A DIY, fully programmable macropad with arcade-style buttons using cherry-like mechanical switches.
The Cherry Macro Fighter is a 3D printed, 9 keys macropad running the QMK firmware on a Arduino Pro Micro. The buttons are made of cherry-like mechanical switches inside 3D printed arcade button cases. This allows the pad to have a thin profile, almost half the height of other similar macropads that use arcade buttons. Moreover, mechanical switches are way cheaper than arcade buttons while having a nice mechanical feel.
The case is a modified version of the Arcade Button Control Box, with a 3x3 layout, thinner profile and a place to mount the microcontroller. The walls of the button frame are 0.5mm wide so it requires a thin nozzle. I printed them using a Ender 3 printer with its 0.4mm nozzle. Settings for slicing the button frame with Cura:
- Layer height: O.1mm
- Infill: 20%
- Wall thickness: 0.4
- Wall line count: 1
- Minimum wall flow: 100%
- Print thin walls: true
The buttons have a standard diameter of 24mm, so they can be used as a replacement for arcade buttons for any other project.