MAJOR UPDATE

Long Story Short: I messed up some of the components.

So I recently got the materials for my hackpad, which was nice, and I immediately got to work on it. The first problem I encountered was my PCB design. I messed up the diode footprint, and ended up with surface-mounted pads for through-hole diodes, which has horrible structural integrity when you solder them together. However, since I can’t afford to get more PCBs, I had to make do with the 5 copies that I had. My first soldering job was fine, I added all of the components, did the diodes last, and ripped out the pads :(. However, I did end up hand-soldering three of them, and so i flashed my software to the RP2040 to see if any of those keys worked. To my disappointment, none of them worked, and I even switched around the orientation of the diodes about 3 times! Then came the worst part: DESOLDERING. I took out the keys fairly easily, but I had to sacrifice one rotary encoder(which was fine because the pack comes with two). Sadly, the two parts I needed most, the OLED and the RP2040, were stuck!! I managed to take both of them out in the end(didn’t record the time) and ended up ripping out pads on the rp2040 and burning up the OLED. Oh yeah, and I also had to demolish the PCB to get them free? For now, I’m getting a new RP2040, but I probably can’t procure another OLED. So once my parts arrive, I’ll have to experiment on a breadboard😭. Look at my mishaps below, and hopefully you’ll see it working soon.

CAD EDIT:

• Created spacers between the body and the pcb within the case

QMK FIRMWARE:
So for today, I finished the CAD Design, including minor fixes. However, the core part that I completed was configuring my macropad to QMK. Also, I finally decided on a name, the NINJAPAD! Anyway, that’s it for now, so stay tuned! Just have to fix my github repo and make production files.

CAD DESIGN:
Well, I finally decided on a theme of my hackpad, like I said before, and its Ninjago! It’s been a huge part of my childhood since I was little, so it was the perfect theme for my personal hackpad. The color scheme and easter eggs are largely based on Kai(a character from the show), and incorporated the rest of my pcb around it. The case itself has 2 layers: the bottom one holds the pcb in place, while the top is the cover as seen here. Although, it still isn’t quite finished yet, because I will eventually change the default knob I put. Plus, I accidentally forgot to record some of the time it took, so I’m only logging 2 hours. Anyway, stay tuned!

TIME FOR THE REAL HACKPAD:

Sorry I haven’t posted a devlog in a while, but I have fully completed the default keyboard, and am now working to make this thing my own. Currently, i have finished the schematic and PCB of my design, but it has a generic 3x3 matrix of switches, while having a rotary encoder and OLED display on the side(the ones included in the kit). Although I won’t reveal it yet, because you’ll see it in the design, I have finally thought of a theme for the design and I am very excited to start getting to work on it! Stay tuned for the CAD.

EDIT: Forgot to record the time for this, but i rearranged the parts for a little more wiggle room and I also put in mounting holes.

Hey guys, this is my second project/mission, which is my Hackpad. I’m currently following the guide on how to make the default hackpad, and I’ve just finished the Schematics and PCB of it. Stay Tuned!