User's Manual Part 2

Glossary 273
filament
In the 3D printing context, filament generally refers to the
plastic filament that the printer melts and prints; PLA and
ABS a r e two o f the most common materials for 3D printer
filament. 37, See also ABS & PLA
Gcode
Gcode, sometimes written as “G-code”, is a numer i cal con-
trol programming language used to control the op e ra t i on of
mach i n e tools such as 3D printers. While th e re is an inter-
national standard for Gcode, the 3D printing community
loosely adheres to it. For example, di↵er ent 3D printers ac-
cept di↵erent variat i ons of Gcode. The specific Gcodes pro-
duced by di↵erent slicers and accepted by di↵erent printers
are often not well specified. 139, 176, 207, 261, See also
slicer
infill
Each mo d el to be printed is comprised of an exterior and an
int er i or . Whil e the exterior is typic all y printed solid wi th
no holes or gaps, the interior may range anywhere from
completely empty to completely solid. The pla st i c printed
in the interior is known as “infill” and its solidity is the
“infill percentage”. For example, 0% infill means the print
is completely hollow and 100% infill means it is fully solid.
Printing time is reduced and plastic is saved by printing
with infill percentages significantly less than 100%. The
amount of infill you should use dep e n d s upon the nature of
the piece being printed and its intended usage.