Gaming Keypad

thingiverse

After trying numerous button box styles that were simply rectangular boxes, I decided to venture into something entirely different. I was browsing through mechanical keyboards on Amazon when it struck me that there must be hundreds of designs out there, but nope! I only found 2 or 3, and one looked promising, although it seemed like too much work. After reviewing what others had done, I came up with this unique design. That peculiar shaped rectangle protruding from the box is designed specifically for your wrist to rest on. With a small to medium-sized hand, I find it very comfortable, but I believe it would be equally suitable for larger hands as well. The plate can accommodate 12 Cherry MX switches, and I personally prefer blue ones. I managed to score this set on eBay for an astonishing $2 per pack of 10. The plate will rest slightly loose in the box, so I glued mine in place before installing the switches, which fit snugly and were easy to remove. Inside the box, you'll find an Arduino Pro Micro Leonardo. While I won't delve into the details of wiring it up, as I'm still learning myself and wouldn't want to provide potentially bad advice, I did glue mine onto the board. However, I highly recommend using double-sided thick tape for a more secure attachment. Please note that this is a work in progress, and I designed it using Fusion 360. If you need access to the Fusion file, simply let me know. Version 2 of this design has now been released, boasting a more streamlined look and utilizing a USB joystick encoder ($10) instead of an Arduino for a sleeker setup.