Case assembly

18/DEC/2025

Today I finally got the case, I started by installing the heatset insert, I wanted it to sit flush with the case so I pushed the insert around 80% through then used some piece of metal to push it in and wait until it sets, this make sure it it perfectly flush with the rest of the case and it looks great!

I then screwed the PCB into the case

Next, I had to install the switches into the plate, unfortunately, it's a bit too tight so it took a while of sanding down the plate for it to fit (still a bit too tight but it'll work), I'm assuming it's the printer (Ender 3 V2) but that's nothing some sandpaper cant fix :pf:

Next, I installed the plate with switches into the PCB's hotswap sockets and tested it

Some keys didn't work because the pins got bent while being installed but that was a quick fix.

This is what it looked like after it's assembled

The rest of the soldering

16/DEC/2025

Today the components kit finally arrived and I can finish off the soldering!

I started by soldering the headers on the MCU, this is quite easy as I installed the headers on a breadboard first then soldering it, and the breadboard keeps the headers in place!

Next up I soldered the remaining 16 diodes and the socket for the OLED and MCU

Then assembled it together

(I left the rotary encoder because the PCB allows the encoder or the OLED display to be used but only one at a time)

Hotswap socket and some diodes

The PCB arrived today and I soldered the hotswap sockets and some diodes, but the hackpad kit hasn't arrived yet so I can only solder with the parts I already have.

The parts were pretty easy to solder since they were quite big, I used 0.8mm solder wire for the hotswap socket and 0.6mm for the diodes!

Completed the entire design

I drawn the schematic and placed the components, did the case and the firmware

I also programmed the OLED display for it to be able to display the current keymap from the firmware.