<p>Looks like overheating and insufficient airflow at the same time.</p>

<p>Try to reduce the temperature of the nozzle by 5-10&nbsp;&deg;C and increase print part cooling.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-09T06:11:02.437Z
2019-01-09T07:30:18.897Z
2019-01-09T07:30:18.897Z
Dmitry Kasatsky
<p>There are several possibilities:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Could be burnt material on the extruder getting dislodged when the head changes orientation on the corners,</p></li>
<li><p>Could be that the extruder stays a bit too long on the corner,</p></li>
<li><p>Could be that you have a bit of overextrusion and the material get burned as it stay in contact with the extruder for a bit too long.</p></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-09T15:36:40.643Z
It's not easy to tell, but my impression is that these burn marks are in the extruded stream, not an additional "blob" falling off the extruder head.
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-09T16:22:46.087Z
Might be burnt material inside the printhead then, you should do a deep cleaning of the extruder.
Sava
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-09T05:09:23.523Z
2019-01-09T05:09:23.523Z
Sava
<p>There are two problems here. One as was mentioned earlier is that your temperature is too high and the cooling is not sufficient. The fact that one corener is affected more than the other can point to non uniform cooling (try using a cooling shroud like: <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2004629" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2004629</a> for more uniform cooling)</p>

<p>Another problem could be that your flow multiplier is off, this is often more noticeable in the corners. Try reducing the flow multiplier in your slicer settings.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-09T10:18:30.190Z
2019-01-09T10:18:30.190Z
E Doe
<p>Could be a dirty nozzle and temperature too high. When the head changes direction on the corner, the nozzle wipes off burnt PLA. This might explain why there are no dark marks on the long runs and only the corners.</p>
<p>Heat nozzle up and clean with acetone and then see if the problem persists.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T08:40:09.433Z
Acetone sadly doesn't dissolve PLA
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T07:15:30.090Z
2020-12-02T08:19:03.567Z
2020-12-02T08:19:03.567Z
Perry Spurway
<p>In addition to <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/7933/5740">this answer</a> which addresses <strong><em>what</em></strong> is actually the cause (<em>but doesn't explain where the burnt corners come from</em>), I've added some information <strong><em>why</em></strong> this is showing burnt corners.</p>

<p>You are printing PLA at a too high of a temperature and do not have sufficient print part cooling enabled (either in the slicer or limited by the fan duct design). The <strong><em>higher the temperature the larger the shrinkage</em></strong> of the filament is. When printing overhangs like the slanted models you print, the last deposited layer has less surface contact area with the previous layer and therefore the shrink stresses may overcome the adhering stresses (it is also more easily weakened by the heat input of the last layer). This results in curling up, especially in corners as the heat input comes from two sides. When the corners curl up, the change of hitting the sides of the nozzle increases. When the outside of the nozzle is covered in burnt filament, the curling corners may pick that up. This results as if the corners are actually burnt.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-10T23:02:56.343Z
After observing the print process more closely I think this is what is happening.
AndreKR
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-09T06:52:46.750Z
2019-01-09T18:51:02.493Z
2019-01-09T18:51:02.493Z
0scar
<p>Today I was printing some parts and I got these burn marks at the corners:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/D8b3n.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/D8b3n.jpg" alt="1"></a></p>

<p>This is the first time I see this on this printer (Anycubic I3 Mega). I was using more or less the same settings (in Cura) as always, although I was using a new roll of PLA from a brand I haven't used before.</p>

<p>I was printing several parts in one job:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/p56Kp.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/p56Kp.jpg" alt="2"></a></p>

<p>Most of them are somewhat affected:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/8MqTq.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/8MqTq.jpg" alt="3"></a></p>

<pre><code>Printing temperature:    200 °C
Build Plate Temperature:  60 °C
Printing Speed:           60 mm/s
Travel speed:            200 mm/s
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-09T15:35:20.080Z
Hi, please post some relevant parameters. In particular, your extruder temperature and the various print speeds.  That'll make the answers you get more accurate.
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-09T18:26:02.830Z
Perhaps a bug crawled into the extruder and got torched. I once saw wings in one of my 3D prints.
user77232
<print-quality><pla>
What causes burnt corners?
AndreKR
# What causes burnt corners?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-09)

Today I was printing some parts and I got these burn marks at the corners:

This is the first time I see this on this printer (Anycubic I3 Mega). I was using more or less the same settings (in Cura) as always, although I was using a new roll of PLA from a brand I haven't used before.
I was printing several parts in one job:

Most of them are somewhat affected:

Printing temperature:    200 °C
Build Plate Temperature:  60 °C
Printing Speed:           60 mm/s
Travel speed:            200 mm/s

**Tags:** print-quality, pla
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi, please post some relevant parameters. In particular, your extruder temperature and the various print speeds.  That'll make the answers you get more accurate.  
> **username_2**: Perhaps a bug crawled into the extruder and got torched. I once saw wings in one of my 3D prints.  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_7 on 2019-01-09. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

In addition to [this answer](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/7933/5740) which addresses ***what*** is actually the cause (*but doesn't explain where the burnt corners come from*), I've added some information ***why*** this is showing burnt corners.

You are printing PLA at a too high of a temperature and do not have sufficient print part cooling enabled (either in the slicer or limited by the fan duct design). The ***higher the temperature the larger the shrinkage*** of the filament is. When printing overhangs like the slanted models you print, the last deposited layer has less surface contact area with the previous layer and therefore the shrink stresses may overcome the adhering stresses (it is also more easily weakened by the heat input of the last layer). This results in curling up, especially in corners as the heat input comes from two sides. When the corners curl up, the change of hitting the sides of the nozzle increases. When the outside of the nozzle is covered in burnt filament, the curling corners may pick that up. This results as if the corners are actually burnt.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: After observing the print process more closely I think this is what is happening.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-01-09. Score: 4

Looks like overheating and insufficient airflow at the same time.

Try to reduce the temperature of the nozzle by 5-10 °C and increase print part cooling.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-01-09. Score: 1

There are several possibilities:

* Could be burnt material on the extruder getting dislodged when the head changes orientation on the corners,
* Could be that the extruder stays a bit too long on the corner,
* Could be that you have a bit of overextrusion and the material get burned as it stay in contact with the extruder for a bit too long.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It's not easy to tell, but my impression is that these burn marks are in the extruded stream, not an additional "blob" falling off the extruder head.  
> **username_4**: Might be burnt material inside the printhead then, you should do a deep cleaning of the extruder.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2019-01-09. Score: 1

There are two problems here. One as was mentioned earlier is that your temperature is too high and the cooling is not sufficient. The fact that one corener is affected more than the other can point to non uniform cooling (try using a cooling shroud like: <https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2004629> for more uniform cooling)

Another problem could be that your flow multiplier is off, this is often more noticeable in the corners. Try reducing the flow multiplier in your slicer settings.


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2020-12-02. Score: 0

Could be a dirty nozzle and temperature too high. When the head changes direction on the corner, the nozzle wipes off burnt PLA. This might explain why there are no dark marks on the long runs and only the corners.

Heat nozzle up and clean with acetone and then see if the problem persists.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: Acetone sadly doesn't dissolve PLA  

---

