This Laser-Cut Raspberry Pi Media Control System

Built using a laser cutter and eight Cherry-compatible keyboard switches, this one-column keyboard handles media playback duties perfectly.

Semi-anonymous maker “Martin” has put together a macro pad with a difference, building an attractive media control system built right into a desk and with laser-etched labels for ease of use.

“[I] put some leftover Gateron Silent and Gateron Brown [mechanical keyboard switches] into a board I made with the laser cutter,” Martin explains of the project. “The keys are connected directly to a Raspberry Pi GPIO [General-Purpose Input/Output header], which runs a ‘Logitech Media Server’ and also doubles as a radio itself. Since the [Raspberry Pi] had no buttons for control and I did not always want to control on the PC or smartphone, an offline interface had to be made. I am very satisfied with it.”

Cut on a 40W DIY laser, this wooden media playback pad is a simple but effective control system. (????: Martin)

The heart of the project, as Martin explains, is a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B single-board computer, wired directly to the eight Cherry-compatible mechanical keyboard switches without the need for passive components like diodes or resistors. Jumper cables were soldered to the switches, then slotted onto the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO header — one pin per switch, with a common connection to the 3.3V pin.

“On the Raspberry Pi, DietPi [operating system] is used,” Martin adds. “This works great for my applications and is more intuitive for me to use than e.g. Raspian. [I also used] Logitech Media Server (LMS), SqueezeLite, Python 3, [and my] own code.”

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