Litter Robot 4 Step Insert

This is a 3D printed front step for the Litter Robot 4. 

I actually printed this with Esun TPU using a custom profile, but in order to get an error-free version on the site, I switched it to Bambu TPU. Please make your own profile to fit whatever filament you use.

My wife loves her Litter Robot 4, but the step traps lots of litter and is difficult to clean. 3D printing to the rescue! 

I designed this step to have a smooth top so that the litter will just fall off onto the more easily cleaned litter mat below. I found that the little pegs in the bottom of the existing rubber step don't really do anything. I designed this to be a perfect fit. I did thicken the lip around the top from 3mm to 5mm, but all other dimensions are more or less identical. Once glued together, I've found this to be more or less watertight. It fits tightly enough into the step that nothing has got past it yet.

The only downside is that this didn't fit on my P1S build plate, so I had to cut it. I strongly recommend that you slide it together and glue it with appropriate solvent welding glue. I found that ordinary PVC pipe cement works very well to solvent-weld both TPU and PETG. Of course acetone works for ABS and ASA, and I found that Weld-on 16 works great for PLA. Just buy a tube, you can thank me later.  I suppose you could use cyanoacrylate if you like, but I prefer the strength and certainty that only a true solvent weld can provide.

I printed this out of Esun TPU-95, with 2mm top, 2mm bottom, and 3 wall loops, and 50% Gyroid infill. That was overkill. I like the thicker top and bottom, but I suspect infill of around 10% would be fine. As I printed it, the step is very firm and stiff, but it works just fine, so I have not reprinted it. Because you don't need to flex this to clean it like you do with the original step, it can be printed rigid. In fact, I think even PLA or PETG would be fine, but I'm still happy with the TPU.

I have included both the cut and uncut versions, in case anyone has a large-format printer. I set the uncut version at 45 degrees so that there wouldn't be any errors, but please don't try to print it that way! I've also included the original Freecad files, so if you want to alter the design, have at it. In the Freecad model, you'll see the original model, plus a clone that is 3% larger in the X-axis. This is because the first version was a little loose when I printed the first draft, so I made it slightly larger, and it fits tightly now. You could try making a texture more to your liking, or put a drawing or some custom text on the step. Please upload any alterations you make so the community can benefit from it, as I'm sure there's room for improvement.

Please like and comment- comments and suggestions are always welcome. I'm a rookie designer, so keep that in mind.