Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Acronyms, Abbreviations & Glossary of Additive Manufacturing


Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is an exciting technology rapidly growing in popularity due to 3D printers becoming more affordable. You can’t read an article about 3D printing without coming across many abbreviations, acronyms, jargon and terminology. The additive manufacturing industry is full of them. The introduction and disappearance of new processes, abbreviations and acronyms are a healthy part of technological advancement in the field and its evolution.

Material extrusion_filament
Material extrusion_filament

Therefore, I have listed some of the most common acronyms, abbreviations and glossary terms used in the industry so that you’ve got all the information in one place for effortless future reference. You can read how 3D printing technologies are categorised into seven groups and how they all generally follow very similar steps to create a 3D object.

Hopefully, the following terms and their short description will shed some light and give you a basic idea.

Acronyms, Abbreviations & Glossary

3D file / 3D modelIt is an electronic file representing a three-dimensional object created either by 3D modelling software or a 3D scanner
3DP3D printing or 3-dimensional printing – refers to Additive Manufacturing
3SPEnvision tec’s patented scan, spin & selectively photocuring technique to create 3D prints
ABSAcrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene is an opaque thermoplastic and amorphous polymer.
AMAdditive Manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, in which a 3D object is fabricated by adding layer-upon-layer of material and fusing them – learn more here
BJBinder Jetting is a 3D printing technique in which a binding liquid is selectively deposited to join powder material to form a 3D part – learn more here.
BridgePrint sections are supported at both ends but not in the middle.
Bowden tubeBowden tube or sometimes called Bowden cable, guides filament from the feeder to the print head on material extrusion printers
Build envelopeBuild envelope is the maximum volume the printer can print and determines how large  an object the printer can build
Build plateAlso known as the Build platform or Bed, it is the surface or area of the 3D printer on which parts are formed.
CADComputer-Aided Design
CAMComputer-Aided Manufacturing
CDLPContinuous Direct Light Processing is part of the vat photopolymerization AM method, where a photopolymer liquid resin is cured to make hard plastic parts.
CNCComputer Numerical Control
CuraCura is an open-source 3D printer slicing application used and optimised for Ultimaker printers – more here.
DEDDirect Energy Deposition – It is one of the additive manufacturing techniques where focused thermal energy such as a laser, electron beam, or plasma arc is used to fuse materials by melting as they are being deposited – Learn more here
DLPDirect Light Processing is part of the vat photopolymerization AM method, where a photopolymer liquid resin is cured to make hard plastic parts.
DMDDirect Metal Deposition
DMLSDirect Metal Laser Sintering – Learn more here
DODDrop-On-Demand
EBAMElectron Beam Additive Manufacture
EBMElectron Beam Melting
ExtruderUsing two counter-rotating gripping wheels, a 3D printer head module pushes the filament through the Bowden tube to the hot end.
FDMFused Deposition Modeling
FFFFused Filament Fabrication
FilamentFDM printers operate by melting a plastic filament, which is typically made of either ABS or PLA
Fill / InfillThe interior structure of a 3D-printed object. To avoid wasting time and material by printing solid objects, the interior of the objects is printed with a mesh-type structure. The infill is typically expressed as a percentage (e.g. 10% infill).
G-codeG-code is the file format used to store information that can be interpreted by CNC machines and 3D printers.
GDPGel Dispensing 3D Printing technology that utilizes movement similar to what is used in FDM systems while working with a UV-sensitive material that hardens when exposed to UV light
GFGlass-Filled
Hot endThe material extrusion method of additive manufacturing uses a material extruder that gets hot enough to melt plastic or other materials.
Kapton tapeHeat-resistant polyimide adhesive tape. Often used in material extrusion printers to cover the surface of the print bed to provide better adhesion to the 3D printed model and prevent it from warping.
LCMLithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing is a process for the additive manufacturing of high-performance ceramics
LENSLaser Engineered Net Shape
LMDLaser Metal Deposition, a printing process which casts and fuses metal with a laser beam
LOMLaminated Object Manufacturing
LSLaser Sintering
Material Extrusion3d printing, where a continuous filament of thermoplastic is used to construct 3D parts. Learn more here
Meshmeaning the dividing of a model into basic blocks or structures that are small and simple enough to do calculations on them
Microna unit of length equal to one millionth of a metre
MJMaterial Jetting
MJFMulti Jet Fusion
NetfabbA commercial 3D print preparation application, Netfabb can prepare, repair and slice 3D models in preparation for printing. Learn more here www.netfabb.com
NozzleThe part of the hot end of the printer deposits the melted plastic material.
NPJNanoParticle Jetting
OBJObject file – A geometry definition file format from 3D modelling programs commonly used in 3D printing.
OverhangParts or features of a 3D model that protrudes or overhangs at an angle over 45 degrees without any support below when orientated on the build platform are generally categorised as overhangs.
PAPolyamide
PBFPowder Bed Fusion
PCPolycarbonate
PhotopolymerA polymer that changes its properties when exposed to light.
PIMPlastic injection moulding
PLAPolylactic Acid – A biodegradable thermoplastic polymer made from plant starch, used as a 3D printer material.
PolyjetIt is one of the 3d printing techniques which fall under Material jetting
PPPolypropylene
PVAPolyvinyl Alcohol – A water-soluble filament often used as support material in 3D printing.
RaftThe raft is a removable filament latticework printed horizontally onto the build platform as support to minimise warping. The raft is larger than the part, hence better adhesion, and removed and discarded after printing. Rafts are commonly used with ABS material extrusion-type printers.
REReverse Engineering is the process in which an engineering product is deconstructed to understand its designs and to extract knowledge about its working principle.
RepRapShort for Replicating Rapid Prototyper, it is the first low-cost general-purpose self-replicating manufacturing/3D printing machine.
RMRapid Manufacturing
RPRapid Prototyping
RTRapid Tooling
Sheet laminationOne of the seven additive manufacturing techniques
.amfAdditive Manufacturing File
ShellAlso referred to it as the outline or outer perimeter, this describes the outermost wall of the printed 3D object
SHSSelective heat sintering
SLStereolithography is an AM technology which produces parts using a process called photopolymerization – refer more @ Vat Photopolymerization
SLAStereolithography Apparatus
Slicer / SliceThis is software to convert the digital 3D file into machine-readable code. The slicer cuts the model into thin horizontal layers called slices and generates tool paths in the two-dimensional plane.
SLMSelective Laser Melting
SLSSelective Laser Sintering
STL/.stlknown as the Stereolithographic file, it is the most common file format 3D printers use.
Support / Support material3D objects with large overhangs or gaps require removable supports to stop them from collapsing during printing. In some instances, these are printed using different materials than the main part material.
ThermoplasticThey are a type of plastic material which becomes soft when heated above a specific temperature and hardens when cooled.
TPUThermoplastic Polyurethane
Vat PhotopolymerizationVat photopolymerization is an AM method where a light source is used to cure photopolymer liquid resin and turn it into hard plastic parts.
VoxelIn 3D printing, a voxel represents a value on a regular grid in a three-dimensional space, like a pixel with volume.

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