Glossary

The technical words, explained

The setting pages try to use everyday words, but some 3D printing words have no substitute. Here they all are. On the setting pages they are underlined with dots: hover (or press and hold) to see the definition, or click to come here.

Arachne: One of the two “Wall generator” modes. “Classic” makes walls that are always the same width; “Arachne” narrows or widens them as needed so they fit well in thin areas like lettering or slim edges.
bead · strand, plastic line, line of plastic: The thread of plastic the nozzle leaves as it moves, squashed onto the layer below, like a line of toothpaste on a brush. Every wall and every line of infill is a bead.
bridge · bridging: A stretch of plastic printed in midair between two supports, like the ceiling of a slot or a square hole. The strands are pulled tight from one side to the other and hold themselves up as long as the span isn’t too long.
build plate · plate, print bed, heated bed, bed: The flat surface you print on, usually heated so the plastic sticks. On Bambu printers it’s a flexible steel sheet, smooth or textured, that you take out of the printer and bend slightly to pop the part off.Initial layer height Brim width
calibrate · calibration, calibrated, calibrating: To set a value by measuring the real result instead of guessing: you print a test piece, measure it, and correct. Like tasting the soup before adding more salt.
developer mode · advanced mode: Bambu Studio hides some settings so you’re not overwhelmed: with the “Advanced” toggle off you only see the basic ones, and “developer mode” (in Preferences) shows even more.
elephant foot · elephant's foot, elephant’s foot: The lip that forms at the base of a part because the first layers get squashed against the hot plate and bulge out at the sides, like an elephant’s wide foot. It’s a problem on parts that need to fit together; “Elephant foot compensation” corrects it.
extrude · extrusion, extruder, extruding, extruded: To push melted plastic out through the nozzle, like squeezing a tube of toothpaste. “Extrusion” is that flow of plastic; the “extruder” is the mechanism that pushes the filament toward the nozzle.
filament: Plastic in the form of a thread, wound on a spool, that the printer melts to shape the part. PLA, PETG, and TPU are types of filament.
firmware: The software that lives inside the printer and runs the G-code, like the operating system on a phone. Bambu printers come with their own; other printers use Marlin or Klipper.
first layer · initial layer: The layer that sticks to the plate: the foundation of the part. It’s the most important one, because if it grips well the part won’t come loose halfway through. That’s why it’s printed slower, with wider lines and often thicker than the rest.Initial layer height
flow · flow ratio, flow rate: How much plastic comes out of the nozzle for each millimeter it moves, like how far you open a garden hose. A flow ratio of 1 is the calculated amount; 0.95 is 5% less. Too little flow leaves gaps; too much leaves blobs.
G-code · gcode, printer instructions: The file with the instructions the printer follows line by line: “move here”, “push out this much plastic”, “heat to 220 °C”. It’s what the slicer produces.
ghosting · ringing, ripples: Ripples or “ghosts” that show up on a wall right after a corner or a raised letter. They appear when the print head vibrates as it brakes and turns quickly, and that vibration gets stamped into the plastic, like an echo of the corner.
infill · sparse infill: The pattern of plastic that fills the inside of the part to hold up the layers above, like the cardboard honeycomb inside many hollow doors. It is almost never solid: 15% is enough for most parts.Sparse infill density Sparse infill pattern
ironing · ironed: Running the hot nozzle over the last layer again, letting out very little plastic, to smooth the top face, like an iron on a shirt. It leaves the surface smoother but makes the print take longer.
layer: Each horizontal slice of plastic. The printer builds the part by stacking layers one on top of another, like the pages of a notebook; a typical layer is 0.2 mm thick.Layer height Initial layer height
mesh · STL, 3MF, model triangles: A 3D model is made of thousands of triangles stuck together, like a soccer ball made of patches: that’s the mesh. STL and 3MF files store it. A mesh with cracks or loose triangles causes problems when slicing.
mm³/s · cubic millimeters per second, volumetric speed, volumetric flow: How much plastic the nozzle melts per second, like the flow from a faucet. Each filament has a maximum (about 21 mm³/s for a regular PLA); if the speed and line width ask for more, the nozzle can’t keep up and gaps appear.
modifier · per-object, per object, modifier volume: A way to apply different settings to one area of a part, or to a single object on the plate, instead of to the whole print. For example, to add more infill only around a screw hole, you place a shape over that area and change its infill.
monotonic · monotonic line: A pattern of parallel lines all printed in the same direction and in order, without jumping back and forth, like painting a wall with the roller always going the same way. Each line overlaps its neighbor the same way, so the surface comes out smooth with an even sheen.Top surface pattern
