The other day, I had a thought. Now, I’m not sure where this thought came from, but nevertheless, I thought it: I should design a pill case. Such an unappreciated thing, the pill case. Useful for storing a variety of things, like screws, mints, or I suppose change, in a pinch. While at first, this thought was kind of strange–I mean, why would I design a pill case of all things–I figured I’d give it a shot.
As is the first step in any project, it was necessary to decide how exactly I wanted the pill case to look. I decided round was the best option, as this would allow for an all-around cleaner look. Next step was to decide through which mechanism to release the contents. The first thing which came to mind was similar to a condiment shaker with a spinning top, wherein a hole in the lid is matched to a hole in the container so that the seasoning may be dropped. I decided to go for this approach, and modeled the basic design.
But having such a large opening wouldn’t allow the pills to be kept safely inside, so I scrapped that idea. Instead, I went for a slightly different approach, with the case opening from the sides. This would allow the user to open the case only when they wanted something, and keep it safely closed at all other times. In addition, I added some finger holes on the top, similar to a bowling ball, which allows the user to easily open the container. I printed out this design, and had a functioning pill case.
Just something to keep in mind: whenever designing movable parts for 3D printing, be mindful of tolerances. If you don’t leave room for expansion of the plastic when designing, the parts likely won’t fit together properly. Therefore, it’s a good idea to leave at least a .4 mm size difference between moving parts.
It’s surprisingly pretty fun to play with this thing. Because I accounted for the .4 mm size difference between the parts, the top rotates well.
PROGRESS BY CHANCE: Projects led by miscalculated and ill-advised enginuity 