Bed adhesion
The grip between the first printed layer and the build surface.
Why it matters: Weak adhesion lets the part move before the rest of the print has a chance to be right.
Explore Troubleshooting →A shared language for better tests
3D Printing Glossary
Terms are useful when they lead to a better observation. Start with what the print shows, name the mechanism, then change one variable you can check.
23 terms
Bridging
Printing filament across an open gap without support underneath.
Why it matters: A bridge reveals the balance of cooling, speed, temperature, and extrusion.
Explore Slicer Settings →Build plate
The printer surface that supports the part during printing.
Why it matters: Its cleanliness, texture, and temperature set the conditions for the first layer.
Explore Hardware →Cooling
The controlled airflow that helps deposited filament solidify.
Why it matters: Too little cooling softens detail; too much can weaken layer bonding or lift edges.
Explore Slicer Settings →E-steps
A firmware value that tells the extruder motor how many steps correspond to one millimetre of commanded filament.
Why it matters: It establishes a mechanical extrusion baseline before you tune material-specific flow.
Explore Calibration →Elephant's foot
A first-layer edge that spreads outward, making the bottom of a part wider than intended.
Why it matters: It is usually evidence of excess first-layer squish, heat, or an unrelieved sharp edge.
Explore Troubleshooting →Extrusion multiplier
A slicer adjustment that scales the amount of filament extruded; often called flow.
Why it matters: Use it to correct a measured material-and-profile result, not as a catch-all repair.
Explore Calibration →Flow rate
The actual or commanded volume of plastic delivered through the nozzle over time.
Why it matters: It connects line width, layer height, speed, and hotend capacity.
Explore Calibration →Heat creep
Unwanted heat travelling up the hotend and softening filament before it reaches the melt zone.
Why it matters: It can cause intermittent jams that look like an extrusion setting problem.
Explore Hardware →Hotend
The assembly that heats filament and guides it through the nozzle.
Why it matters: Its temperature control and melt capacity define a real limit on reliable flow.
Explore Hardware →Input shaping
A firmware motion-control method that reduces ringing by shaping acceleration commands around printer resonance.
Why it matters: It can improve speed and surface quality when the machine has been measured and tuned.
Explore Firmware →Layer height
The vertical thickness of one printed layer.
Why it matters: It changes detail, strength, print time, and the flow demand placed on the hotend.
Explore Slicer Settings →Linear advance
A firmware feature that varies extrusion pressure during speed changes; a precursor or alternative to pressure advance.
Why it matters: It helps keep corners and line starts consistent when motion changes quickly.
Explore Firmware →Nozzle
The small orifice at the end of the hotend that forms the deposited filament line.
Why it matters: Its diameter sets practical limits for detail, line width, and flow.
Explore Hardware →Overhang
A printed feature that extends outward from the layer below it.
Why it matters: The farther it extends, the more cooling, geometry, and support strategy matter.
Explore Slicer Settings →Pressure advance
A firmware setting that anticipates pressure changes in the nozzle as the printer accelerates and decelerates.
Why it matters: A tuned value reduces bulges and gaps around corners, seams, and speed transitions.
Explore Firmware →Retraction
A brief pullback of filament before travel moves to relieve nozzle pressure.
Why it matters: It can limit stringing, but excessive retraction can create jams or weak restart lines.
Explore Slicer Settings →Ringing
Faint repeating ripples that follow a sharp corner or feature, also called ghosting.
Why it matters: It points to vibration in the motion system rather than a simple surface-setting defect.
Explore Firmware →Seam
The visible point where a perimeter begins or ends on each layer.
Why it matters: Seam placement and pressure control determine whether it becomes a deliberate feature or a distracting scar.
Explore Slicer Settings →Skirt
A priming outline printed around, but not attached to, the part.
Why it matters: It gives you a quick read on extrusion and bed readiness before the part starts.
Explore Calibration →Stringing
Fine strands of filament left between separate printed features after travel moves.
Why it matters: It is useful evidence about ooze, temperature, drying, travel, and retraction together.
Explore Troubleshooting →Warping
Corners or edges lifting from the build plate as the plastic cools and contracts.
Why it matters: The pattern tells you about thermal stress, adhesion, part geometry, and enclosure conditions.
Explore Troubleshooting →Z offset
The vertical distance adjustment between the nozzle reference position and the real build surface.
Why it matters: A correct offset gives the first layer enough contact without crushing it into an elephant's foot.
Explore Calibration →No exact match yet. Try a symptom, setting, or material term.