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There are many parts to 3D Printers, and it’s important to know the names of those parts when upgrading or replacing components, and for general troubleshooting. Below is a diagram of an Ender 3, but most 3D Printers are generally the same.
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Hotend Assembly: The hotend assembly usually contains three main components; the hotend, part cooling fan, and the hotend cooling fan.
Hotend
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The hotend is exactly as it sounds, and is the piece that melts the plastic, and where it is extruded from.
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A printer such as the Ender 3 or CR-10 is known as a XZ hotend and Y bed printers. This means the hotend assembly moves along the X and Z axis (left/right and up/down), while the bed moves forwards and backwards on the Y Axis.
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Both Cura and S3D will get you well on your way to starting your first print, so in the end it comes down to personal preference. You can find many comparisons of the two softwares here.
Once you have chosen a slicer, you need to follow the setup instructions it prompts. Be sure to select the correct printer if it is included in the presets. If there isn’t a preset profile for your printer, you’ll have to create your own profile. You can learn more about slicers here from the 3D Maker Noob, and how to setup and tune your slicer settings with this helpful video from Michael Laws at Teaching Tech.
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