GacroPad Devlog 6 - The Beckoning

I’m gonna be blunt. I put in the grant. I have NOTHING useful to say, other than the fact that I worked on the firmware a little, CAD for the case, and used Codex for some PCB assistance since I have hit my limits internally.

Again, this is my first PCB. I do not know what I am doing. I feel like asking Codex for help is fine morally, and I have nothing against it. Of course, I need to also learn these skills humanly, so in order to learn better, I’m going to do Half Life. Mostly because I need to learn how to make a PCB, and I need a second 3D printer for science, which includes modding and Egg-Bench (how fast can an egg be cooked on a 3D printer).

For now, we wait. Here’s a raytraced render of the board, since it looks fresher. The display looks different because I got tortured with my display choices.

GacroPad Devlog 5

It looks so beautiful, don’ it?

Wow. I cannot believe it. We actually have a PCB. Grueling, working hours (some unrecorded…) and we finally have a PCB.

It’s late where I’m at. I don’t have much to say, and I have school tomorrow, so I’m cutting it short.

We are almost done.

CAD is going to be really tricky. Like, really. I use Autodesk Fusion. Voluntarily. I cannot use FreeCAD, in good faith. It does not work on Debian (at least, for me).

I have to use the web version. Thank god I am a student.

The moment this is done, I will work on a separate project in a new YSWS. It will be Wheatley, from the Portal franchise. Articulated. It should be able to move around by itself on my ceiling. This is a shower thought.

As for now, we need to be serious. Crap just got real. When I work on CAD tomorrow, I will be recording guaranteed. It’s also not going to be green. I decided it’s going to be black (it’s not going to be expensive, green does reek of old too but Raspberry Pi uses it but idgaf). When I get my JLCPCB, soldering iron (I don’t own one sadly), and other item grants, it will go to the best stuff I can find.

My teacher also asked me to bring in some PCBs into compsci class so I am going to get absolutely bullied for this.

Bye!

GacroPad Devlog 4

It’s raining outside right now. I’m so thankful for this.

A lot of the firmware for the GacroPad is done, and the companion app (untested) seems to be just fine.

Though, because I’m so persistent, we now have a PCB sketch. It’s not done yet, but we’re so, so close. This will be a real thing. I panicked, because the deadline was the 30th of September. However, things changed, and we now have more time!

This will give me more time to work on CAD, the PCB, and getting funding. I am so very thankful for the people at Stardance for giving not just me, but everyone more time. This will also give me some time to even rate projects the moment I get approved!

More soon to come. For now, keep this in mind:

• The schematic is done, and the PCB will be finished very very soon.
• CAD will be finished. I have an Autodesk Education license, so I will be using that to my advantage. I use Linux, so I cannot use Fusion without some workarounds (which do not work), so Fusion Education is my ticket.
• I have a 3D printer. The moment the first CAD prototype is both finished and fits, it goes straight to the printer. Decisively, it will be printed in PETG.
• Funding is a tough one. I need to find a reliable seller that won’t try to kill me with shipping that can easily ship cheaply even though you can’t really have that. I think Stardance may cover funding for the ESP. Not sure.
• Cherry MX switches are our ticket. They’re good, and they last.
• Keycaps are going to be 3D printed. Gray PETG. This does make the cost more, but all printing materials are footed by me, since it’s better for me to do it.

For now, the PCB currently looks like the following image. It’s messy, but progress!

GacroPad Devlog 3

If you are reading this, you now owe me a Bambu Labs H2C. I need one please please please I beg

A lot has changed.

• For starters, RGB is a dead dream. No more RGB. It’s cleaner anyway.
• The OLED is still in place, however, it is now substantially larger (1.3” over 0.91”) for QoL.
• Instead of wires, it is now labels. It looks much cleaner, doesn’t it? This part I mostly forgot to record. It was substantial, I know, but it was a necessary evil.
• A lot of things have been repositioned. Everything works, it’s just that they’ve been moved around.
  • The way the ESP is positioned is special. In the case, there will be an acrylic sheet that shows the receptacle and the ESP-32 in a small window. I get this costs more, but it makes it so much more cooler.

This changes a lot of design mechanics. Again, as I stated, a lot of things are due for a change. Nothing is final.

Project state?

