A continuously updated page of terms and glossary.
CAD
| COMMAND | Description |
|---|---|
| Fillet | An arc connecting endpoints of two intersecting lines or objects, often a rounded corner. |
| Chamfer | A small, angled surface used to relieve a sharp corner. |
| Combine | Add, cut, or intersect different bodies to make a new shape. |
| Shell | Gives the 2D shape extra walls and volume. |
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CAM
| COMMAND | Description |
|---|---|
| Kerf | Kerf is an old word of English/German derivation. Used to explain the width of material that is taken away when sawing wood. Defined as the width of the saw blade and the offsets of the saw teeth on both sides. The teeth are pushed out either side to allow the blade to move freely. |
| Offset | Where to place the centre of the cutting line if you want to get an accurately measured piece. |
| Clearance | The extra space beyond the offset setting to allow easy fitting when joining/fitting different parts. Remember this is also applied to the opposite joint. |
| Line Fit | Where the measurements of 2 or more joining pieces have 0 mm clearance. The starting point when testing how much clearance is needed depending on the material. |
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ELECTRONICS PRODUCTION
| COMMAND | Description |
|---|---|
| FTDI | (Future Technology Devices International Limited), is a commercial company, specialising in Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology. This PCB board would act as a communication bridge between the computer (via the USB port) and other PCB boards. |
| UPDI | Unified Program and Debug Interface, is a protocol used on chips such as the ATtiny/mega series. |
| JTAG | Joint Test Action Group, is an industry standard for verifying designs and testing printed circuit boards after manufacture. It specifies the use of a dedicated debug port implementing a serial communications interface for low-overhead access without requiring direct external access to the system address and data buses. The interface connects to an on-chip Test Access Port (TAP) that implements a stateful protocol to access a set of test registers that present chip logic levels and device capabilities of various parts. |
| ATtiny | Are a subfamily of the popular 8-bit AVR microcontrollers, which typically has fewer features, fewer I/O pins, and less memory than other AVR series chips. |
| ISP | In-system programming, also called in-circuit serial programming (ICSP), is the ability of some programmable logic devices, microcontrollers, and other embedded devices to be programmed while installed in a complete system, rather than requiring the chip to be programmed prior to installing it into the system. It allows firmware updates to be delivered to the on-chip memory of microcontrollers and related processors without requiring specialist programming circuitry on the circuit board, and simplifies design work.[ |
| PCB Stuffing | An empty PCB board is stuffed or populated with electronic components to form a functioning printed circuit assembly. |
| UART | A UART is usually an individual (or part of an) integrated circuit (IC) used for serial communications over a computer or peripheral device serial port. One or more UART peripherals are commonly integrated in microcontroller chips. |
| Climb milling | Climb milling is generally the best way to machine parts today since it reduces the load and heat from the cutting edge, leaves a better surface finish, and improves tool life. |
| Conventional | The cutter tends to dig into the work piece and may cause the part to be cut out of tolerance. |
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3D Printing
| COMMAND | Description |
|---|---|
| Skirt | A skirt is an outline that surrounds your part but does not touch the part. The skirt is extruded on the print bed before starting to print your model. Skirts serve a useful purpose because they help prime your extruder and establish a smooth flow of filament. Observing the skirt also allows you to detect and adjust any levelling or adhesion issues before the actual model begins printing. |
| Brim | A Brim is a special type of skirt that is actually attached to the edges of your model. Typically, the brim is printed with a increased number of outlines to create a large ring around your part, similar to the brim of a hat. Brims are often used to hold down the edges of your part, which can prevent warping and help with bed adhesion. |
| Raft | A Raft is a horizontal latticework of filament that is located underneath your part. Your 3D printed part will be printed on top of this raft, instead of directly on the build platform surface. Rafts are primarily used with ABS to help with warping and bed adhesion, but they can also be used to help stabilize models with small footprints, or to create a strong foundation on which to build the upper layers of your part. |
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ELECTRONICS
