Spheres

I can’t leave well enough alone. I finished last week the four Snowflakes, well, mostly finished, as I’m still working on their xBee communication, but their hardware is done. So I start already my next project: the Spheres.

About two years ago, a twisted mass of bent plastic, staples, and jagged wire overtook my kitchen for far too long. A hemisphere just would not take shape. The plastic was too floppy, the wire too whiplash sturdy, the whole project a sad mess. Admitting defeat, I cut the plastic to shreds, folded up the jagged wire, and threw away the unfortunate debris never to speak of spheres again.

I recently discovered wooden slats at Discount Hardware, only 50 cents a foot. I can quickly cut slats, and connect them together with vinyl tubing to form triangles. A 120-faceted sphere requires 60 triangles. I made ten triangles yesterday. My standard 3”-tall stapled plastic loops form the cell walls through which I punch LED holes. Each plastic cell sits in a rigid wooden triangle. Ten cells surround a hub pixel to look like a ten-petal daisy. Six daisies form a hemisphere and twelve daisies form a Sphere. Easy peasy.

Last night, I built my first daisy. I think I chose the correct petal dimensions. I figured out how to illuminate the top and bottom faces of the hub. I learned that I can staple the tubing so the wooden slats don’t slip out of the tubing connectors. Now I just need to make a hemisphere. Very exciting.