Macro & Number Pad
Based on the ATmega32u4 microcontroller; built on an Arduino Micro-Pro
Early prototypes of the mounting plate suffered weakness, although switch mounting was easier. The flimsiness made the board unreliable.
In practise it looks decent, but feels horrible. Very bad deck flex.
The weaker plate design
To resolve this weakness, I increased the plate’s thickness to ~6mm from 1.5mm. To make sure switches still fit, the direct mounting area for each switch was kept at a thickness of 1.5mm.
Much thicker plate
The new design, with a thicker deck.
It took several iterations to get the proper tolerances for the socket mounts, but in the end I got a really comfortable fit.
Along the way I pulled out my textured sheet for my Prusa and gave the top some flair for a far nicer finish than the previous flat sheet.
Keycaps not set yet! I’m going with these DSA “UnAlice" ones from here, but I’m waiting on some themed arrow keys to arrive.
The goal is to program the top number row to register quick double taps as shift-modified presses, either through QMK or Arduino.
Now all that’s left is to reprint the base for a tighter, redesigned look.