Official terminology for the G1 pellet printer ecosystem. Use these exact terms in all notes and customer communications.
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| G1 | The Ginger Additive pellet 3D printer |
| FGF | Fused Granular Fabrication — the pellet-based printing process (not FDM) |
| Pellet / pellets | The raw plastic granules used as feedstock (not “filament”) |
| Screw extruder | The rotating auger that compresses and melts pellets |
| Multi-Heating Zones | Three independent heated sections of the barrel: Feeding, Melting, Nozzle |
| Feeding Zone | Top zone of the barrel (Zone 1 / E0 in slicer). Compresses incoming pellets |
| Melting Zone | Middle zone (Zone 2 / E1). Completes melting |
| Nozzle Zone | Bottom zone at the nozzle tip (Zone 3 / E2). Controls final viscosity |
| Hopper | The pellet container above the extruder. It is the 3D-printed part E04 in the assembly manual |
| Corrugated tube | The flexible white ribbed hose that carries pellets up to the hopper. It connects to a rigid grey pipe outside the printer (the rigid section prevents pellets jamming). A separate corrugated tube carries the extruder cabling to Klipper — do not confuse the two |
| Vacuum pump | Suction unit that lifts pellets from the bucket to the hopper. It is a standard ash / shop vacuum cleaner (no specific brand required) — see Vacuum pump for the characteristics to match |
| Mainsail | Web-based dashboard for Klipper, accessible via browser on local network |
| Klipper | The open-source firmware running on the Raspberry Pi |
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Ginger Slicer | Official slicer for the G1. Fork of Orca Slicer with pellet-specific features |
| Rotation Volume | mm³ of plastic extruded per one full screw turn. The primary flow calibration parameter |
| MVS / Max Volumetric Speed | Maximum mm³/s the extruder can reliably deliver. The main speed limit on the G1 |
| Pressure Advance | Klipper feature compensating for the lag between screw movement and material output |
| Pellet Modded Printer | Ginger Slicer mode where G-code E values = cubic mm of volume, not filament length |
| Arachne | Wall generator algorithm (recommended for large nozzles) |
| Classic | Alternative wall generator (causes errors with large nozzles — avoid) |
| Z-hop | Nozzle lift during travel moves to avoid hitting the print |
| Layer time | Minimum time per layer; slicer slows the print automatically to allow cooling |
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| SmoothFlow | Official Ginger Additive liquid lubricant for pellets. Reduces friction, improves flow |
| Liquid Masterbatch | Official Ginger Additive liquid colorant. Oil-based, mixes directly with pellets |
| rPLA | Recycled PLA — post-consumer or post-industrial recycled polylactic acid |
| PETG | Polyethylene terephthalate glycol — standard clear/transparent material |
| PETG GF | Glass fiber reinforced PETG (10% or 20% fill) |
| PETG V0 | Flame-retardant PETG, certified UL94 V0 |
| PP | Polypropylene — low warping for small technical parts, high warping for flat geometry |
| TPU | Thermoplastic polyurethane — flexible, rubber-like material |
| MFI / MFR | Melt Flow Index / Rate — not used for G1 calibration; use Rotation Volume instead |
In Ginger Slicer (Orca-based):
- E0 = Feeding Zone (top)
- E1 = Melting Zone (middle)
- E2 = Nozzle Zone (bottom)
In the Grasshopper slicer plugin: numbering now matches Ginger Slicer (E0 = Feeding, E2 = Nozzle). Earlier versions had the zones reversed (E0 = Nozzle, E2 = Feeding) — this was a bug and has since been fixed. If you are on an old Grasshopper plugin version, the zones may still be reversed; verify against Mainsail.
