Glossary

Welcome to the CuraEngine Glossary for dummies!

You're very welcome to contribute:

• Add your terms (alphabetical order)
• Improve existing terms descriptions

Terms

• Combing: A movement that tries to avoid crossing walls
• Layer: 3D printing is done in thin layers of material. These layers are 2D shapes which when stacked vertically, form a 3D object.
• Link: Result of the mechanism to detect if there is any overlap between lines, if there is a link, there is an overlap
• Polygon: A 2D shape created by the intersection of a horizontal plane at a given height "slicing" through a 3D object. Each layer (see above) is comprised of one or more polygons, which form the object's walls (see below).
• Retraction: When the printer's material feeder runs backwards for a short amount of time to pull material away from the hot end. This prevents passive oozing/dripping of materials in-between actual printed lines.
• Shell: The top and bottom layers, as well as walls.
• Skin: The top and bottom layers only.
• Wall: The contour of a layer. Typically comprised of inner walls and outer walls. The terms "inner" and "outer" do not refer to the actual shape of the printed object, but rather which side of the wall they are. Inner walls form the surface touching the infill inside the model, and outer walls form the surface touching the air (and support material) outside the model.