tray · switch deck · plate · keycaps · knob — watch the 15s MP4
A desk controller for your coding agents. Lock an agent with one key. Hold the bar and talk. Twist the dial to set how hard the model thinks.
Print it · What's inside · How a job flows · The CAD is code · Roadmap
Pointing five different CLI agents at your projects means five terminals and a
lot of retyping. The Orchestrator Pad is a small (~90 × 90 mm) open-source
macropad that turns the routing into muscle memory: one key per agent, one
bar for your voice, one dial for effort — from low all the way up to
ultracode. It speaks Wi-Fi to your orchestrator daemon, with USB-HID as the
fallback.
Everything here is remixable: the enclosure is parametric Python, the agents
on the caps are just a table in cad/partlib.py, and the whole thing prints
on a bed-slinger in an evening.
| Key | Cap | What it does | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🎛 | Effort dial | knurled knob | detents map to low → medium → high → xhigh → max → ultracode |
| ⬜ | Cursor | cube-facet logo | lock jobs to Cursor |
| 🟣 | Codex | cloud >_ logo |
lock jobs to Codex |
| ⚪ | Preset | ◎ |
saved context / status (RGB glow optional) |
| ⬛ | Grok | circle-slash logo | lock jobs to Grok |
| 🟧 | Claude Code | pixel-pal logo | lock jobs to Claude |
| 🟦 | Antigravity | arch logo | lock jobs to Antigravity |
| ⬜ | opencode | terminal-frame logo | lock jobs to OpenCode |
| 🟪 | Kiro | ghost logo | lock jobs to Kiro |
| ⚡ | Run | ⚡ |
kick off the queued job |
| ✓ | Approve | ✓ |
accept a plan / permission prompt |
| ✕ | Reject | ✕ |
decline / cancel |
| ⟩_ | Prompt | ⟩_ |
focus the target session's terminal |
| 🎤 | Voice bar (2u) | 🎤 |
hold to talk — audio streams to the daemon for speech-to-text |
| ➤ | Send | ➤ |
dispatch to the locked agent at the dialed effort |
Every glyph is debossed 0.6 mm and ships with a matching legend infill piece, so the logos print in a contrast color (white on the colored caps, charcoal on the white ones) — no more squinting.
hold 🎤 ──► ESP32-S3 streams mic audio ──► daemon does STT
release ──► { agent: "claude", effort: "ultracode", prompt: "..." }
press ➤ ──► daemon routes the job to the locked agent's session
✓ / ✕ ──► answer the agent's next approval prompt from the pad
The pad itself stays dumb on purpose: it emits a tiny JSON protocol
({agent, action, effort, audio?}) over WebSocket and lets the daemon own
speech-to-text, session routing, and CLI orchestration. Point it at your own
stack by implementing one message handler.
The hardware above is the enclosure; these two pieces bring it to life. This first build is hold-to-talk over Wi-Fi, no dial (no potentiometer): press an agent key to lock that agent, hold the mic key and speak, hear the agent answer.
[ pad ] select agent ─▶ POST /select [ backend on your Mac ] [ Loom daemon ]
hold-to-talk ─▶ POST /voice (PCM) ─▶ STT → agent → TTS ◀──────▶ handoff + message
amp ◀─ 16 kHz PCM reply ◀─ (visible in the thread)
Wiring — the 4×4 matrix, INMP441 mic, and MAX98357A amp + speaker on an ESP32-S3 (full pin-by-pin tables in the firmware README):
firmware/— ESP32-S3 sketch: captive-portal Wi-Fi setup (LoomPad-Setup), agent-select keys, hold-to-talk mic streaming, and a telnet debug console. Wiring, key map, and flashing steps in the firmware README.backend/— a zero-dependency Node server that runs on your Mac (Groq STT + LLM, Deepgram TTS) and bridges the pad to the Loom daemon. Two API keys,npm start, done — see the backend README.
Bring it up: cd backend && cp .env.example .env (add two keys) → npm start
→ flash the firmware → join LoomPad-Setup and enter your backend URL (a LAN
http://<mac-ip>:8080, or a https://…ts.net Tailscale Funnel for anywhere) →
press an agent key, hold the mic, talk.
| Part | File | Orientation | Supports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tray (bottom) | exports/tray.stl |
as exported, flat on bed | none |
| Plate (top) | exports/plate.stl |
flip 180° — top face on bed | none |
| Switch deck | exports/switch-deck.stl |
as exported, flat on bed | none |
| Keycaps ×14 | exports/caps-all.stl |
flip 180° — cap tops on bed | none |
| Legend infills ×14 | exports/legends-all.stl |
import with caps-all, flip together | none |
| Dial knob | exports/knob.stl |
as exported (crown-down) | none |
0.4 mm nozzle · 0.2 mm layers · PETG or PLA. Slow the first layer and outer walls for crisp glyphs. Each STL is a union of individually watertight shells — every mainstream slicer merges them automatically.
Two-color legends: import caps-all + legends-all in one plate (they're
pre-aligned), flip 180° together, and assign the legend object a contrast
filament (AMS/MMU). Flipped, the legends are the first 3 layers on the
bed, so even a single-extruder printer can do it with one manual filament
swap at layer 4. No multi-color setup? Print caps alone and paint-fill the
recesses — they're 0.6 mm deep on purpose.
Switch sockets — solder like it's a PCB:
Donor-keyboard-style mounting, engineered to print clean: the plate's underside has a socket well caging every switch body, and the footprints live on a separate switch deck — one flat sheet with all 14 MX clusters (center-post hole + the two slanted contact holes + 5-pin legs). Because the deck prints flat on the bed, every hole is perfectly round and the flipped plate is pure vertical walls — no bridges, no floating regions, no supports on either part.
