Sphere with holes

[lesath82]

Hello! I'd need some help. I'm trying to desing a little sphere with some holes drilled in it. I'm attaching some pictures to let you understand what I mean. The aim is to create the basic little ball to create some models like the one in "diamond.gif", the size and material are not so important right now. My attempt is represented in "project.jpg", but I've been able to add only some of the holes I'd need. In fact they should be 26 total, you can understand more or less where they are if you look at "sphere.jpg". Obviously I can provide the exact angles at which they should be placed. Since only six of them are perpendicular to the main planes (top-bottom-front-rear-left-right) I've not been able to add the remaining ones. is there a way? Should I try to explain them by words to the machinist? But, before all, is this job possible? Maybe making the holes pass through the sphere (thus reducing the number to 13) can help?
Thank you very much for your precious help!

[Tech3]

Yes it is possible although it increases cost. Please use Comments to Machinist to specify the holes that are not perpendicular to the main 6 views.

[lesath82]

Oh, thank you very much!
Is there a convention I must follow to specify the holes positions to be sure the machinist understands them? I'm used to call theta the angle "from" the vertical axis (thus theta=0 will be the hole on top and theta=180 the hole on bottom) and phi the angle "around" the same axis (thus theta=90 and phi=0/90/180/270 will be the right/back/left/front holes). Will this be clear?
Is there a way to foresee the final cost (and possibly the difference between the 26 short holes and the 13 pass-through compromise)? Will I save a significant amount of money if I provide the balls to be drilled, or the manufacturing of a sphere is negligible w.r.t. making the holes in it? I mean, not considering the value of the raw material (which by the way I must still decide and have no idea... I'm a scientist, I have no experience in machinery at all, sigh!), because I should anyway buy the balls somewhere, but maybe someone specialized in them has the "right" machines and doesn't have to make them one by one... I'd need a lot of them and I've found very cheap prices for certain amounts of balls alone.
Grant me one last question: to build up the models of the crystals, I'll need the links between the spheres too. They'll have to fit the holes, that is they must be able to enter but they shouldn't be loose. Do you have any suggestions for the relation between the diameters of the holes and of the little bars, and maybe for the material too?
Thank you again a lot for your help!

[Tech2]

Yes your notation is clear. Or simply (0,0), (45,90), etc. Since it's a sphere the (0,0) origin can be anywhere. Cost must be quoted manually. 13 thru holes would be less expensive. Yes, providing the balls would save substantially. As for the link bars almost any material would do - it's up to you what kind of feel and look you want - metal, plastic, etc. It would probably be more economical for you to look for a stock bar material that has a tight tolerance on diameter so that only the diameter of the ball holes needs to be controlled. For the ball you could specify something like "Hole diam for hand press fit to provided rods.". A soft plastic for the ball would make it easier to achieve the desired press fit.