Home · Database

Database / Glossary

A glossary of key terms used in the validation of non-formal and informal learning.

A    B    C    D    E    F    G    I    L    M    O    P    R    S    T    U    W    X    Y    Z
A

Adjust:
Alter or move something slightly in order to achieve the desired fit, appearance, or result.

Align:
Select two or more objects and arrange their positions in a line to the object’s edges or centres.

Avoid Printed Parts When Traveling:
The nozzle avoid already printed parts when travelling. This option is only available when combing is enabled.

Avoid Supports When Traveling:
The nozzle avoids already printed supports when travelling. This option is only available when combing is enabled.

B

Bottom Layers:
The number of bottom layers.When calculated by the bottom thickness, this value is rounded to a whole new number.

Bottom Thickness:
The thickness of the bottom layers in the print. This value divided by the layer height defines the number of bottom layers.

Brim Line Count:
The number of lines used for a brim. More brim lines enhance adhesion to the build plate, but also reduces the effective print area.

Brim Only on Outside:
Only print the brim on the outside of the model. This reduces the amount of brim you need to remove afterwards, while it does not reduce the bed adhesion that much.

Brim Width
The distance from the model to the outermost brim line. A larger brim enhances adhesion to the build plate. But also reduces the effective print area.

Build Plate Adhesion Extruder
The extruder train to use for printing the skirt/brim/raft. This is used in multi-extrusion

Build Plate Adhesion Type
Different options that help to improve both priming your extrusuion and adhesion to the build plate. Brim adds a single layer flat area around the base of your model to pervent warping. Raft adds a thick grid with a roof below the model. Skirt is a line printed around the model, but not connected to the model.

Build Plate Temperature
The temperature used for the heated build plate. If this is 0, the build plate is left unheated.

Build Plate Temperature Initial Layer
The temperature used for the heated build plate in the first layer. If this is 0, the build plate is left unheated during the first layer.

C

Combing Mode:
Combing keeps the nozzle within already printed areas when travelling. This results in slightly longer travel moves but reduces the need for retractions. If combing is off, the material will retract and the nozzle moves in a straight line to the next point. It is also possible to avoid combing over top/bottom skin areas or to only comb within the infill.

Computer-Aided Design:
The use of specialised computer software to digitally create two-dimensional (2D) drawings and (3D) three-dimensional models of real-world products.

D

Drag:
Make an identical copy of your shape/object and place it in the workspace.

E

Enable Acceleration Control:
Enables adjusting the print head accelaration. Increasing the accelarations can reduce printing time at the cost of print quality.

Enable Ironing:
Go over the top surface one additional time, but this time extruding very little material. This is meant to melt the plastic on top further, creting a smoother surface. The pressure in the nozzle is kept high so that the creases in the surface are filled with material.

Enable Jerk Control:
Enables adjusting the jerk of print head when the velocity in the X or Y axis changes. Increasing the jerk can reduce printing time at the cost of printing quality.

Enable Prime Blob:
Whether to prime the filament with a blob before printing. Turning this setting on will ensure that the extruder will have material ready at the nozzle before printing. Printing Brim or Skirt can act like priming to, in which case turning this setting of saves some time.

Enable Prime Tower:
Print a tower next to the print which serves to prime the material after each nozzle switch.

Enable Print Cooling:
Enables the print cooling fans while printing. The fans improve print quality on layers with short layer times and bridging/overhangs.

Enable Retraction:
Retract the filament when the nozzle is moving over a non-printed area.

Export:
Similar to save as option - it allows you to save the file in any format i.e .STL format specifically for 3D printing.

F

Fan Speed:
The speed at which the print cooling fans spin.

Fill Gaps Between Walls:
Fill the gaps between walls where no walls fit.

Final Printing Temperature:
The temperature to which to already start cooling down just before the end of printing.

G

Generate Support:
Generate structures to support parts of the model which have overhangs. Without these structures, such parts would collapse during printing.

Gradual Infill Steps:
Number of times to reduce the infill density by half when getting futher below top surfaces. Areas which are closer to top surfaces, get a higher density, up to the Infill Density.

Grid:
The temperature to which to already start cooling down just before the end of printing. Grid:
Also known as the workplane, it is the blue base where you will work on your design.

Group:
Used to combine two or more objects into one solid. It can also be used with Hole Shape to create holes in solid objects.

H

Hole:
A shape that removes material when grouped with other objects.

Horizontal Expansion:
Amount of offset applied to all polygons in each layer. Positive values can compensate for too small holes.

I

Import:
Moving a file from your computer into software/browser such as Tinkercad.

Infill Density:
Adjust the density of infill of the print.

