2 layers43.9 × 27.7 mm
2 layers97 × 70 mm
Rocky hackpad
fish-in-a-puddle/AmazepadA hackpad featuring a small display with Rocky from Project Hail Mary to help with your projects
- Size
- 97 × 70 mm
- Copper layers
- 2
- Thickness
- 1.6 mm
- Parts
- 19
- Nets
- 20
- Pads
- 71
- Tracks, vias
- 140, 0
- Routed
- Yes
- KiCad
- KiCad 10.0 (file 20260206)
- Created
- 17 Aug 2026
- Updated
- 13 Sep 2026
Overview
Rocky hackpad is an open-source printed circuit board by fish-in-a-puddle, from the fish-in-a-puddle/Amazepad repository on GitHub. It is a 2-layer board of 97 × 70 mm with 19 parts on 20 nets, routed with 140 tracks and 0 vias.
Its parts include 7 switches, 6 diodes and 2 ICs. It belongs with the lEDs and displays boards of this library.
README
README.mdAmazepad
A hackpad with six keys, a rotary encoder and a small OLED display featuring Rocky from Project Hail Mary to help you with your projects.
This project was made for Hack Club's Stardance! Check it out here
If you're a teenager wanting to make your own hackpad, you can find the tutorial here
Inspiration
A few weeks ago, I saw an interesting project on Reddit - a small voice assistant on a Raspberry Pi that talked like Rocky from Project Hail Mary. I had also been looking at the hackpads submitted through Stardance, so I thought "What about a hackpad with an engineering friend to encourage you?". This Rocky doesn't respond to questions, of course, but he shows different messages on the OLED depending on how fast you're typing.
Layout
The Amazepad features 6 mechanical keyswitches and one rotary encoder. In my firmware, the rotary encoder controls the computer's volume and the keys are arranged like so:
| MUTE | CRTL+A | CTRL+Z |
| CTRL+C | CTRL+V | CTRL+S |
The Amazepad also has a 0.91" OLED display that shows three different images depending on your WPM, all pixel art of Rocky with one of his favorite phrases.
Design
Before starting this project, I had never made a PCB before. It took a little while to get used to Kicad, but I eventually got everything properly connected. I had originally planned to add a second rotary encoder and lights under each key, but that ended up being way more complicated than I was prepared for, so I scaled back the design to make it easier to solder and program. Once the PCB was done, I moved on to designing the case.
The tutorial suggested using Fusion 360, so I downloaded it. The moment I opened it, I regretted it. Nothing worked - not even drawing a rectangle. I probably could have hunkered down, watched some videos and figured it out in a few hours, but I didn't. I went back to the ever-reliable Sketchup and made a simple case there. Just a rectangle box with cutouts on the cover. I plan to add some stickers to it once I print it to make it a little cooler, though.
As for the firmware, I used QMK to port the macropad and set everything up. That took a while and a whole lot of trial and error. At this point the firmware has not been tested (as I do not have the actual hackpad yet) but I am fairly confident that it will work.
Bill of Materials
| Part | Qty | Cost(USD) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.7k ohm resistor | 2 | $0 | My workspace |
| 1N4148 diode | 6 | $0 | Hackpad kit |
| Cherry MX keyswitches | 6 | $0 | Hackpad kit |
| Rotary encoder | 1 | $0 | Hackpad kit |
| Seeeduino Xiao RP2040 | 1 | $0 | Hackpad kit |
| 0.91 OLED | 1 | $0 | Hackpad kit |
Parts
19| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | D | Diode_THT:D_DO-35_SOD27_P7.62mm_Horizontal | D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6 |
| 6 | SW_Push | Button_Switch_Keyboard:SW_Cherry_MX_1.00u_PCB | SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, SW5, SW6 |
| 2 | R | Resistor_THT:R_Axial_DIN0204_L3.6mm_D1.6mm_P7.62mm_Horizontal | 4.7kΩ1, R2 |
| 1 | ER_OLEDM0.91_1x-I2C | Display:ER_OLEDM0.91_1x-I2C | U3 |
| 1 | LOGO | silkscreen-designs:silkscreenrocky | G*** |
| 1 | LOGO | silkscreen-designs:silkscreen1small | G*** |
| 1 | MOUDLE-SEEEDUINO-XIAO | XIAO:XIAO-Generic-Hybrid-14P-2.54-21X17.8MM | U1 |
| 1 | RotaryEncoder_Switch | Rotary_Encoder:RotaryEncoder_Alps_EC11E-Switch_Vertical_H20mm | SW10 |
Questions
How big is the Rocky hackpad PCB?
It measures 97 × 70 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.
What parts does the Rocky hackpad use?
19 parts. 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 Rocky hackpad KiCad files?
From the fish-in-a-puddle/Amazepad repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is PCB/rocky-hackpad.kicad_pcb and its schematic PCB/rocky-hackpad.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Can I use the Rocky hackpad design in my own project?
Its repository states no licence, so its author keeps all rights: ask fish-in-a-puddle before reusing the design.
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