A Plain-English 3D Printing Glossary

3D printing has its own vocabulary, and it can feel like a wall when you are just trying to get one part made. You do not need to learn all of it. But understanding a handful of key terms makes it much easier to describe what you want and to follow our recommendations. At Tex's Prints in Cypress, TX, we talk plainly with every customer across Greater Houston, and this glossary is the cheat sheet we wish everyone had on hand.

File and model terms

These describe the digital side of a print, the file you send and the model inside it.

A note on manifold

If you remember one term, make it this one. A printable model must be manifold, meaning it forms a single sealed solid. Non-manifold geometry is the most common reason a downloaded or homemade file needs repair. We check for it on every job.

Print setting terms

These describe choices we make when preparing your file to print. You do not have to set them, but it helps to know what they mean.

• Layer height is the thickness of each printed layer. Thinner layers mean finer detail and a smoother surface, but a longer print. Thicker layers are faster and stronger but show more visible lines.
• Infill is the internal honeycomb structure inside a part. Most prints are not solid; they are a shell around a percentage of infill. More infill means more strength and weight; less means lighter and faster.
• Supports are temporary scaffolding printed under overhangs and steep angles, then removed afterward. They let us print shapes that would otherwise droop.
• Perimeters (or walls) are the outer solid layers. More perimeters make a stronger, more watertight part.
• Brim and raft are extra material printed around or under a part to help it stick to the bed and resist warping.
• Orientation is how the part is positioned on the bed. It affects strength, finish, and support needs all at once.

Material and quality terms

Words you will hear when we talk about how a part will hold up.

• PLA is an easy, detailed, color-rich material best for indoor display pieces. It softens in heat.
• PETG is tougher and more heat-resistant, our go-to for functional parts and anything that sits in a hot car.
• Resin is a liquid cured by light, capturing the finest detail, ideal for miniatures and jewelry-scale work.
• Layer adhesion is how well each layer bonds to the next; weak adhesion means a part can split along the lines.
• Warping is when corners lift off the bed as a part cools unevenly.
• Tolerance is the intentional small gap left between parts that need to fit together. Without it, parts jam.
• Wall thickness is how thick a part's walls are. Too thin and a wall may not print or may come out fragile.

Process terms

• Slicing is converting your 3D model into the layer-by-layer instructions a printer follows.
• FDM (fused deposition modeling) builds a part by melting and stacking filament. The most common method.
• Resin printing cures liquid resin layer by layer with light, for very high detail.
• Reverse engineering is creating a new model from a physical object, often a broken part we measure and rebuild.

Why this matters when you order

You do not need to use any of these words to work with us. But knowing them helps you describe your goal: "I need this strong, so use more infill and PETG" tells us a lot. Even just saying "it has to fit onto a half-inch shaft" lets us plan the right tolerance.

And if none of this sticks, that is fine too. The whole point of a local shop is that you can hand us a photo, a sketch, or a half-finished file and let us translate it into the right settings. You bring the idea; we bring the vocabulary.

Ready when you are

Now that the terms make a little more sense, putting in an order is straightforward. Send your model through our upload page, or request a quote and describe the part in your own words, technical or not. No file yet? A clear photo or sketch with rough sizes is plenty to get started, and we will handle the rest of the jargon for you.