Assembly: clip the switches into the plate, then press the deck up onto them from below — it friction-fits on the center posts and 5-pin legs and seats against the socket-wall rims. The metal pins stick out 2.1 mm through the deck: flow solder on, run your matrix wire, done.
The dial is a mock — it just clips in. No potentiometer in this build, so the knob has a snap-fit peg instead of an encoder bore: push it through the plate's Ø7.4 hole and it clicks under the plate and spins freely — a display dial you can twist for the demo. The plate is unchanged, so it's a knob-only reprint.
Tolerances assume a reasonably tuned printer; every clearance is a named
constant in SPEC.md if yours runs tight.
| Qty | Part | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ESP32-S3 dev board (WROOM-1, dual USB-C clones welcome) | factory pin headers are fine — the board rides flat shelves + ribs (no posts in the way), with ~24 mm of open headroom above it; install it ports-right or ports-left (both side walls have a window) |
| 14 | MX-style switches (3-pin plate-mount, donor-board pulls work) | 13 × 1u + 1 for the 2u voice bar; they clip into the plate's square holes exactly like a stock keyboard plate |
| 1 | 4Ω 3W cavity speaker, flange up to 72 × 42 mm | down-firing bay in the floor: grille slots + 4 × M2.5 self-tapper pilots |
| 1 | MAX98357A I2S amp breakout | drops into the corner pocket, foam-tape mounted |
| 1 | I2S MEMS microphone (INMP441 class, round or square) | glues behind the front mic grille |
| 1 | EC11 rotary encoder | M7 bush mounts in the plate; 15 mm D-shaft; the knob hides the nut |
| 4 | M3 heat-set inserts + M3×8 button-head screws | tray bosses ← plate counterbores |
| 4 | rubber feet, ≥3 mm tall | give the down-firing speaker its air gap |
| — | zip ties, jumper wires | a flat wire bar with zip-tie slots is printed into the tray (no posts in the way) |
| — | optional: WS2812 LEDs | under the preset key |
Cable exits either side. The board lies across the case with its USB-C edge against a side wall, and both side walls carry a window — so you install it ports-right or ports-left depending on which way your desk wants the cable. The unused window becomes a wire pass-through for the speaker or amp harness.
Assembly: heat-set the four inserts, screw the speaker over the floor grille, foam-tape the amp into its pocket, rest the board on the shelves + ribs (components up, USB out whichever side window you picked), clip the switches into the plate, hand-wire the matrix, glue the mic behind the grille, zip-tie the slack to the posts, screw the sandwich together, press on caps and knob. A strip of kapton over the board is cheap insurance under the switch pins.
No STEP files, no Fusion — the entire enclosure is generated by
cad/partlib.py, a ~500-line kernel that extrudes 2D
shapely profiles into watertight shells (zero 3D CSG, so there's nothing
to corrupt), plus one script per part. Change a constant, rerun, reprint:
python3 -m venv .venv && .venv/bin/pip install numpy shapely
cd cad
../.venv/bin/python assembly.py # STLs + GLBs + MANIFEST.json
../.venv/bin/python render_docs.py # re-render the README images (numpy only)Design notes & receipts
- Every part is validated for closed, manifold, positive-volume shells on
every build (
partlib.validate) — the manifest records the results. - The fit audits in
cad/audit_*.pyare re-runnable: they check switch cutouts, screw stacks, cap clearances, and the DevKitC seating against Espressif's official board drawing — which is how we caught that the DevKitC-1's USB ports sit 7.79 mm off the board centerline. The case slot is centered on the native/OTG port, not the board. - Keycaps use a hollow tapered loft with a printed MX cross stem and 0.6 mm debossed glyphs built as layered shells — no boolean subtraction anywhere.
exports/orchestrator-pad-assembled.glband-exploded.glbare the full colored models — drop them into any glTF viewer.
- v1 printable enclosure, caps, knob — parametric CAD + audited fit (branch
v1) - v2 logo keycaps (Claude Code · Antigravity · opencode · Kiro · Cursor), taller case for full DevKitC clearance, USB mating relief (branch
v2) - v3 — Grok + Codex keys (seven agents), two-color legend infills (
legends-all.stl) (branchv3) - v4 — the fat base: 28 mm component bay with a down-firing speaker bay, amp pocket, board bridge with header-pin clearance, dual-USB-C window, and zip-tie wire posts
- v5 — donor-style switch sockets + the flat-printed switch deck (footprint sheet, pins protrude 2.1 mm for direct soldering; zero bridges/supports on the plate) (branch
v5) - v6 — USB moved to the side walls: the board bay is rotated and reversible, so the cable exits right or left (branch
v6) - v7 (current) — fatter: 40 mm case with ~24 mm of open headroom above the board, and the cylindrical locator/wire posts replaced with flat guide rails + zip-tie slots (nothing free-standing in the bay)
-
firmware/— ESP-IDF: matrix scan, encoder detents, hold-to-talk ring buffer, WebSocket client, USB-HID fallback - daemon reference handler + pairing flow
- hand-wire guide with photos
- PCB with hotswap sockets + WS2812
- translucent-PETG preset keys with light pipes
PRs welcome — the fastest way to help is to print one and file issues with your tolerance notes.
MIT. The agent names and logo-inspired cap glyphs refer to third-party projects — the marks belong to their respective owners; the glyphs here are simplified geometric homages for personal builds.