XRP Saddle Module for Sweetie Bot 2560 (Alpha Release)

Introducing the XRP Unicorn Saddle !

This saddle nests the XRP facing forwards or backwards, and secures it in place thanks the included TPU safety belt ! 

How is this useful ? It isn’t on its own, here’s a better question : how do you enter the XRP contest when you spent the last 5 years working on a completely different robot ?

The XRP Unicorn Saddle mounts your XRP right onto the brand new modular back of your Sweetie Bot 2560 ! (or any other compatible unicorn)

Now your XRP can enjoy blazing through the forest at speeds dwarfing anything it could hope to achieve on it’s own!*

*Only achievable when towing Sweetie Bot by bicycle. Her inadequate wheels, motors and frankly engineer make her pretty much undrivable on anything but smooth terrain. She’s still in development, thank you for your understanding :)

Other noteworthy benefit : the increased ground clearance enables the XRP to better marvel at the rabbits !

PRINT SETTINGS

The saddle elements were printed in PolyTerra PLA, and the belt in eSun 95A TPU. 

The saddle body prints upright without supports, and features holes to screw in the saddle end piece and two belt hooks (one per side) using 3x20mm screws. I printed it at 0.36mm layer height, single 0.8mm wall and 30mm3/s flow because I’m an impatient gremlin, so any finer profile should work as well. The holes came out too tight for 6mm rods and had to be drilled to size, I don’t know whether to blame that on my model or my super-turbo-drafty-draft profile, and I ran out of time and filament before figuring this out. The belt is barely long enough to stretch hook to hook - this was fine for me as I only needed it to record the accompanying video. If you want yours to be more every-day-practical, I’d recommend slightly scaling it up lengthwise in your slicer. The 6mm rod fixation probably won’t stay in the final release of the back module, so a refined XRP saddle model will have to wait until then :c

Also, this obviously requires you to make a Sweetie Bot 2560 - her usable model files are being sorted through and will be released hopefully in the coming months (modular back already published here !)

A WORD ON MY CONTEST ENTRY

This model is far from refined, is more of an accessory for Sweetie Bot than for the XRP, and I’d hate to snatch one of the prices from someone who actually put in time and effort to improve the XRP. Why would I deliberately enter a contest with a barely-themed model when I don’t want to win ? Well, if Prusa Research finds my silly unicorn interesting enough to support her with some Prusament or a printer, let’s just say I‘m absolutely down to hack a Prusa Mini into her back for field repairs and make a video about it ^;D my DMs are open !

Also, Sweetie slammed into a pothole while coming back home, and wrecked both her front legs. 

Which makes the XRP the most capable robot by technical knockout, but also means this contest entry ended up costing her… an arm and a leg ! ^;)