“Original glowing ornament for your Xmas tree. It’s made from brass rods wired by a freeform method and contains 18 glowing LEDs.
The main challenge here is to create a round shape from brass rods to look like an orb. I’ve decided to have a ball created out of 6 wires vertically and 3 wires horizontally - 18 intersections in total for LEDs to be placed in. At the bottom of the orb, there is a ring opening that will later allow me to insert an electronics to drive the LEDs.
First, start simply, found yourself a nice template for bending a wire into a circle. I am using a shaving foam can, it has a diameter of 50 mm which is exactly what I want and has a small groove near the bottom that will hold the wire while bending. After bending the wire, cut it and solder the ends together to create a nice ring. Draw yourself the same shape on a piece of paper to help you match the perfect circle. To create smaller rings I used a plastic bottle. Use whatever matches your diameter, the world is full of round stuff to bend around!
Next, I soldered the LEDs to the three 50mm rings. I’ve drawn a template on a piece of paper so every LED is in the same position. I am using yellow and red SMD LEDs. Yellow and red color because it’s less power hungry than blue or white. And SMDs to create a smooth surface of the orb.”