nozzle: The hot metal tip the melted plastic comes out of, like the tip of a piping bag. The most common one has a 0.4 mm hole, and many settings in the program are given as a percentage of that diameter.
over-extrusion · under-extrusion, overextrusion, underextrusion, over-extruding, under-extruding: Over-extrusion: more plastic comes out than fits, causing blobs, rough edges, and parts that come out slightly too big. Under-extrusion: less comes out than needed, leaving gaps or lines that don’t stick to each other.
overhang · overhanging: A part of the model that sticks out and is printed partly over thin air, with nothing underneath, like the brim of a hat or the outstretched arm of a figure. Up to about 45° it usually prints fine; flatter than that, it needs help (supports or slower printing).Type
PLA · PETG, TPU, ABS: Types of printing plastic. PLA is the easiest and most widely used. PETG handles more heat and impact, and is a little flexible. TPU is rubbery, like a phone case. ABS is tough and heat-resistant, but needs an enclosed printer.
pressure advance · dynamic flow calibration, dynamic flow: Plastic inside the nozzle behaves like a spring: it takes a moment to start coming out and keeps oozing a bit after it stops, like ketchup when you squeeze the bottle. “Dynamic flow calibration” (pressure advance) teaches the printer to get ahead of that delay; if it’s off, you get blobs or gaps at seams and corners.
preview: The Bambu Studio tab that shows, layer by layer and in colors, what the printer is going to print. It lets you check a setting before wasting any plastic.
profile · preset, process profile, filament profile: A saved set of settings with a name, like a recipe. Bambu Studio has printer, filament, and process profiles (for example, “0.20mm Standard”); the values shown in the panel are the ones from the factory profile.Layer height
purge · purging, purged, wipe, wiping, nozzle wipe: Purging means pushing out leftover plastic, for example when changing colors, so the new color comes out clean. A “wipe” is similar: dragging the nozzle over a freshly printed line to leave behind the drop hanging from its tip, like wiping a knife on the rim of a jar.
raft · raft layer: A plastic base printed first, under the whole part, like a tray, and peeled off at the end. It keeps the part off the plate; it’s used with materials that tend to lift or shrink. Not to be confused with a brim, which is just a thin ring around the first layer.
retraction · retract, retracted, retracting: Pulling the filament back a little before a travel move so the nozzle doesn’t ooze and leave strings. It’s like twirling the spoon as you lift it out of the honey jar so it doesn’t drip.
scarf seam · scarf, scarf joint: A way to close each wall loop with a ramp instead of a butt joint: the end gradually rides up over the start, like the two ends of a scarf overlapping, and the seam almost disappears.
seam: The small mark left where each wall loop starts and ends, like the seam on a sock. You can’t get rid of it; you can only choose where it goes and hide it.Seam position
slicer · slicing, slice, sliced: The program (here, Bambu Studio) that cuts the 3D model into thin layers and writes the step-by-step instructions the printer follows, like a recipe. “Slicing” is doing that cut.Layer height
solid infill · solid layer, shell: The solid layers that close the part at the top and bottom, like the lid and bottom of a box. Bambu Studio calls them the “shell”. The top ones rest on hollow infill, which is why you need several.Top shell layers Bottom shell layers
support · tree support, normal support: A throwaway plastic structure printed under overhangs to hold them up and removed when the print is done, like scaffolding on a building site. “Normal” supports are straight columns; “tree” supports are branches that grow around the part.Enable support Type
support interface · interface, interface layer, top interface, bottom interface: The few dense support layers that touch the part: on top, where the part rests on the support, and at the bottom, where the support rests on the part. They give an even surface so the supported face comes out smooth and the support peels off cleanly. The rest of the support, more open, is the “body” or “base”.
top surface · bottom surface: The top face of the part (or the bottom one, which touches the plate). These are the layers people see most, so they have their own pattern, speed, and line width settings.Top surface pattern Top shell layers
travel · travel move: A nozzle move without laying down plastic, to get from one area of the layer to another. Travel moves don’t build anything: they’re wasted time and, when they cross open air, they can leave thin strings like cobwebs.
vase mode · spiral vase, spiral vase mode: A special mode (“Spiral vase”) that prints the part as a single continuous wall rising in a spiral, with no top, no infill, and no seam. It’s for vases, planters, or lampshades with a single wall, and it’s very fast.
wall · perimeter, wall loop: The loops of plastic that form the outline of each layer, like the walls of a house seen from above. The outer one is the one you see; the inner ones add body and strength. Bambu Studio calls them “wall loops”; other programs call them “perimeters”.Wall loops