Devlog #6: I Guess I still have a bit more to go!

I just spent 13 hours without a devlog and just realized that 3 of them won’t count. :(

But anyways Im pretty much done with the firmware now and currently I am polishing up a Boot up Animation on the oled screen of the anypad

What I did in detail

I figured out how QMK works and then I created a new keyboard and edited some stuff, crashed out, handed over some stuff to gemini, finally understood how c and json files work. Then over the last couple days learned cool functions the micro controller can do. And then I added those to the code. So I am quite sure the code now works, I’ll check it once again. And then I thought of why no make like a cool start up animation. So I asked gemini if QMK allows that and turns out it does. So attached below is a short clip of the first draft of my boot up animation. I am thinking of adding like a series of intros where it displays anypad. And then a quick intro of hack club and says By Shreyansh

Next steps?

1. Finish animation
2. Check Code
3. Check everything
4. Post a ship in slack and get peer review
5. Finally Ship The Anypad and hope it gets passed first try.
   — Iterate if required
6. Collect all parts
7. Assemble!
8. Review
9. Use!

My goal is to be done with first 5 steps by next devlog
Scratch that, That was last weeks goal

This weeks goal is to like ship in like the next 2 days

Thank you! For anyone who has read this far. If you have any suggestions please feel free to comment

Devlog #5: Final Stretch Remaining!

Over these 9-10 hours I have finally finished my entire hardware section of The Anypad.
And now im gonna dive into the final software before arranging everything to be shipped.

What I was doing? What took me so long?

I found out why I couldn’t export my pcb from kicad. What happened was that fusion kept opening the old file because the name was in its quick cache. And so I fixed fusion’s cache and then exported it and placed it perfectly and it felt like everything is where it’s supposed to go…. But thats what I thought

But… Later after I added the key caps I realized…

I had messed up the positioning of the keycap holes on the top cover. And it was something that took a bit of a long time to fix. If I didnt fix it the keycap wouldn’t go all the way down and it would scrape the case.

Next steps?

1. Start and finish firmware
2. Debug firmware
3. Verify all designs and stamp final date on everything
4. Wrap all files in nice GitHub repo with an appealing readme
5. Finally Ship The Anypad and hope it gets passed first try.
   — Iterate if required
6. Collect all parts
7. Assemble!
8. Review
9. Use!

My goal is to be done with first 5 steps by next devlog

Thank you! For anyone who has read this far. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to comment

Develog 4 Rough terrain but not too bad

Honestly I am starting to get the hang of hardware. The Anypad v1 is coming together. 

• I finalized the pcb layout, footprints, 3d models etc. 
• I exported the exact layout of the pcb from kicad and made a plate out of it.
• After the plate I finished the top part of the case. 

What I have Left?

• bringing the actual 3d pcb file and putting it in my case to see if everything fits together
• Cool top design
• A good color scheme 
• Branding
• Check all the measurements and layouts
• firmware
• Check absoulutley everything again
• Ship
• Wait for approval or fix stuff
• Assemble and enjoy!

If any of you have any tips, tricks, or ideas, please feel free to comment. 

Life Lesson: Hardware Projects are extremely specific

Honestly, I have been all over the place with this project. But these are some things that have accomplished in total but the creating the case was the most recent int these 5 hours.

• Finished a First Draft of the Schematic
• Finished a First Draft of the PCB
• Created a very basic case consisting of
  1. Base legs (front legs are shorter than back legs to create an ergonomic incline)
  2. Created a bottom section which holds the pcb and has 5mm space underneath for lights and key switches and other components. 
  3. Created a funnel shape for the underglow lights
  4. Added a translucent white light dispersment layer so the underglow lights are smooth under the macropod.

Next hurdles or challenges

1. Finalizing my PCB design so it is ready for the case and plates. I realized there is a specific footprint for the oled screen that lets you see where the screen will sit instead of the 4 pin I have right now. Plus I have to finalize my 3d models and their directories so I can export my entire pcb so I can place it in my case.

2. Creating a plate that holds all my switches and oled and knob. At the same time the plate shouldn’t cover up my visuals. This will be hard because I made my own key layout and not a basic grid layout. So I need a way to map my key locations and they have to be millimeter perfect.
    

3. Creating the top part of the case with screw holes and brass insert etc. This is the final thing that will make my pcb get its gaming feel.

I have finalized the first draft for the Anypad. It took a while to research and finally finish the Design rule checkers errors and warnings. The 3d models for my 3d view of the pcb didnt work so I had to find 3d .step models so that it would be easier to see the pcb with its components while designing the case on fusion 360. I am still having some trouble exporting the pcb as a .step file with all components present and aligned correctly. but ill get started on the rough draft for my case

I was having some trouble with Hackatime and Stardance, so I have actually spent like 20 hours on this. I have made a proper schematic, and I am finalizing the PCB design. I recently fell into an error where I had forgotten to put the usb port on the edge of the board. but I recently fixed that. Next update will be cleaner visual graphics and everything will be measured for the case