MacroPad Controller Board

HapticPad v2

A six-key macropad with an OLED label screen and a brushless wheel that generates its detents in software — the clicks you feel are torque curves, not a mechanical ratchet, so every profile can have a different feel.

Version 2 is a ground-up firmware rewrite on the Raspberry Pi Pico SDK, plus a desktop configurator that sets up the whole device over the USB cable. The hardware is unchanged from the original project by dmcke5 — the same two PCBs and the same printed parts run this firmware without any rewiring.

What is new in v2

Full details in CHANGELOG.md; coming from a working v1 pad, read docs/migration-from-v1.md first.

Features

• 6 macro keys, up to 8 steps each, with per-step delays
• Actions: key combinations, media keys, typed text, held modifiers, mouse buttons and scrolling
• 128×64 OLED with a 24×24 icon and a label per key
• Haptic wheel: 6 feel modes (off free clicky ratchet damped 4points) and 12 function presets (scroll, zoom, volume, tabs, history, undo/redo, timeline…)
• 20-LED ring: off solid rainbow breath bands halo reactive profile
• Up to 32 profiles on the microSD card, switched from the keys or the menu
• On-device settings menu, with a screensaver that parks the motor
• USB serial protocol — the configurator uses it, and so can a terminal
• Live telemetry: FOC loop rate, HID queue depth, dropped reports

Repository layout

firmware/      HapticPad 2.0 firmware — C/C++ on the Pico SDK
  release/     hapticpad-2.0.0.uf2, ready to flash
configurator/  desktop app: profiles, macros, icons, settings over USB
hardware/      PCBs (KiCad + gerbers), 3D printable and machinable parts, BOM
sd-card/       a starter card: config.txt, example profiles, icons
assets/        190+ PNG icons to import with the configurator
docs/          everything below

Getting started

1. Flash the firmware. Hold BOOTSEL while plugging the pad in, then drag firmware/release/hapticpad-2.0.0.uf2 onto the RPI-RP2 drive. That is the last time you need the BOOTSEL button — afterwards the pad's menu and the configurator can both reboot it into the bootloader.

2. Prepare the card. Copy the contents of sd-card/ onto a FAT32 microSD and insert it. See docs/sd-card.md.

3. Run the configurator.

python3 configurator/hapticpad.py

No installation: it runs on the Python that ships with macOS and opens in your browser. See configurator/README.md.

Building the firmware yourself is in firmware/README.md.

Documentation

Credits and licence

The hardware, the enclosure and the original v1 firmware are the work of dmcke5 — Hapticpad, project video. Version 2 is a firmware and software rewrite on top of that hardware.

Licensed under the CERN Open Hardware Licence v2 — Strongly Reciprocal, the same licence as the original project. See LICENSE.