Hi All. I am only a few weeks into 3d printing with the p1s. I’ve been using primarily Bambu pla and silk filaments, but have also used the Sunlu silk as well. My prints were originally coming out great, no issues noted. I’ve noticed some quality issues with my last few prints. The filament seems to not be printing evenly and causing small gaps/stringing/bumpy areas. I tried doing a few cold pulls, and eventually just replaced the hotend last night out of frustration. I did a few test prints and everything looked ok. I’m currently midprint right now and am noticing the same type of issues popping up. I’m including pics in the hopes that will help since I’m not sure if I’m explaining the problem correctly. The black/green dragon was one of the first prints that came out great. The black/pinkish is the one I printed prior to replacing the hotend-you can see issues on the face, and upper horn area. The two of the blue dragon is what is printing now (gaps/stringy). I would be super grateful for any input/guidance here, as I am totally lost.
Has your silk filament perhaps become too moist? Silk is particularly susceptible to humidity. That’s why there’s always a warning attached:
Of course, it could be something else, but that would probably be the quickest and easiest thing to check first.
While you’re at it, maybe check the settings too - silk is a bit special in that regard:
@retrosharky Thanks so much for your reply! How would I know if the silk is too moist? Also, the black blue and white pla that I’m having difficulty with are basic, not silk. Would there be something else causing this that I could look into?
Sounds like you never dried your filament. Very important to do so
Hydrometers are a great tool and they are cheap as ■■■■.
Everyone will jump to the conclusion that the filament needs to be dried, but in actuality it takes a long time for PLA to get moist enough to cause serious print issues.
To me that looks like the filament calibrations are not set up correctly.
@cincinatidesigns Thanks so much for your reply. The black, white, and blue are all bambu filaments. I thought I could just pop those in and go (again, no idea what I’m doing here lol). Is there something separate that I need to be calibrating?
I agree and disagree. I have seen filament come out of a vacuum-sealed bag at 28% moisture, so drying is essential for sensitive filaments. I agree that the calibrations are not set up correctly.
@Maker_Grandpa thanks so much for your reply! How would I go about calibrating this? I’m using Bambu basic pla for most of this. Also, any suggestions on how to best dry the filament?
28 Percent really is not even that bad. With PLA you do not start seeing serious issues until you get up to about 40 percent.
My point is that drying is a good thing, but recently it seems to be the scapegoat to any quality issues. Especially with PLA, moist filament will show more stringing than under extrusion.
Yeah, Bambu marketing at its best. The preloaded filament profiles are not always the best. The filament from Bambu is also not 100 percent consistent.
Did I miss something? We’re talking about silk, not normal PLA? To be precise, silk from Bambu and silk from Sunlu - as OP said. Both companies had enough orders that were already too moist when unpacked or delivered, repeatedly. Both filaments are also known for their ability to absorb moisture very well. Because even a new roll of silk can arrive moist, or? I think we’re talking about different matters here. 
It seems to me that two different problems are being mixed up here, which is likely to cause confusion. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but we’re mixing up different issues here. 
Edit: And before anyone misunderstands me: I’m not disagreeing! But to me, at least in some photos, it looked that way, though I could be completely wrong!
Yes, yes you did.
3 out of the 4 filaments that they are using are Basic PLA, not silk. The issues seen in the pictures show print defects on both the Basic and the Silk. A solution needs to be based around the majority, not the minority. That is why I recommend looking into calibration issues.
Ahh okay, then I misunderstood. Thanks for pointing that out. I did read the comment, but I interpreted the sentences differently. Thank you. 
All good.
Frankly, the defects on the Basic (Light blue) seen in the pictures look much worse than the minor defects on the silk.
Same issue throughout. Might even be a partial clog.
Sorry if I was unclear in my original post! When you guys are saying calibration issues, what exactly am I needing to fix?
Don’t worry, it was my fault, no need to apologize.
So that’s what I thought when I saw the issue first arise on the silk. I replaced the hotend last night and did a few small test prints this morning, with both the blue and white filament, and they looked ok. That’s why I’m at such a loss as to what’s happening here
Do you have the prime tower disabled?
No, that is active. I believe I’ve had that on for all my prints