30%. I need to add BOOT and RESET buttons for if this thing dies out. After that, it’s PCB time! After that though, I will code instead of CAD.

Bye!

GacroPad Devlog 2

I’m homicidal, and I got a taste, I want to wipe out the monster race! - Undertale the Musical

Today was a productive day!

What I did today was mostly add the switches, start progress on RGB, and the better part? Add a 0.91” OLED screen! I also stamped my watermark onto the schematic.

You may be asking yourself a very important question. “Why does it look so different than last time in the beginning?”

I forgot to record. That’s it.

It was the stupidest thing I could ever do. I forgot to open Lapse and hit record. I could’ve done that. I totally could’ve. Unfortunately, the moment I realized that (I worked on it yesterday), I was practically done with the power + ESP situation. And, as of now, it looks awfully jank. Don’t worry. Everything is gonna try to look less jank.

The more unfortunate part is that I am totally going to forget recording a lot of times. This will definitely screw my hours six ways to Sunday. But honestly I’m doing it for the fun of it, not the stardust. It’s a good prize in general, however, it’s not my main motive. My main motive is to improve my skills and try to make a PCB come to life. Mostly(s) because it’s good life skills, and it’s great for my future.

What would you say the project completion is at?

I would say 25%. Good progress was made today, as I implemented the switches, something that really confused me at first, but I eventually got over it.

I’m definitely gonna be logging some more this weekend, as Labor Day weekend is this, well, weekend, so I have some extra time to work on this without school nagging me about it.

I can work later into the nights, since, I usually go to bed really late. Like, awfully late. Not good, but also good.

That’s pretty much it for this devpost! Stay chill, everynyan!~

GacroPad, The Macro Pad That Doesn’t Suck

You’ll choke on how bad the name is. It’s awful. As they say, good product, awful name.

This is the first devlog of the GacroPad, the macro pad that works the way you want it to.

GacroPad is a macro pad that is (supposed) to look beautiful, clean, and fits in well with whatever setup you have. It is comprised of an ESP32-S3-WROOM-1, some key switches that are clicky AF, keycaps that do NOT look like hot garbage, and a clean OLED for… something.

That “something” still needs to be determined. GacroPad is a HEAVY work in progress. Absolutely NOTHING will be final, and everything WILL be changed in the near future. Well, maybe some things.

Here are some things that will NOT be changed:

• The current micro-controller. The ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 is honestly the best choice. However, when we take into consideration of the Raspberry Pi Pico, QMK firmware also comes in. This can make the GacroPad a whole lot simpler, but the WROOM (let’s just call it that) seems a lot more capable.
• The switches. Tacky blue switches are funny lol. Of course, they’re a good solution, but not exactly the best. We can switch them at any time, but for now, let’s stick to what we have.

That’s mostly it! The shell however, is a topic that will be discussed later. What we DO know:

• It’s gonna be 3D printed. If you don’t have one, the 3MFs and STLs will be publicly available, so you can easily go to a place to get it 3D printed.
  • If you DO have a 3D printer, the whole thing is going to be relatively tiny. I will provide the appropriate 3MFs for both Bambu and Creality printers. I mainly use a Creality K2, and having a Bambu file go into Creality is going to cause a lot of configs to go blank in the slicer + color data might be missing. I will also provide a generic 3MF file from OrcaSlicer.
• PETG will be the main filament. PLA is okay, but I HIGHLY suggest PETG, since PETG is the big boy stuff.
• This case will be multi-color. I will try my absolute best to make a case that is done in parts so people with a printer that only takes in one color at a time/don’t have a multi-material system, but there is no guarantee. Having it in one piece is optimal, and better executed as well.
  • Most people nowadays usually have an AMS/CFS to go along with their Bambu/Creality printers, and I have never encountered someone who genuinely owns an Ender printer. I will most likely not do it in parts, just for the sake of time.

What would you consider the project completion to be as of now, and do you like cats?

I would say around 15%, since it’s somewhat there, but not far enough. We have a lot of work to do, and if you would like to help, it would be gladly appreciated (as in helping me with my horrible skills at making a PCB)! And yes, I do like cats. Mrrrp~!

That’s it! That’s the GacroPad! Or, what it will be in the future. If you would like to help, please do! Attached below is a timelapse of my KiCad session and the KiCad sketch below (incomplete), if you’re wondering what the hell those things are.