Cubic egg press with embossing option

Did you ever wonder why eggs have such an unhandy shape? Well, ask a hen about how she would like to have to lay cube-shaped eggs…
However, egg-shaped eggs simply lack ergonomical properties. They roll around on your plate, they senselessly consume valuable space in your bento box, and if you slice them, they will never manage to evenly cover a sandwich toast. It may seem a hard verdict, but if you assess them with a clear view, there's only one possible judgement: Eggs are guilty of being a logistic and ergonomical catastrophy.

But, my faithful companions, these dark times are over now. By the magic of science and technology, mankind has managed to blast nature's limits! What I have the honour to present here - and all of you have surely been waiting for -  is nothing less than the cubic egg press!

Of course, I can't claim to have invented this jewel of kitchen technology. My first cubic egg press was an Yps gimmick back in the seventies, and today you can still buy commercially produced egg presses. But it seems that in all these decades egg presses have not evolved - they still lack the same features the first available models lacked.
To put an end to this stagnation of progress, I have equipped my cubic egg press with two brand new features: 
First, the modular build allows for using different baseplates to compensate different egg sizes. The file set contains one baseplate to use with L to XL sized eggs and one for M to L sized eggs. Concerning S sized eggs… well, nobody would mind to use a press on S sized eggs, or do you?
Second, exchangeable baseplates also allow for embossing the egg's surface. I have added three embossing dies that cover the three most basic human emotions (excluding “Meh”) as well as STEP files to use for chiseling your own embossing messages. So, if you want to express your feelings and just don't feel like writing a song, why not use a breakfast egg…?

Printing

The most important thing about printing is the choice of material. The filament (or resin) you use should be a) food-safe and b) heat-safe. FDA-conform PETG, for example, is a good choice. 
I recommend not to use a structured buildplate - the pressing surfaces are printed face-down, so a plate structure would be transferred to the egg.
Other than this, there are no special requirements for printing. Just one more recommendation: If you want to use the embossing feature with an FDM printer, use your nozzle's diameter as perimeter width (so, with a 0.4 mm nozzle, use a line width of 0.4 mm) to print as-sharp-as-possible edges.

After printing, screw the pressure wheel into the outer body multiple times. This will be really hard on first attempt (due to the outer body's partial thread - which, on the other hand, saves quite a lot of filament) but get much easier after a few times. Repeat until you are able to screw it in and out easily.

Usage

Well, usage is quite self-explaining: Of course, you can't use the cubic egg press with raw or soft-boiled eggs nor with any eggs that still are in their shells. 
• So, the first thing to do is to hard-boil the egg(s) you want to press. 
• Meanwhile equip your press with the baseplate of your choice (with or without embossing die). 
• After boiling, peel the egg(s). For the best result put the egg into the press while it's still warm (not boiling hot - if it's too hot for your fingers, it may be too hot for the press as well). 
• Put in the pressure block and screw in the pressure wheel until you feel the right amount of resistance (push down the pressure plate's pin with one finger - the pressure is perfect when it just does not move down anymore).
• Put the press into the fridge and leave it there for about 45 minutes. 
• Take off the pressure wheel and block and push out the egg by pressing up the baseplate. Finished!

You can also use hard-boiled eggs that have already cooled down. In this case, you don't even have to wait as long, just leave them in the press for about 2 minutes. But don't expect results as clean as you would get with warm-pressed eggs. Especially for embossing always choose the long way of warm-pressing.

Cleaning

I have designed all parts dishwasher-suitable and recommend the dishwasher for cleaning (this also being a reason for heat-proof filament/resin). If no dishwasher is available, they may also be cleaned by hand, but please take care of the layer grooves that may hold residues quite tenaciously.

Making your own embossing dies

If you want to make individual embossing dies, you may use the included baseplate STLs (in 3D applications) or the corresponding STEP files (in CAD applications). 
• Have a look at the provided dies to get an idea of how to use and dimension supports. 
• Avoid designing cavities that are closed to one side (these would be hard to clean).
• Use lines rather than area surface offsets.
• Don't lose yourself in details - lines are best recognizable at a line thickness of about 2 mm.