You may see the lines from each layer after printing – but don’t worry, you can finish your print to smooth these later! Your 3D printer will then deposit filament based on the dimensions of each layer, and once it’s finished each 2D layer, it moves up one, creating the next layer up, until the final model is eventually finished. The G-code is the final sliced model that your 3D printer uses to print, the STL is the originally designed 3D file. To print with an FDM printer, import your 3D file into your 3D slicer (such as Cura), slice it into each individual layer, and then send it to your 3D printer.

The filament is extruded, layer-by-layer, based on the 3D model supplied to your 3D printer via your slicer. These plastic filaments are usually either 1.75mm or 3mm thick, and are fed via either the Bowden tube on a Bowden extruder, or directly into the 3D printer if it’s a direct drive printer, and then melted in the hot end before being extruded out of the 3D printer’s nozzle.įilaments like PLA are fairly forgiving, but others can cause nozzle clogs if you get your temperature or other settings wrong, to pay attention to the instructions on your filament spool.

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