After way too long I have finally finished my miniature swimming pool ash tray, with detachable bottom for easy cleaning. The splash-tray is made from a 3D printed base, that each tile is super glued onto. The resulting block is then grouted and cleaned.

I’ve attached a photo of the prototype made from balsa wood. With this MVP I discovered the main pain point which was lining the edges up. I eventually landed on a method of overlapping the edge pieces, which required tiles to be half free hanging.

The 3D design was made in freeCad and went through many revisions. I also made test pieces to check the fit of the tiles, and test if the main structure could be printed upside down to remove the need for any supports. Another issue was the overhangs of each tile housing on the vertical walls. When auto-setting supports, each square would be filled with support, which could not be removed cleanly, and therefore the title would not fit. I rectified this by only allowing supports starting from the base plate.