Sphere connectors for ball puzzles

I use these to make ball puzzles with wood balls. I include models for ¾" = 19 mm diameter and 1" diameter balls.  I include the OpenSCAD program so you can make a part to fit any size ball.

In the past, I used an SLS printing service to make these because I believe they are difficult to print on an FDM machine.  I still believe this, although I have now had success printing them myself.  Tricks used in the attached 3mf file:

Layer height 0.1 mm
Brim and skirt used
Printing speed 50%

Even with all this there is a high failure rate, maybe 50%.  I always watch the print for the first 5 minutes or so, to make sure everything is sticking to the bed, otherwise ABORT. If you decrease the Brim Separation Gap, the success rate will increase, but the parts will require time-consuming cleaning.

To glue two spheres together, I used wood glue.  For this, a laser-cut base plate with holes is useful (see photos).