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Additive Manufacturing • Level C1

🖨️ 3D Printing Vocabulary & Pronunciation

Master 10 key technical terms for the modern additive manufacturing workshop in 20 minutes.

📋 How to use this lesson

For the Teacher

• Guide learners through the table and run all 4 practice tasks within 20 minutes.

• Check answers on the spot using the instant feedback and review tricky sounds in the shadowing drill.

For the Learner

• Read the 10 words, meanings, and memory tricks in the table before touching any tasks.

• Solve the 16 practice challenges next, then record your voice in the shadowing section to build fluency.

Word table

Study the 10 core technical terms across three hardware layers.

10 Target Words

⚙️ Theme 1: The Machine

4 terms

Word	Meaning	Common collocations	Example sentence	Memory tip
nozzle	The small metal tip that heats up and deposits material.	heated nozzle, clog the nozzle, brass nozzle	The heated nozzle deposits molten plastic in ultra-thin layers.	Picture: Think of a tiny metal nose blowing out hot melted plastic.
filament	Spool of plastic wire fed into a 3D printer.	spool of filament, load filament, PLA filament	Remember to load fresh filament before starting an overnight print.	Picture: Like the glowing wire inside an old light bulb.
extruder	The motor gear unit that pushes material forward to the hot tip.	dual extruder, direct extruder, calibrate the extruder	A dual extruder lets you build models using two separate colors.	Word part: "Ex-trude" means push out, like squeezing toothpaste.
resin	Liquid polymer that turns hard under ultraviolet laser light.	cure the resin, liquid resin, resin tank	Clean the resin tank after every job to maintain sharp print edges.	Contrast: Filament is hard solid string; resin is liquid honey.

📐 Theme 2: The Model

3 terms

Word	Meaning	Common collocations	Example sentence	Memory tip
template	A pre-designed digital CAD blueprint file.	download a template, standard template, print template	Our team downloaded a verified template for the mounting bracket.	Picture: A cookie-cutter shape for digital design.
lattice	A criss-cross internal mesh that cuts weight while staying strong.	lattice structure, internal lattice, lightweight lattice	The drone wing uses a lightweight lattice structure inside.	Picture: Think of wooden garden trellis fences for climbing plants.
tolerance	The allowable margin of error in finished size.	tight tolerance, dimensional tolerance, close tolerance	Aerospace joints need a tight tolerance, so every part must fit exactly.	Word part: How much error the mechanical joint can "tolerate".

📦 Theme 3: The Result

3 terms

Word	Meaning	Common collocations	Example sentence	Memory tip
polymer	A tough, flexible plastic substance composed of long linked chains.	durable polymer, synthetic polymer, industrial polymer	Engineers selected a durable polymer for the snap-fit car casing.	Word part: "Poly" means many; many molecular links tied together.
alloy	A high-strength metal blend created by fusing two or more metallic elements.	titanium alloy, metal alloy, sintered alloy	The medical implant was fabricated from medical titanium alloy powder.	Contrast: Pure metal is single; an alloy is an alliance of metals.
ceramic	A hard, non-metallic, heat-proof material made hard by firing in a kiln.	technical ceramic, heat-resistant ceramic, glazed ceramic	The rocket engine exhaust uses technical ceramic to handle intense flames.	Picture: Coffee mugs baked in a burning kiln.

Practice

Work through 16 questions from basic pairings to sentence building.

Task 1: Collocation Matrix

Match each verb with its natural partner noun from additive manufacturing.

1. Match the verb "clog" to the correct noun:

____ the nozzle ____ the template ____ the tolerance

2. Match the verb "cure" to the correct noun:

____ the extruder ____ the resin ____ the ceramic

3. Match the verb "tighten" to the correct noun:

____ the tolerance ____ the alloy ____ the resin

4. Match the verb "fire" to the correct noun:

____ the filament ____ the ceramic ____ the polymer

Task 2: Gap-fills with Word Bank

Read the dialogue extracts and type the correct word into the gap.

Word bank: alloy template extruder lattice

A: Why is the drive gear clicking on the feeder motor?
B: The motor drive inside the ____ cannot push the spool line forward.

A: How did you make this aerospace bracket so much lighter?
B: We replaced the solid core with an open internal ____.

A: Can plastic survive the high pressure inside this valve?
B: No, we must laser-sinter a titanium ____ instead.

A: Do we have to draft this casing geometry from scratch?
B: No, just import the standardized CAD ____ from the drive.

Task 3: Choose the Word

Every option is a real 3D printing term and fits grammatically, but only one matches the technical meaning.

9. Before running the long print job, the operator unpacked an airtight spool of fresh ___ to avoid moisture bubbling.

____ a. nozzle ____ b. filament ____ c. resin

10. For high-temperature jet turbine nozzles, technicians prefer printed ___ because it will not melt or bend in extreme heat.

____ a. polymer ____ b. resin ____ c. ceramic

11. Because the interlocking gears jammed during assembly, the design engineer was forced to re-examine the component's ___.

____ a. tolerance ____ b. template ____ c. extruder

12. Dental models require smooth curves without layer lines, so clinics pour photo-reactive liquid ___ into stereolithography vats.

____ a. filament ____ b. resin ____ c. alloy

Task 4: Sentence-building

Put the scrambled chunks in the right order to form a natural, grammatically correct sentence.

Scrambled chunks:

[the melted polymer] / [the heated nozzle] / [in thin layers] / [deposits]

Write the full sentence:

____

Scrambled chunks:

[forward smoothly] / [the filament] / [the extruder gear] / [pushes]

Write the full sentence:

____

Scrambled chunks:

[for high strength] / [optimized] / [engineers] / [the lattice pattern]

Write the full sentence:

____

Scrambled chunks:

[on the template] / [this metal alloy] / [every strict tolerance] / [meets]

Write the full sentence:

____

Shadowing

Listen to each audio prompt, then record yourself repeating it aloud. Keep your rhythm crisp and natural.

Part 1: Collocations (4 items)

1. Collocation

clogged nozzle

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

2. Collocation

melted filament

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

3. Collocation

tight tolerance

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

4. Collocation

durable polymer

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 2: Everyday Workshop Sentences (6 items)

5. Sentence

We must download the digital template before the print.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

6. Sentence

The extruder pushes the filament smoothly to the hot tip.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

7. Sentence

Clean the liquid resin tank with pure alcohol.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

8. Sentence

This titanium alloy gives the part high strength and low weight.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

9. Sentence

We must fire the printed ceramic in a hot furnace.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

10. Sentence

The internal lattice design makes the brackets light but stiff.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 3: Target Words (2 items)

11. Target Word (3 syllables: /ˈfɪl.ə.mənt/)

filament

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

12. Target Word (3 syllables: /ˈpɒl.ɪ.mər/)

polymer

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Vocabulary and Pronunciation: 3D Printing

🖨️ 3D Printing Vocabulary & Pronunciation

📋 How to use this lesson

For the Teacher

For the Learner

Word table

⚙️ Theme 1: The Machine

📐 Theme 2: The Model

📦 Theme 3: The Result

Practice

Task 1: Collocation Matrix

Task 2: Gap-fills with Word Bank

Task 3: Choose the Word

Task 4: Sentence-building

Shadowing

Part 1: Collocations (4 items)

Part 2: Everyday Workshop Sentences (6 items)

Part 3: Target Words (2 items)

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