Pill Puncher 2 Generator (OpenSCAD)

This is a significant revision of my Pill Puncher Generator.

It adds an option to create an additional piece hinged to the original. That makes a top arm with the puncher, a middle arm with a hole for the blister, and a bottom arm with a catcher. So, what this does is allow the middle arm to function as a guide.

It is backward compatible with the original version; replacing it completely. You may create the original style or the new style with this same program.

How to Use It

The program needs you to set the size of the pill and the blister pack bubble. See the original for how to do this.

Additionally, you need to decide if you want the new hinged bottom part. If you do, you need to decide on a hinge pin and its diameter. I chose to use a piece of filament, but you may alternately use a piece of wire or a bolt and nut. Just measure your pin’s diameter and add some tolerance (using the printer’s print width works pretty well).

The other clearance value is between the parts to allow them to swing easily. Sadly, I could find no good way to print the new swinging arm without support, so you may want to be more generous with the hinge clearance to compensate for any imperfections in support removal.

Printing

It is designed to be printed on its side, so you may need to add brim to keep the thin edges attached to the bed. For the new hinge part I tried both traditional support and the newer organic tree support – I liked the tree style better (see the 3MF project file).

Design

I designed this generator in OpenSCAD for the customizability. {For anyone new to OpenSCAD, I’ve included a short, simple tutorial to get you started.}