◆ Print only
A gyroid mesh bauble with the wavy pattern of 3D print infill, in two halves that click together, with a hanging hole.
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A Christmas ball you print flat, with the wavy gyroid pattern every 3D printer knows from its infill as the net: two nets that you warm and press into half balls, then push together on the pins round the rim. It comes out 85 mm across and about 78 mm deep, with a solid cap on top and a 3 mm hole through it for a thread, a ribbon or an ornament hook.
Made with our mesh former, the same ball press as our mesh Christmas ornament with another net. Each net prints in about 28 minutes with no supports and weighs about 7.8 g. The ball is the same on its left and right, so one press, a plug and a cavity printed once, forms the front and the back half and as many ornaments as you like.
Print the nets in teal or a two-colour silk PLA and the waves shift colour as the ball turns. A good gift for anyone who prints: the infill they watch every day, on the outside for once. The zip has both nets, the plug, the cavity, a print sheet and the outline as an SVG for the mesh former.
Shown as a 3D render of the closed ornament in front of the press, not a photo.
Print the front net, the back net, the plug and the cavity, all flat on the bed.
Lay the front net in the cavity's pocket, flat face down, so the small locator pins go through the holes in its rim.
Warm it with the heat gun kept moving 15 to 20 cm away until it goes limp. Turn the plug over side to side, like the page of a book (its left edge goes to the right, its top stays at the top), push it straight down and hold it for a minute while it cools.
Do the same with the back net in the same press.
Put the halves rim to rim and press the printed pins of the front into the holes of the back. Thread the string through the hole in the cap.
Print details
| Type | Print only |
|---|---|
| Printed parts | 4 |
| Size (W x D x H) | 85 x 78 x 96 mm |
| Print bed needed | 104 x 94 mm, 39 mm tall |
| Filament | ~117 g |
| Layer height | 0.2 mm |
| Infill | 10% |
| Supports | Not needed |
| Download | ZIP: front and back nets + press plug + press cavity (STL) + outline (SVG) + print sheet |
| Added | 2026-11-04 |
Made with the free Mesh former generator. Upload your own drawing and get the same kind of part built from it, in your browser.
ZIP: front and back nets + press plug + press cavity (STL) + outline (SVG) + print sheet
Free for personal use. Selling the printed piece itself needs a commercial licence (Pro or Founder); passing on the file is not permitted on any plan. Full terms.
New to this? Read the mesh former guide.
It is a gyroid seen from above, the same wavy lines a slicer draws for gyroid infill: rows of waves that pinch together and bulge apart, laid flat in the net. Formed over the press, the waves follow the curve of the ball.
Yes. Close it round a coin-cell LED or a single fairy light bulb before you push the pins home. The light comes out through the wavy openings, best in a dark room or low on the tree.
Yes. Open the mesh former and drop the SVG from the zip on it, then change the size; the depth comes down with it and the tool warns you if the net would stretch too thin. The hanging hole stays 3 mm and needs the solid cap, so keep it.
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