In various openings it's fine, at least temporarily, and usually to get out of the way of other pieces.
Maybe the most well known would be the chigorin defense to the ruy lopez (Nc6-a5 gets out of the way of the c pawn), or in the KID when you play Nf6-h5 (to get out of the way of the f pawn).
Other times e.g. on c3 all the knight's advanced squares are covered, so you might go Na3 intending Nc2-e3 (for example).
The rim is rarely a good final destination though.
You've probably heard the chess expression "A bishop on the rim is dim", in my opinion it relates to knights as well.
I don't remember the exact setup, but I once played a game where halfway through this was the position. I'd say the white knight is placed pretty ok.
Can anyone show games where a knight on the rim was good?
There are some openings, like the Caro-Kann Advance or French Advance where White has a pawn on e5 and a position arises where the Black KN is better developed to h6 rather than e7.
Of course, the N isn't going to threaten much there, but it may hop to a good outpost at g4 or f5 and it was "good" to move it to h6 initially.
pretty much every one of whites pieces in the parham attack is good
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 Ng5 d5 5 exd5 Na5
https://www.chess.com/article/view/is-a-knight-on-the-rim-always-grim
Here's an article on the topic.
Can anyone show games where a knight on the rim was good?