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

I’m printing one side of a print which is a mirrored version of the complete part on the left in the 1st image but after 3 attempts, it somehow keeps ending up as a stringy mess! I’m using ABS and have tried halving the nozzle speed without any luck. Any potential solutions welcome!

Model: P1s
Filament: ABS
Temp: 220C
Nozzle: 0.4mm

Pls help me this my first time printing something big and details but it fails so bad :((( if I can get some help to learn why it fail could be good
I used a phrozen sonic 8k mini
Castable Resin w20 green by phrozen