Pip Deck 1000 Macropad

Intro:

A macropad I designed using Autodesk Fusion to help control my PC. Heavily inspired by the Fallout games and TV show, I wanted something that looked like a Pip Boy but wasn't wearble and didn't have a massive screen. 

Features:

The Pip Deck 1000 features:

• 12 Cherry MX-compatible mechanical switches.
• 4 LED-lit momentary buttons.
• A rotary encoder with push button for volume control and play/pause. 
• A toggle switch for changing the RGB colours.

3D Printing:

All parts were designed in Autodesk Fusion. The following parts were FDM printed on a Creality CR-10 V2:

• MainBody_Base - printed in Overture Matte Army Green PLA
• MainBody_Mid - printed in Overture Matte Army Green PLA
• MainBody_Top - printed in Overture Matte Army Green PLA
• LogoConsole - printed in Overture Matte Army Green PLA
• Encoder - printed in Overture Matte Army Green PLA
• DecorativeCoil - printed in Overture Matte Army Green PLA
• ButtonFaceplate - printed in Overture Matte Army Green PLA

The last part, ButtonBody, was printed in clear Anycubic ABS-like resin. This is 100% optional but allowed me to have two colours on the faceplate. 

On top of these parts, I made use of the wonderful switch covers by firstgizmo (https://www.printables.com/model/833555-toggle-switch-guard-cover). This is completely optional but I thought it was a nice touch. If you fancy doing the same, please pay their page a visit and download it. I printed the base of the switch cover and the spring in Overture silver silk PLA, and the cap in eSun red PLA+. I did modify the base slightly in Fusion to make the switch hole smaller to fit the model of switch I had. 

Keycaps:

I quickly drew these up in Fusion for my needs, but feel free to add your own. I can upload my keycap designs if people are interested. 

Components:

• 1 x Raspberry Pi Pico - I've had a couple of these sitting around for ages, I recommend getting them from the Pi Hut if you live in the UK. 
• 12 x Cherry MX blue clones (https://amzn.eu/d/070TqXR4)
• 1 x Rotary encoder - I used the included knob, but I will probably design my own somewhere down the line and upload here. (https://amzn.eu/d/0ftXD805)
• Tactile push button switches - I had some of these already but they should be the same as those in this kit. The button had a footprint of 6x6mm (https://amzn.eu/d/0eR0055l)
• 1 x USB A to Micro USB cable - make sure you get a cable that can transfer data and is not just for charging/power. (https://amzn.eu/d/0cmkB624)
• 1 x PC fan dust filter - This is just for aesthetics, and you could probably print a replacement. (https://amzn.eu/d/05LOvdpL)
• 1 x toggle switch - the type doesn't matter too much, the link is just an example as I've had the one I actually used in my drawer for years. (https://amzn.eu/d/0gI1qRBy)
• M4 screws: (note - this is what I used, the lengths don't matter massively as long as they fit.
  • 4 x M4*20
  • 2 x M4*16
  • 2 x M4*12
  • 8 x M4 bolts
• Neopixel strips:
  • 1 x WS2812 strip of 4 diodes (for lighting the buttons at the bottom of the face, completely optional and worth ignoring if you don't want to resin print the ButtonBody)
  • 1 x WS2812 strip of 5 diodes (for the area behind the grill on the front)
• Wires! Stranded 22AWG wires were my choice. 

Coding:

The device is powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico (non-wireless) with CircuitPython installed. I chose CircuitPython because of how easy it is to use the usb-hid library to send key commands to your PC. All libraries were downloaded from the Adafruit github. The code I used on the Pipdeck is on my Github (https://github.com/BioAlex66/PipDeck) with some instructions on how to easily customise it to your liking. 

Definitely not perfect!

This was my first real project using Fusion and has been a fun learning experience, but there are definitely several things I'd do differently if I started again today from scratch. The main thing I'd overhaul is the mounts for the screws - I just glued/heatset some bolt into hexagonal slots in the plastic, but I'd probably go back and replace these with heatset inserts if I did it again. 

Please let me know if you have any suggestions, and please do post a make if you decide to build it! I'd love to see hear your experiences.