Glossary

A modern 3D printing format. Besides the shape of the part it can carry colours, materials and units of measurement, so the file arrives without ambiguity.

A copy of all the data, made overnight, used to recover it if a disk fails. Marca’s backups are encrypted and stay on storage inside the company.

Cleaning the part with a jet of tiny beads, which removes the powder left on it after printing and leaves an even, matt surface.

The space inside the machine where parts are built, given as width × depth × height in millimetres. The part, in the position it is printed in, has to fit inside it.

Computer-Aided Design: the software used to design a part in 3D on a computer, and the file it produces.

A service that protects marca.it from cyber attacks and automated traffic: every visit passes through it first, and suspicious requests are stopped. Cloudflare does not keep the files you upload.

A small piece of information a site saves in your browser to remember you, for example the language you chose or that you are logged in. Those not needed to run the site are only switched on with your consent.

Two kinds of 3D printing with a liquid resin that hardens with light, like SLA. Instead of a beam that draws, each layer is lit all at once: by a projector in DLP, through a screen in LCD.

A slight slope of the walls, usually one or two degrees, that helps the part come out of the mould, like a cake slides out more easily from a tapered tin.

How much a material resists bending or stretching under load. The higher it is, the stiffer the part. Measured in MPa.

How much a sample of the material stretches, when pulled, before it breaks, as a percentage. A high number means a material that gives way by bending rather than snapping.

The three delivery levels in the online quote. In Multi Jet Fusion, Standard delivers in 5 working days and Express in 2. Economy costs less and starts later.

A mould made in days instead of weeks, to produce small batches in the real plastic of the final part before investing in the production mould.

Fused Deposition Modeling, filament 3D printing: a plastic filament is melted and laid down layer by layer, like a glue gun guided by a robot. Also suited to large parts.

The European regulation on personal data protection. It sets out which data a company may collect and for how long, and what rights you have: to see them, correct them, have them deleted.

Very fine glass fibres mixed into the plastic to make it stiffer and stronger. The number after “GF” is the percentage by weight: GF30 means 30% glass fibre.

The temperature at which a plastic, under a set load, starts to bend. It is used to compare materials in the heat.

The protected connection between your browser and the site: what you send travels encrypted, and anyone intercepting it along the way could not read it. You can tell from the address starting with https://.

An exchange format for 3D drawings, older than STEP and still used by many programs. We convert it automatically when you upload it.

The method used to make most plastic objects: molten plastic is pushed at high pressure into a mould, cools, and the part comes out finished. Worthwhile for many identical parts.

The “street number” a computer or phone uses on the internet. It makes sure replies reach the right device, and almost every website records it for security.

The most widely used international standard for quality management. An independent body checks that the company works with written procedures that are monitored and improved over time.

How easily the molten plastic flows. A high MFR fills thin walls and long flow paths well; a low one usually gives tougher parts.

The metal block, in two or more parts, containing the cavity shaped like the part. It takes time and money to build, but then produces identical parts very quickly.

The unit used to measure the stiffness and strength of materials. 1 MPa is like the weight of about 100 grams resting on one square millimetre.

HP’s industrial 3D printing technology. The machine spreads very thin layers of plastic powder, a printhead “draws” each cross-section of the part with a liquid, and heat fuses only the drawn areas. The surrounding powder holds the part up: no supports to remove.

A contract in which whoever receives confidential information, for example the drawing of a new product, undertakes not to disclose it to anyone.

The size of the smallest “box” that contains the part: width, depth and height. It tells you whether it fits in the machine and how much space it takes.

A nylon made from a plant, the castor bean. More flexible than PA12: it bends before it breaks, which suits clips and hinges.

The most used plastic in MJF printing: a strong, light type of nylon that resists oils and greases. Made for parts that have to work, not just be looked at.

The most common nylons in injection moulding: stiff and resistant to wear and heat. Found in gears, brackets and car components.

A way to sign in without a password: your phone or computer recognises you by fingerprint, face or device PIN. There is no password to remember or type.

A plastic that holds its dimensions well and is a good electrical insulator. The typical material for connectors and electrical components.

A very impact-resistant plastic, which can also be transparent. Used for guards, covers and visors.

Italian certified email with legal value, like registered mail with proof of delivery. It is an Italian company’s official address.

A hard, slippery plastic that slides well against other parts. The typical material for gears, bushings and clips.

A light, low-cost plastic that resists many chemicals and bends without breaking. It is the one used for the thin hinges of flip-top caps.

A nylon made to work in the heat, for example in a car’s engine bay. It is often reinforced with glass fibre.

The position in which the part is placed inside the machine during 3D printing. It can change the look of the surfaces, dimensional accuracy and lead time.

Quickly making one or a few copies of a part to see it, handle it and test it before series production. That way a design error shows up while it is still cheap to fix.

The always-on computer that runs a website and stores its data. Marca’s servers are our own and sit in our premises in Italy.

How hard a rubber or soft plastic is, measured by pressing a point into the surface. The higher the number, the harder the material; the letter gives the scale: A for soft ones, D for harder ones.

3D printing with a liquid resin that hardens where an ultraviolet light beam hits it. It gives very smooth surfaces and fine detail.

The most widely used format for exchanging 3D drawings between different CAD programs. It describes the part with precise mathematical surfaces: the format to choose when you have it.

A format that describes the surface of the part as a mesh of small triangles, a bit like a mosaic. It is the typical 3D printing format.

How far a real measurement may differ from the drawing. “10 mm ± 0.2” means the part is fine if it measures between 9.8 and 10.2 mm.

Soft, elastic plastics that are moulded like a plastic and behave like rubber. TPU is one of them. Used for seals, grips and bellows.

A rating of how a plastic behaves in a flame. V-0 is the best grade of the most common test: the flame goes out by itself within seconds, with no burning drips.

A part of the shape that “hooks back”, like the tooth of a snap clip: the mould cannot open in a straight line and needs an extra mechanism. In 3D printing it is usually not a problem.

A finish that smooths the surface of the printed part with a controlled vapour. The part becomes smoother, satin-glossy and easier to clean.

The European database that confirms whether a company’s VAT number in another EU country is enabled for intra-EU trade. If it is, the reverse charge applies and the invoice carries no Italian VAT.

How thick the “skin” of a part is. Every technology has a minimum thickness to come out well; in moulding it is best kept as even as possible, so the plastic cools uniformly.