Skip to the content
PCBKitNew board
2 layers79 × 99 mmHackpad, the printed circuit board in 3D

A custom designed macro pad.

Size
79 × 99 mm
Copper layers
2
Thickness
1.6 mm
Parts
53
Nets
46
Pads
197
Tracks, vias
453, 17
Routed
Yes
KiCad
KiCad 9.0 (file 20241229)
Created
16 Feb 2025
Updated
24 Mar 2025

Overview

Hackpad is an open-source printed circuit board by ading2210, from the ading2210/colon3pad repository on GitHub, published under the GPL-3.0 licence. It is a 2-layer board of 79 × 99 mm with 53 parts on 46 nets, routed with 453 tracks and 17 vias.

It is built around the SK6812MINI-E. Its parts include 32 diodes, 16 switches, 1 IC and 1 connector. It belongs with the keyboards and input boards and the RP2040 boards of this library.

Main components

1

README

README.md

colon3pad

This is a custom designed macro pad, created for the the Hackpad event. It has 16 keys and a built in OLED display.

Inspiration / Challenges:

I designed this so I could get more practice with designing PCBs in KiCad. The fact that I'm getting this hardware for free also gave me an excuse to work on it.

A challenge that I had was that I had to redo parts of the design several times. For example, I had finished the PCB when I realized that all the switches needed to be rotated 180°, so that forced me to reroute everything. Also, information on the PCB footprints and dimensions needed for the Choc V2 switches is somewhat scarce, so a ton of research was required.

BOM:

For PCB:

  • 1x Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040
  • 1x SSD1306 128x32 OLED
  • 16x Kailh Choc V2 switches
  • 16x SK6812-E reverse mount NeoPixel LEDs
  • 16x 1N4148 diodes

For Case:

  • Case is 3D printed with PLA
  • 4x M3x12mm screws
  • 4x M3 hex nuts
  • 4x M3x5mx4mm heatset inserts
  • 15x 1u low profile key caps (compatibility list)
  • 1x 2u low profile key cap

License:

This project is licensed under the GNU GPL v3.

text
ading2210/colon3pad - A custom macro pad
Copyright (C) 2025 ading2210

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

Parts

53
QtyValueFootprintReferences
16DDiode_THT:D_DO-35_SOD27_P7.62mm_HorizontalD1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8, D9, D10, D11, D12, D13, D14, D15, D16
16SK6812MINIlibrary_edited:SK6812-MINI-ED17, D18, D19, D20, D21, D22, D23, D24, D25, D26, D27, D28, D29, D30, D31, D32
16SW_Pushlibrary_edited:SW_Kailh_Choc_V2_1.00uSW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, SW5, SW6, SW7, SW8, SW9, SW10, SW11, SW12, SW13, SW14, SW15, SW16
2LOGOLOGOG***, G***
1 mbk-footprints:Choc-2u-solder2u
1Conn_01x04KiCad-SSD1306-0.91-OLED-4pin-128x32:SSD1306-0.91-OLED-4pin-128x32J1
1XIAO-RP2040-DIPOPL:XIAO-RP2040-DIPU1

Questions

How big is the Hackpad PCB?

It measures 79 × 99 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.

What parts does the Hackpad use?

53 parts, built around the SK6812MINI-E. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.

Where can I download the Hackpad KiCad files?

From the ading2210/colon3pad repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is PCB/hackpad.kicad_pcb and its schematic PCB/hackpad.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.

Can I use the Hackpad design in my own project?

Its repository publishes it under the GPL-3.0 licence: you may reuse it on that licence's terms (keep the author's notice, and for a copyleft licence share your changes alike).

Similar boards

  • 4 layers234 × 84 mmMain panel, the printed circuit board in 3D

    Main panel

    google/mozc-devices

    Circuit diagrams and firmware source code for Gboard DIY keyboards

    234 parts3kApache-2.0
  • 4 layers180.8 × 300.3 mmDilemma, the printed circuit board in 3D

    Dilemma

    Bastardkb/Dilemma

    The Dilemma is a vertical stagger low-profile keyboard with mods.

    383 parts590
  • 4 layers48 × 32 mmFlatSat, the printed circuit board in 3D

    FlatSat

    Pwnsat/FlatSat

    Flatsat v1.0 is a hardware based platform for aerospace cybersecurity research

    106 parts575GPL-2.0
  • 2 layersDemo, the printed circuit board in 3D

    Demo

    adamws/kicad-kbplacer

    KiCad plugin for automatic keyboard's key placement and routing

    48 parts547GPL-3.0
  • 2 layers97 × 78.5 mmDumbpad, the printed circuit board in 3D

    Dumbpad

    imchipwood/dumbpad

    Simple 4x4 numpad with rotary encoder. Powered by QMK via ATmega32u4 Pro Micro

    62 parts517GPL-2.0
  • 4 layers82.5 × 39.4 mmV4head, the printed circuit board in 3D

    V4head

    makerforgetech/modular-biped

    An open source framework for creating a bipedal modular companion robot.

    26 parts493GPL-3.0
  • 2 layers115.7 × 95.7 mmFifi split keeb, the printed circuit board in 3D

    Fifi split keeb

    raychengy/fifi_split_keeb

    Fifi Keyboard 🐶 ⌨️

    66 parts334
  • 4 layers70 × 54 mmPicoLab, the printed circuit board in 3D

    PicoLab

    CoretechR/PicoLab

    Web-GUI Embedded Multitool

    285 parts327GPL-3.0