CNC Keypad / Custom USB Keyboard for LinuxCNC

Needed a controller for my LinuxCNC CNC Quilter machine. Made a custom keyboard with only the keys I needed. Emulates a USB keyboard to take advantage of axis keyboard shortcuts.

Designed in Fusion360, Cut on a Glowforge Basic, Key Cap Labels cut on a Cricut Explore Air 2.

Case:

Cut from 3mm baltic birch ply. The key switches are tight enough that the tabs dig into the side of the wood to hold it in place. The bottom 3 layers are glued together with M3 nuts held captive. The cap screws come in from the top to hold everything together.

Electronics:

Super straight forward. Just uses Arduino Keypad Library to read button presses. No extra components required

Materials:

• Arduino Pro Micro Clone Atmega32U4
• Cherry MX Black Key switches
• X-keys Keycap Cherry MX Compatible
• M3 x 20mm Socket Head Screw
• MicroUSB Cable

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Laser Cut Files & Key Cap Labels

• CNC_USB_Keypad.zip

Arduino Code:

	#include "Keyboard.h"
	#include <Keypad.h>
	const int KEYDELAY = 100;
	const int SEQDELAY = 500;
	const byte ROWS = 2;
	const byte COLS = 4;
	// Define the Keymap
	/*
	Cycle Start | Resume | Touch Off | Pause
	Up | Down | Left | Right
	*/
	char keys[ROWS][COLS] = {
	{'1','2','3','4'},
	{'5','6','7','8'}
	};
	byte rowPins[ROWS] = { 10, 16 };
	byte colPins[COLS] = { 6, 7, 8, 9 };
	Keypad keypad = Keypad( makeKeymap(keys), rowPins, colPins, ROWS, COLS );
	void setup() {
	keypad.addEventListener(keypadEvent); // Add an event listener for this keypad
	}
	void loop() {
	char key = keypad.getKey();
	if(key) // Check for a valid key.
	{
	switch (key)
	{
	case '1':
	// Cycle Start
	Keyboard.begin();
	Keyboard.press('r');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	Keyboard.end();
	break;
	case '2':
	// Resume
	Keyboard.begin();
	Keyboard.press('s');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	Keyboard.end();
	break;
	case '3':
	// Touch Off
	Keyboard.begin();
	Keyboard.press('x');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(200);
	Keyboard.press(KEY_END);
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(SEQDELAY);
	Keyboard.press('0');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(200);
	Keyboard.press(KEY_RETURN);
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(SEQDELAY);
	Keyboard.press('y');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(200);
	Keyboard.press(KEY_END);
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(SEQDELAY);
	Keyboard.press('0');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(200);
	Keyboard.press(KEY_RETURN);
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(SEQDELAY);
	Keyboard.press('z');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(200);
	Keyboard.press(KEY_END);
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(SEQDELAY);
	Keyboard.press('0');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(200);
	Keyboard.press(KEY_RETURN);
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	delay(SEQDELAY);
	Keyboard.press('x');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	Keyboard.end();
	break;
	case '4':
	// Pause
	Keyboard.begin();
	Keyboard.press('p');
	delay(KEYDELAY);
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	Keyboard.end();
	break;
	}
	}
	}
	// Taking care of some special events.
	void keypadEvent(KeypadEvent key){
	switch (keypad.getState()){
	case PRESSED:
	if (key == '5') {
	Keyboard.begin();
	Keyboard.press(KEY_UP_ARROW);
	} else if (key == '6') {
	Keyboard.begin();
	Keyboard.press(KEY_DOWN_ARROW);
	} else if (key == '7') {
	Keyboard.begin();
	Keyboard.press(KEY_LEFT_ARROW);
	} else if (key == '8') {
	Keyboard.begin();
	Keyboard.press(KEY_RIGHT_ARROW);
	}
	break;
	case RELEASED:
	if (key == '5') {
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	Keyboard.end();
	} else if (key == '6') {
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	Keyboard.end();
	} else if (key == '7') {
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	Keyboard.end();
	} else if (key == '8') {
	Keyboard.releaseAll();
	Keyboard.end();
	}
	break;
	case HOLD:
	break;
	}
	}

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