| WORD | Description |
|---|---|
| SDA | SDA is the data line in IC2 bus. The SCL & SDA lines are connected to all devices on the I2C bus. There needs to be a third wire which is just the ground or 0 volts. |
| SCL | SCL is the clock line. It is used to synchronize all data transfers over the I2C bus. |
| VCC | Higher voltage (e.g. 5v) |
| VDD | (drain power voltage) The primary power voltage on MOS devices that require a potential that differs from the normal system logic voltage. The term VDD is used interchangeably with VCC on devices that use 5‑V supplies. |
| GND | Ground (0v) |
| MOSI | ‘Master Out Slave In’ - old fashioned terms, for MOSI and MISO are the data lines. MOSI transmits data from the master to the slave. |
| MISO | ‘Master In Slave Out’ - MISO transmits data from the slave to the master. |
| SCK | Serial Clock of a digital electronics device. It is a clock signal (historically also known as logic beat) oscillates between a high and a low state and is used like a metronome to coordinate actions of digital circuits. |
| PWM | Pulse Width Modulation, or PWM, is a technique for getting analog results with digital means. Digital control is used to create a square wave, a signal switched between on and off. |
| CS | ‘Chip Set’ - when there are several sensors or chip in the circuit, this pin is used to communicate which chip is being addressed by the IC |
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COMPUTER-CONTROLLED MACHINING
| WORD | Description |
|---|---|
| Dog bone | Extra material cut away from inside corners to allow joints to fit together properly. |
| T Bone | Similar shape to Dogbone with the same application. see Dogbone |
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EMBEDDED COMPUTING
| WORD | Description |
|---|---|
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | Carries out the instructions provided by the program. The CPU can do basic arithmetic and other functions necessary to the proper functioning of the computer. Including receiving and sending data to/from the outside world and moving data form one location of memory to another. |
| Clock | This is an internal circuit that provides a syncing pulse that controls the pacing of the program instructions as they are executed one at a time by the CPU. |
| Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) | Just like the bigger Personal Computers, this is a temporary work area for the computer to do calculation. The result can be moved to another more permanent memory type location. |
| Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-only Memory (EEPROM) or Flash Memory | This special type of memory holds the program that runs the microcontroller. A read-only type of memory, it’s data can’t be changed by the program running on the microcontroller’s CPU. It is possible to write data to the EEPROM by connecting it to a computer via USB. The main function of this type of memory is to keep the program on the microcontroller when you turn it off. Thus no need to re-program it each time. |
| Integrated Development Environment (IDE) | An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source code editor, build automation tools and a debugger. Some IDEs, contain the necessary compiler, interpreter, or both; others, do not. |
| Bootloader | A bootloader, also known as a boot program or bootstrap loader, is a special operating system software that loads into the working memory of a computer after start-up. A bootloader is generally launched by a bootable medium like a hard drive, a CD/DVD or a USB stick. The boot medium receives information from the computer’s firmware (e.g. BIOS) about where the bootloader is. The whole process is also described as “booting”. |
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MOULDING + CASTING
| WORD | Description |
|---|---|
| SPRUE | A sprue is the vertical passage through which liquid material is introduced into a mold and it is a large diameter channel through which the material enters the mold. It connects pouring basin to the runner. In many cases it controls the flow of material into the mold. During casting or moulding, the material in the sprue will solidify and need to be removed from the finished part. It is usually tapered downwards to minimize turbulence and formation of air bubbles. |
| FLASHING | Flashing is excess material attached to a moulded, forged, or cast product, which must usually be removed. This is typically caused by leakage of the material between the two surfaces of a mold (beginning along the parting line[1]) or between the base material and the mold in the case of over moulding. |
| PARTING LINE | A parting line, in industrial casting of moulds, is the border line in which draft angles change direction. That is, it is the dividing line that splits the core and cavity halves of a moulded part. It is sometimes a starting point for the mold parting surface |
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