I'm new to 3D printing and I'm pretty technically inclined, but I have a few questions. I bought an Aurora Z605 with a MK8 extruder just over a week ago; yeah, yeah, that was before I read about the problems with it in this forum. I've since purchased upgrade parts (Ramps 1.4/Mega 2560/LCD) and plan on installing soon. Also planning on installing/upgrading to a dual extruder.

So, it took me a few days for the build due to poor instructions, and subsequently delayed another couple of days when I discovered the extruder thermistor was broken. My first test print last night of a simple 10 mm cube (orange PLA, 200 deg hot end/55 deg bed) looks pretty good, measures 10.15 mm.


  1. While printing, the hot end temperature started dropping to approximately 160, is that normal? Or do I have some issues with heat transfer that I need to figure out? I'm not real comfortable with the re-install of the hot end sensor and plan on re-doing it with some heat sink compound/putty.
  2. After printing, the bed and extruder shut off and after it had cooled for about 5 minutes, I simply shut off the power. Is there anything else I should be doing after a print session?
  3. I bought a roll of PLA when I bought the printer; what do I need to do when transferring over to that roll (if anything)? I'm not worried about color mixing yet, and it will be the same type of filament (PLA).


Thanks,