2/23/2026 - Code debuging and flashing code

So I added circuitpython and kmk to my keyboard, when I added my code, I received a few errors. I had to relabel some pins in my code. Then my code corupted and I spent hours trying all kinds of trouble shooting, in the end I had to reset my computer and nuke the Xiao (a few times 🙃). I also had to switch to putting my code in code.py instead of boot.py, the code would run before it's finished setting up.

Switches
board.GP1 → board.D7

board.GP2 → board.D8

board.GP4 → board.D9

board.GP3 → board.D10

Encoder 1
board.GP9 → board.D6

board.GP0 → board.D7

board.GP26 → board.A0

Encoder 2
board.GP27 → board.D1

board.GP28 → board.D2

board.GP29 → board.D3

3/16/2026 11:28 AM - Soldering

First before I stared to solder I made larger cutouts on the bottom of the switches using a file and a knife (to let more light from the leds pass through)

next I set up my soldering station

while soldering I killed 3 led because I was using the wrong tip on my soldering iron, while removing one of those leds, I somehow removed 2 soldering pads for a led, so I grabbed some wire and soldered the led to where it should go.

at first I had no idea I had destroed the soldering pads and whent to use it and only the first two would light up, after a bit I finaly found out what I did.

next I shortened the pin headers now that I had soldered them

now everything worked

exept my previous/play/pause keys in my second layer. I reseted it and now it works? I have no idea how this happened, but if it works it works.

3/16/2026 11:33 AM - fixing the top plate

so I went to put my soldered pcb in its case, I didn't plan on there being spacers under the xioa, so now the lid won't fit, if I raise the lid anymore the keys won't work, so I started brain storming and decided to add a slant after the keys so there will be enogh room for the xiao and it still look nice.

so now I start designing, first I made a sketch of where the slant will be

now I make another but on the side

the big rectangle is me making sure that my enchoder knob will fit (I'll show that later), at first I was gonna do a slant all the way to the edge

but instead I did a slant just to the hight I need

now I cutout the holes for the parts agin

and now the area for the xiao

Now that there is more hieght I will need a longer screw, luckily I have a lot of M3 screws so that won't be a problem.

now I design the enchoder knob I mentiond above first I measure the shaft of the enchoder and schetc it

next from that scetch I extrude the top

then the D-shaft part

and then the last part (this covers most of the threads)

now I add a chanfer aroung the top

then I extrude a grove into the knob

and repeat it with pattern

now I round the edges of each cutout (I found out that I could do this before the pattern, but not before I hand selected all of those groves 😭)

now I add it to my assembled model

next I will print these out.

I use cura slicer

I want to use ironing on the top layers but not the slant, to do this I will slice it where it irons everything, but have it pause after the lower section of it, next I turn it to only ironing the highest layer, with the same pause. next I open the gcode and I delete evrything after the pause in the first one (my print can't resume after pause so I have to edit gcode to resume as another file).

then I edit the first to resume the rest of the gcode with the new setting (I delete the every thing expet the startup code before the pause).

now I print

3/16/2026 11:35 AM - Aassembling The Case

now that I have all my parts printed it's time to assemble

first I insert the pcb into the bottem half of the case

next I put the top on

now I screw it all together

Finaly I add the keycaps and the enchoder knobs!

now I plug it up