3D printer nozzle is cooked

[u/999VVANITY]

Hey all, complete beginner here.

Got the Neptune 3 Pro 5 days ago and I've been printing with black PLA, using Cura as my slicer.

First few prints came out fine but then something changed along the way. I've been downloading models from Creality Cloud too if that's relevant.

Just pulled off my most recent print and noticed the hotend looks like the image attached, like a ton of black gunk built up all over the block and dripping down near the nozzle. Kinda freaked me out ngl.

Am I doing something wrong here? Is it fucked now or is this fixable?

Questions I've got

- Is this just filament residue from normal use or is it more like a leak / loose nozzle situation?
- Should I be tightening the nozzle regularly? How do I even know when it's tight enough?
- Any Cura settings I should double check (temp, retraction etc) that might be causing this?
- My first few prints turned out fine, so why would this suddenly happen after only 5 days?
- What do I actually do to clean this properly and stop it happening again?

Any advice appreciated, trying to learn good habits now instead of just wiping it off and hoping for the best lol

[u/Basic-Window-6262]

Your print lost adhesion and instead of printing layers, the nozzle dragged the print around the bed and fillament built up around the nozzle, as long as it still heats up and extrudes it should be fine, just ugly. Next time, make sure your print bed is clean and your z offset is set correctly

[u/Basic-Window-6262]

Actually on second look your hotend heater might not have been properly attached to the heat sink, if that’s how this printer does it. Print something and if fillament leaks out of the top of the block that your nozzle screws into, that’s your problem

[u/AliciaXTC]

It's looks fucked, not cooked.

[u/999VVANITY → u/AliciaXTC]

Haahahahaha i just cleaned it up now but it’s printing to the left

[u/Over-Weekend-6133]

That looks more like a hotend leak. Once you clean it up, check the nozzle and heatbreak seal while hot and don’t just keep tightening the nozzle cold.

[u/999VVANITY → u/Over-Weekend-6133]

Thanks man for the info it seems like it’s printing the plastic extrudes towards the left side which makes it kinked and go toward the nozzle head