Draw by numbers!  Plus the pound and star keys, if you want.

In preparation for Benicia Mini Maker Faire 2016 this last weekend I finally got my TinyCNC working with this sweet Adafruit numeric keypad!  Now using the robot is so easy, even a 17-month old can operate it!1

I’ve programmed the ‘bot to interpret to move as follows:

• 4 = Left
• 6 = Right
• 2 = Back
• 8 = Forward
• 5 = Up
• 0 = Down

I believe the directional keys move the ‘bot in 3mm increments, but this is easily adjusted in the code to whatever you prefer.  I’ve also set the 1, 3, 7, and 9 keys to move in the four combinations of X / Y max / min travel.2

Print a TinyCNC for yourself by getting the STL’s on Thingiverse.  Also, I’m still getting the hang of this whole GitHub thing, but if you have a similar keypad and want to give the Arduino sketch a shot, check it out here.  You’ll want the one entitled, “TinyCNC Keypad.”

1. My younger daughter has really gotten a kick out of the ‘bot – a tiny robot she can actually control all by herself. [↩]
2. My daughter enjoys these four buttons the most – since they cause the most dramatic change in the ‘bot. [↩]