Infill Extruder:
The extruder train used for printing infill. This is used in multi-extrusion.

Infill Layer Thickness:
The thickness per layer of infill material. This value should always be a multiple of the layer height and is otherwise rounded.

Infill Line Distance:
Distance between the printed infill lines. This setting is calculated by the infill density and the infill line width.

Infill Line Multiplier:
Convert each infil line to this many lines. The extra lines do not cross over each other, but avoid each other. This makes the infill stiffer, but increaes print time and material usage.

Infill Line Width:
Width of a single infill line.

Infill Overlap Percentage:
The amount of overlap between the infiil and the walls as a percentage of the infill line width. A slight overlap allows the walls to connect firmly to the infiil.

Infill Pattern:
The pattern of the infiil material of the print. The line and zig zag infill swap direction on alternate layers, reducing material cost. The grid, triangle, tri-hexagon, cubic, octet, quarter cubic, cross and concentric patterns are fully printed every layer. Gyroid, cubic, quarter cubic and octet infiil change with every layer to provide a more equal distribuition of strenght over each direction.

Infill Speed:
The speed in which infill is printed.

Inistial Printing Temperature:
The minimal temperature while heating up the Printing Temperature at which printing can already start.

Initial Fan Speed:
The speed at which the fans spin at the start of the print. In subsequent layers the fan speed is gradually increased up to the layer corresponding to Regular Fan Speed at Height.

Initial Layer Height:
The height of the initial layer in mm. A thicker initial layer makes adhesion to the build plate easier.

Initial Layer Width:
Multiplier of the line width on the first layer. Increase this could improve bad adhesion.

Initial Layer Speed:
The speed of the initial layer. A lower value is advised to improve adhesion to the build plate. Does not affect the build plate adhesion structures themselves, like brim and raft.

Inner Wall Extruder:
The extruder train used for printing the inner walls. This is used in multi-extrusion.

Inner Wall Speed:
The speed in which all inner walls are printed. Printing the inner wall faster then the outer wall will reduce printing time. It works well to set this inbetween the outer wall speed and the infill speed.

Inner Wall(s) Line Width:
Width of a single wall line for all wall lines except the outermost one.

Inspector:
Inspector gathers all the things you can tweak for each shape into one place, including the measurements for new Shapes.

L

Layer Height+A2:A3A2:A5A2:A4BA2:A109:
The height of each layer in mm. Higher values produce faster prints in lower resolution, lower values produce slower prints in higher resolution.

Lift Head:
When the minimum speed is hit because of minimum layer time, lift the head away from the print and wait the extra time until the minimum layer time is reached.

Line Width:
Width of a single line. Generally,the width of each line should correspond to the width of the nozzle. However, slightly reducing this value could produce better prints.

M

Make Overhang Printable:
Change the geometry of the printed model such that minimal support is required. Steep overhangs will become shallow overhangs. Overhanging areas will drop down to become more vertical.

Maximum Fan Speed:
The speed at which the fans spin on the minimum layer time. The fan speed gradually increases between the regular fan speed and maximum fan speed when the threshold is hit.

Minimum Layer Time:
The minimum time spent in a layer. This forces the printer to slow down, to at least spend the time set here in one layer. This allows the printed material to cool down properly before printing the next layer. Layers may still take shorter than the minimal layer time if Lift Head is disabled and the Minimum Speed would otherwise be violated.

Minimum Speed:
The minimum print speed, despiste slowing down due to the minimum layer time.When the printer would slow down too much, the pressure in the nozzle would be too low and result in bad print quality. Mirror:
Flipping an object so that it turns into the mirror image of the object.

O

Optimize Wall Printing Order:
Optimize the order in which walls are printed so as to reduce the number of retractions and the distance travelled. Most parts will benefit from this being enabled but some may actually take longer so please compare the print time estimates with and without optimization. First layer is not optimized when choosing brim as build plate adhesion type.

Outer Wall Extruder:
The extruder train used for printing the outer walls. This is used in multi-extrusion.

Outer Wall Line Width:
Width of the outermost wall line. By lowering this value, higher levels of detail can be printed.

Outer Wall Speed:
The speed in which the outermost walls are printed. Printing the outer wall at a lower speed improves the final skin quality. However, having a large difference between inner wall speed and the outer wall speed will afect quality in a negative way..

P

Print Speed:
The speed at which printing happens.

Printing Temperature:
The temperature used for printing.

Printing Temperature Initial Layer:
The temperature used for printing the first layer. Set at 0º to disable special handling of the initial layer.

R

Regular Fan Speed:
The speed at which the fans spin before hitting the threshold. When a layer prints faster than a threshold, the fan speed gradually inclines towards the maximum fan speed.

