Puncture mechanism for beverage machine

A puncture mechanism for a beverage machine, comprising:

• a cam driver that is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the puncture mechanism;
• first and second cams defined by the cam driver;
• and
• first and second cam followers associated with the first and second cams, respectively, the first cam configured to cause the first cam follower to move axially along the longitudinal axis of the puncture mechanism, the second cam configured to cause the second cam follower to move transverse to the longitudinal axis of the puncture mechanism.

A method of puncturing a seal in a beverage pod in a beverage machine using a puncture mechanism, the method comprising:

• rotating a cam driver about a longitudinal axis of the puncture mechanism;
• and
• in response to rotating the cam driver:
• moving a first cam follower, associated with a first cam defined by the cam driver, axially along the longitudinal axis, thereby causing relative axial movement between the beverage pod and an anvil of the puncture mechanism;
• and
• moving a second cam follower, associated with a second cam defined by the cam driver, transverse to the longitudinal axis, thereby causing the second cam follower to engage the beverage pod and restrict axial movement of the beverage pod relative to the second cam follower.