Evil Anchor Alien Tessellation with Box

My daughter calls this tessellation shape Evil Anchor Alien. This was a fun summer evening project where my kids and I went from idea to sketch to model to print in just a couple hours.

Box Included with Download
A few days later we created the box. The box holds 18 tiles and is shaped to match. The cute top can be printed with dual extrusion, but a plain lid model for single extrusion is included as well. Or print one extra tile and glue it on the lid for a two-color look. Another option is to use two processes for the inside and outside models to create the outline of the Evil Anchor Alien on the lid. (I included a screenshot of a Simplify3D preview to show how this might look.)

We first experimented with creating tessellation shapes with squares of paper. My son drew some curls that inspired my daughter to create the horned alien that resembles an anchor (see photos). I took her concept and modeled a tile starting with a square and then printed them in duplication mode to quickly bring our idea to life.

My Tessellation Collection

• Fish Tessellation with Box
• Turtle Tessellation with Box
• Elephant Tessellation with Box
• Evil Anchor Alien Tessellation with Box
• Gingerbread Tessellation with Box
• Heart Alien Tiny Tessellation with Box
• Alien Spaceship Container with Heart Alien Tiny Tessellation

Like Aliens? See my UFO Toy with Base

Tessellation Tile
Model is approximately 75 x 73 x 2 mm. The square base is 50 x 50 mm. I printed them at 0.3 mm layer height with enough top and bottom layers that they are essentially 100% infill.

No rafts. No supports unless . . . We printed ours flipped since the kids wanted the faces to be shiny from the bed surface. So, I added some supports for the eyes because they were 1 mm above the bed.

Note: There is 0.2 mm tolerance between models. Ours fit perfectly when printed. If model is scaled smaller, likely they won't fit if you have any swelling at all with print. Larger scales likely will work, but will increase that gap too.

Box for Tessellations
Box bottom is approximately 85 x 83 x 46 mm. Lid is 88 x 86 x 16 mm. There is 0.6 mm perimeter space between the bottom and the lid in the model.

Walls, base, and top are 1 mm thick. I printed mine with 0.3 mm layer height. No rafts. No supports.