Regular Fan Speed at Height:
The height at which the fans spin on regular fan speed. At the layers below the fan speed gradually increases from Initial Fan Speed to Regular Fan Speed.

Regular Fan Speed at Layer:
The layer at which the fans spin on regular fan speed. If regular fan speed at the height is set, this value is calculated and rounded to a whole number.

Regular/Maximum Fan Speed Threshold:
The layer time which sets the threshold between regular fan speed and maximum fan speed. Layers that print slower than this time use regular fan speed. For faster layers the fan speed gradually increases towards the maximum fan speed.

Retract at Layer Change:
Retract the filament when the nozzle is moving to the next layer.

Retraction Distance:
The length of material retracted during a retraction move.

Retraction Speed:
The speed in which the filament is retracted and primed during a retraction move.

Rendering 3D Models:
A creative process that uses computer graphics to convert 3D models into photorealistic or non-photorealistic images.

Rotate:
Move an object ​in a circle around an axis or centre.

S

Scale:
Used to measure and compare the size of an object.

Scroll:
Moves the computer screen up, down, left and right so you can view your design in different ways.

Shape Generators:
Provides you with 3D geometric shapes.

Skirt/Brim Speed:
The speed in which brim and skirt are printed. Normally this is done at the initial layer speed, but sometimes you might want to print the brim or skirt at a different speed.

Solid Modelling:
Solid modelling works with three-dimensional shapes which involve manipulating and combining blocks.

Spiralize Outer Contour:
Spiralize smooths out the Z move of the outer edge. This will create a steady Z increase over the whole print. This feature turns a solid model into a single walled print with a solid bottom. This feature should only be enabled when each layer only contains a single part.

Standby Temperature:
The temperature of the nozzle when another nozzle is currently used for printing.

Surface Mode:
Treat the model as a surface only, a volume, or volumes with loose surfaces. The normal print mode only print enclosed volumes. "Surface" prints a single wall tracing the mesh surface with no infill and no top/bottom skin. "Both" prints enclosed volumes like normal and any remaining polygons as surfaces.

Surface Modelling:
Surface modelling defines the shape and curvature by depending upon the guiding lines.

T

Top Layers:
The number of top layers. When calculated by the top thickness, this value is rounded to a whole new number.

Top Thickness:
The thickness of the top layers in the print. This value divided by the layer height defines the number of top layers.

Top/Bottom Extruder:
The extruder train used for printing top and bottom skin. This is used in multi-extrusion.

Top/Bottom Line Width:
Width of a single top/bottom line.

Top/Bottom Speed:
The speed in which top/bottom layers are printed.

Top/Bottom Thickness:
The thickness of the top/bottom layers in the print. This value divided by the layer height defines the top/bottom layers.

Travel Avoid Distance:
The distance between the nozzle and already printed parts when avoiding during travel moves.

Travel Speed:
The speed in which travel moves are made.

U

Ungroup:
If you have grouped different shapes together into one solid structure (or created a hole) you can ungroup them again to edit individual shapes within the object.

Use Adaptive Layers:
Adaptive layers computes the layer heights depending on the shape of the model.

W

Wall Extruder:
The extruder train used for printing the walls. This is used in multi-extrusion.

Wall Line Count:
The number of walls. When calculated by the wall thickness, this value is rounded to a whole number.

Wall Line Width:
Width of a single wall line.

Wall Speed:
The speed in which the walls are printed.

Wall Thickness:
The thickness of the walls in the horizontal direction. This value divided by the wall line width defines the number of walls.

Wireframe Modelling:
Wireframe modelling represents shapes as a network of vertices.

Workplane:
Blue grid where you will work on your design.

X

X-axis:
The line on a graph that runs horizontally (left-right) through zero. It is used as a reference line so you can measure from it.

Y

Y-axis:
The line on a graph that runs vertically (up-down) through zero. It is used as a reference line so you can measure from it.

Z

Z Hop After Extruder Switch:
After the machine switched from one extruder to the other, the build plate is lowered to create clearance between the nozzle and the print. This prevent the nozzle from being ozzed material on the outside of a print.

Z Hop Height:
The height difference when performing a Z Hop.

Z Hop Only Over Printed Parts:
Only perform a Z Hop when moving over printed parts which cannot be avoided by horizontal motion by Avoid Printed Parts when Travelling.

Z Hop When Retracted:
Whenever a retraction is done, the build plate is lowered to create clearance between the nozzle and the print. It prevents the nozzle from hitting the print during travel moves, reducing the chance to knock the print from the build plate.

Erasmus+
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible
for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.