dimensional objects from 3D model data (CADgenerated solid, surface models or Voxel-based models). The designed object emerges as a solid three-dimensional part through the deposition of material, layer-by-layer, also known as 3D printing.

Modeling Envelope: The space within the modeler where the part is built. The part must fit inside the modeling envelope.

Mold: A tool with a pocket or cavity for giving a particular shape to something in a molten or plastic state.

Nesting: Positioning of parts on the tray for optimal build efficiency. Orientation, printing time, and material use are common parameters to consider. Open Curve A gap between part boundary contours on a particular layer of a sliced STL file.

Open Curve: A gap between part boundary contours on a particular layer of a sliced STL file.

Part Boundary Curves: The outline of the surface of a part at a horizontal cross-section. The part boundary contours are the end result of the slice operation.

Path: (Synonyms: Road, Bead)—The data used to describe extruder tip position and extrusion properties when building a part on an FDM printer.

Pattern: Physical representation of a design that is used to produce molds, dies or tools.

Pedestal: (Synonyms: Base Layer, Brim, Raft and Skirt)

Perimeter Curve: The outline of a slice.

Platen: (Synonyms: Tray, Build Plate, Bed, Build Sheet, Substrate and Foundation)—The Z-stage table on which the modeler builds parts. The table moves down in the Z direction so that the extrusion head can build successive Z layers.

Polygon: A figure with three or more sides. When a polygon has more than three sides, they must all lie on the same surface. http://docs.mcneel.com/rhino/5/help/en-us/index.htm#popup_moreinformatio...

Photopolymer Jetting (PolyJet): Photopolymer jetting machines utilize inkjet print heads to jet a liquid photopolymer which is immediately cured by a UV lamp. By adding layer on layer, the part is built. Several materials can be jetted at the same time. Photopolymer jetting requires support structures for overhangs, which is usually built in a different material. The support material is generally a UV-curable gel-like material that enables easy removal and leaves a well-defined and smooth object surface. Source: https://www.additively.com/en/learn-about/photopolymerjetting#read-more

PolyJet Printing: PolyJet 3D printers jet layers of curable liquid photopolymer onto a build tray and instantly UV-cures the tiny droplets of liquid photopolymer. Models are precisely printed in layers as fine as 14 microns (on the Stratasys J750 in High-Quality mode) for smooth surfaces and complex geometries. Material properties range from rubber to rigid, transparent to opaque, neutral to vibrantly colored and standard to biocompatible.

Print Time (Synonym: Build time)—How long it will take to 3D print a part.

Purge: The process to clear the extruder head. A purge part may be added to the build tray to provide a path for the extruder head to clear itself while printing the designated CAD design part. Raft (Synonyms: Base Layer, Brim, Pedestal and Skirt)—See Base Layer.

Raft: (Synonyms: Base Layer, Brim, Pedestal and Skirt)—See Base Layer.

Raster: A zig-zag pattern of material extruded from a die, usually used to fill in the area within a contour. This pattern can be adjusted so that there is a negative or positive air gap between each toolpath section to create different desired densities for a part.

Road: (Synonyms: Bead, Path, Toolpath)—The data used to describe extruder tip position and extrusion properties when building a part on a 3D printer.

Slice: (Synonym: Layer)—A horizontal cross-section of user-defined thickness that describes the geometry of an additive fabrication part.

Slice Curve: The horizontal outline of a part to be produced. Slice curves will be stacked vertically at intervals consistent with the layer thickness.

Slice Height: See Layer Thickness.

Slice Thickness: See Layer Thickness.

Slicing: The process of taking a 3D data model and dividing it into horizontal 2D thin slices so tool paths can be generated, allowing the printer to print the slices layer upon layer.

Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF): Another term used to describe 3D printing and additive manufacturing. More specifically, it typically refers to complex freeform solid objects or models that are made with an additive fabrication process.

Sparse: A fill pattern that produces a semi-solid part constructed of interwoven roads that are separated by a user-defined air gap. Variations include “low-density” and “high-density” where the air gap between rasters is larger or smaller.

Stair: Stepping See Stepping.

Stepping: Small, abrupt transitions in the horizontal build plane that are evident on all surfaces not parallel to the X, Y or Z planes. Stepping results from the layer-based procedures of additive fabrication.

Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA™): Stereolithography machines build parts out of liquid photopolymer through polymerization activated by a UV laser. Parts are built on a build platform inside a vat filled with the liquid photopolymer. The laser scans the surface of the vat to solidify the material. The build platform is lowered into the vat and the part is built layer by layer. Stereolithography requires support structures for overhangs, which are built in the same material. Source: https://www.additively.com/en/learn-about/stereolithography#read-more

STL: STereoLithography file format. See .STL File

.STL File: A file format commonly used as input for additive fabrication systems. This file describes only the surface geometry of a three dimensional object without any representation of color, texture or other common CAD model attributes. The file describes a raw, unstructured, triangulated surface by the unit normal and vertices of the triangles using a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

STL Model: A Mesh format that represents the surfaces of 3D model data as a mosaic of small triangles. In many ways, an STL model is similar to a simple finite element mesh that uses only triangular elements.

Substrate: (Synonyms: Tray, Platen, Build Plate, Bed, Build Sheet and Foundation)—See Platen.

Supports: Scaffold of sacrificial material upon which overhanging geometry is built. Also used to rigidly attach the part to the build platform.

Support Style: A user-definable build option that describes the pattern and spacing of the base structure that upholds the part.

Surface Finish: A measure of the texture or roughness of a surface. It is quantified by the vertical deviations of a real surface from its ideal form. If these deviations are large, the is surface is rough; if they are small, the surface is smooth.

Tip: The nozzle through which the extrusion head extrudes the semi-liquid material for building the part. Tip size determines the layer thickness and road width for an FDM part.

Toolpath: See Road.

Toolpath Width: Horizontal measure of a road. Toolpath widths are determined by the tip size.

Tray: (Synonyms: Platen, Build Plate, Bed, Build Sheet, Substrate and Foundation)—See Platen.

Volumetric Pixel or Voxel: Volume element representing a value on a regular grid in 3D space.

Warp: Deformation of vertical walls (generally from too much heat).

Watertight: (Also Water Tight)—A watertight mesh is one with no holes, cracks or missing features.

WaterWorks™: A soluble support removal system used for FDM parts.

Work Holder: Any device that restricts the motion of and positions a part during a manufacturing operation. Examples include vises, clamps, jigs and fixtures.