A 3D Printed Button Cell Storage Container

One of the major problems with button batteries is that they are conveniently sold in packages similar to those used by the pharmaceutical industry for pills. The difficulty with these batteries lies in removing them without accidentally breaking the packaging and ending up with hundreds of small batteries scattered in the drawer, rendering them useless.

Additionally, there is the danger that one of these batteries, if accidentally short-circuited with metal objects, could explode and trigger a fire.

For this reason, we have begun to contemplate a simple and elegant solution to put an end to this hazardous disorder.

The result of this design experimentation is the 3D-printed cell storage container presented in this Instructable.

Supplies

A 3D printer.
PLA filaments.
4 machine screws M2.5, 6 mm.
Transparent acetate foils (for transparencies, bookbinding).
Glue or tape.
Acrylic colors.

Step 1: 3D Printing the Battery Box

You can print the box (B element in the figure) ) using the STL formatted file BatteryBox.stl, and the lid (component A) using the file BatteryBoxLid.stl). For the model shown in the figures of this Instructables, we have used a 0.28 nm resolution to speed up the printing. Use the 4 screws to assemble the lid with the rest of the box.

Step 2: 3D Printing of the Drawers

Two types of drawers for holding the battery are provided as STL files. They are different in the last two rows to accommodate smaller battery cells. Cut a rectangular sheet of acetate to make the lid of the drawer. We have to stick it on the back edge of the drawer using transparent tape. Not an optimal solution but it works to keep in place it. It is not a hermetic enclosure but I think it helps to reduce the exposure of the battery cells surface reducing their oxidation.

Step 3: Final Refinements

With the help of my boy, we decorated the box using an acrylic felt pen with the results shown in the picture. Not a Picasso art piece but definitively more colorful than the dull purple of the PLA filament! Probably with more patience, more accurate printing, and different coloring tools, it is possible to improve the decorative appearance of the final object. I hope that you like the idea and enjoy making it as we did!