Plain-language reference
The terms beginners meet in printer menus, slicers and troubleshooting guides.
B
- Bed mesh
- A measured map of small height differences across the build surface. Firmware uses it to compensate during early layers.
- Bowden extruder
- An extruder whose drive gears push filament through a tube before it reaches the hotend.
- Brim
- Extra single-layer lines attached around a model to increase contact with the build plate.
E
- Elephant foot
- A first layer or lower edge that spreads wider than the model, often from excessive squish or heat.
- Extrusion multiplier / flow
- A slicer adjustment that changes the commanded amount of material. It should not be used to hide a mechanical feed problem.
F
- First layer
- The foundation printed directly on the build plate. Its contact affects the rest of the print.
- Firmware
- Software running on the printer’s controller.
H
- Heat creep
- Heat traveling too far up the filament path, allowing material to soften where it should remain solid.
- Hotend
- The assembly that guides, heats and extrudes filament through the nozzle.
L
- Layer height
- The vertical thickness of each printed layer.
- Layer shift
- A sudden sideways offset that continues in later layers after motion was lost on an axis.
R
- Retraction
- A brief reverse filament movement intended to reduce oozing during travel.
S
- Slicer
- Software that converts a 3D model into layers and printer instructions.
- Stringing
- Fine strands left between separate features when material oozes during travel.
U–Z
- Under-extrusion
- Less material leaving the nozzle than the print requires, producing thin or missing lines.
- Warping
- Edges or corners lifting as cooling material contracts.
- Z offset
- The calibrated relationship between the nozzle and the printer’s Z reference, used to set the first-layer gap.