V1.1 Vixiv Invixiball™ — Titanium Spherical Lattice

Probably not for kids, if we’re being honest.

Meet the Vixiv Invixiball—a hollow titanium lattice ball engineered to bounce, roll, and mesmerize. Designed by Aaron Chow at Vixiv in Ohio, it’s a daily carry object born from structural optimization tools and antique geometry. The lattice pattern is adapted from Abraham Sharp’s Geometry Improv’d (1717), Plate II, and fabricated with direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) on titanium powder using a 400w 100 micron laser beam. The result is an unbelievably light, strong, and absurdly satisfying object.

The V1.1 Vixiv Invixiball is our second iteration of this novel toy, having undergone extensive crush and bounce tests. Balls have been proofed to be able to withstand up to 500lbs of compressive force so that while we don't recommend hitting them as forcefully as humanly possible on a hard surface, we're pretty sure they can take the beating. The longevity of each ball is batch-tested by 1,000 repeated impacts at a steel plate at more than 10m/s (22+mph).

Despite its Grade 5 titanium body, the Invixiball weighs about the same as a single U.S. quarter. That mass, paired with its elastic shell geometry, gives it a springy, responsive bounce that makes it feel alive in your hand—and dangerous to set down. It's not quite AirPod-level losable, but it’s close. If you’re not holding it, someone else will be, or it’ll be gone.

This isn’t sculpture masquerading as play. It’s made to be used: flicked, dropped, bounced, or carried in a pocket every day. The 30 mm diameter was deliberately selected for daily handling and launchability, offering just enough grip to keep it controllable, and just enough mass to give it a satisfying return. It’s engineered fun, delivered in elemental form.

Seriously though: only bounce it on robust surfaces like concrete or asphalt. It’ll bounce on hardwood—but it’ll also leave tiny, perfect rhombic dents that never come out. This thing is made of aerospace-grade Ti-6Al-4V. Don’t let its size fool you.

PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASE:

These are smaller than they look in videos. At 30mm in diameter, they're smaller than a 40mm ping pong ball and larger than a 25mm large gumball. Their small stature is one of the main reasons they're easy to lose. We've tried making significantly larger versions but they're more awkward in a pocket and more prone to thermal deformation for printing. 

It will hurt if you get hit. They come up, back, and down nearly as quick as you throw them...and they're made of metal that has been formed into a fine grate pattern that could likely double as a lemon zester with enough pressure. I once threw one as hard as I could at our concrete studio floor. It bounced off the floor, ricocheted off our 20' ceiling, and landed on the top of my head. See #3 above. Please be careful.

Surface imperfections can result in slightly different return angles. While the lattice has a largely isotropic bending stiffness, very small variations will result in small bounce angle deviations. Geometry variation and surface imperfection are natural consequences of the laser sintering process used to create the titanium ball, so be ready for the ball to occasionally have a bit of a mind of its own from time to time. And while the surface may look rough when you get up close and personal, the bounce remains robust and satisfying.

You’ll find notable differences between the V1 and V1.1 Vixiv Invixiballs. V1.1 is shinier, smoother, darker, and bouncier and has a hardier “thwack” sound compared to its predecessor.

This is probably not our most lucrative idea. But we're so sure that it is almost impossible to break our balls without the use of tools that we're committing to replacing your ball if it does break. Your ball may dent around 500lb of compressive force, as denting is a critical part of redistributing applied loads across the lattice, but if the structural integrity is compromised with human force so that it loses multiple links, sections, or has conspicuous cracks, we'll be sure to take care of you. Just let us know your best estimation of how the ball broke and send us photos. We're justifying it as cheap research.