Pill Counting Tray
Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 6:09 am
I build Tamiya tanks and semi-trucks, and have amassed a lot of extra screws, nuts, washers, etc. I keep these in small fishing tackle boxes (that have around 8 to 10 small separate compartments). For M3 screws, for example, I use three compartments - one for the shortest ones, one for the mid-sized ones, and one for the longest. That allows me to avoid going through two-thirds of them when I'm looking for a certain size; but I still have to remove most of the contents of one compartment and spread them around on a paper plate or something to find what I need. And then, I have to get them back into the compartment; either by flexing the plate into a funnel, or using a magnet - which has the disadvantage of magnetizing the parts.
I was watching a TV news story about pharmacists, and it showed one sorting pills on a tray. What a great tool for sorting these small metal bits, as well! (I don't know how to post pictures, but here is a link to a picture of one): http://www.oneinhundred.com/upfiles/upi ... 316787.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
What you do is spread the parts onto the flat area, and slide the ones you want into the trough on the side. Close the cover of the trough, and tilt the tray away from you to let the unwanted parts slide out the corner opening back into the storage conpartment. Then, you can use the parts out of the trough, or tilt the tray towards you and dump them out of the open end of the trough.
I had no idea where to buy such a thing, and a local pharmacist said that he didn't know either (he said that theirs are donated to them by pharmaceutical companies). Well, it turns out that bead-crafting people are starting to use them too, and you can find them at stores that sell bead supplies for around $10.
It makes life a lot easier! -Mike
I was watching a TV news story about pharmacists, and it showed one sorting pills on a tray. What a great tool for sorting these small metal bits, as well! (I don't know how to post pictures, but here is a link to a picture of one): http://www.oneinhundred.com/upfiles/upi ... 316787.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
What you do is spread the parts onto the flat area, and slide the ones you want into the trough on the side. Close the cover of the trough, and tilt the tray away from you to let the unwanted parts slide out the corner opening back into the storage conpartment. Then, you can use the parts out of the trough, or tilt the tray towards you and dump them out of the open end of the trough.
I had no idea where to buy such a thing, and a local pharmacist said that he didn't know either (he said that theirs are donated to them by pharmaceutical companies). Well, it turns out that bead-crafting people are starting to use them too, and you can find them at stores that sell bead supplies for around $10.
It makes life a lot easier! -Mike
