Pico Macro Keyboard PCB Design


Fresh-place the entire Pico Macro Keyboard PCB from scratch on a 100 mm × 100 mm rounded-rectangle 4-layer board.
Top side priority:
Keep the top side clean and user-facing.
Place the mechanical key switches in a regular macro-keypad grid with consistent row/column spacing and aligned orientation.
Keep the RGB LEDs visually associated with their corresponding switches and avoid crowding the key grid.
Place rotary encoders and any user-facing controls on the top side in ergonomic positions near the key grid.
Place mounting holes near the board corners and keep them clear of switches and encoders.
Bottom side priority:
Place the Raspberry Pi Pico / MCU module and the majority of supporting electronics on the bottom side.
Group the MCU, flash, crystal/oscillator, regulator/power parts, reset/boot circuitry, USB/support passives, and decoupling capacitors by function.
Keep decoupling capacitors close to their associated IC power pins, crystal/load caps close to the MCU oscillator pins, and power components clustered together.
Minimize estimated routing distance between the bottom-side MCU and the top-side switches, LEDs, and encoders.
Prefer moving support passives on the bottom side rather than contaminating the top-side visual layout.
Placement quality goals:
Resolve overlaps, keep all components inside the board outline, preserve routing channels between the key grid and MCU area, and maintain clean edge/corner clearance.
Use both layers intentionally: top for human-interface components, bottom for dense electronics.
After placement, run DRC/review and report any remaining overlap, off-board, or layer-assignment issues.
I've made a plan, and started work on it.
USB edge access
Switch spacing
Pico bottom center
Mounting keepout

J1
U1
C1
Capacitance
0.1uF
C16
Capacitance
15pF
R12
Resistance
5.6kΩ
C3
Capacitance
0.1uF
C17
Capacitance
47uF
C4
Capacitance
0.1uF
C8
Capacitance
0.1uF
R1
Resistance
200 Ω
R11
Resistance
5.6kΩ
R3
Resistance
27 Ω
C25
Capacitance
0.001uF
R4
Resistance
100 Ω
C24
Capacitance
0.001uF
R18
Resistance
470 Ω
R2
Resistance
1 Ω
C6
Capacitance
0.1uF
R10
Resistance
27 Ω
R8
Resistance
100kΩ
C27
Capacitance
0.001uF
C21
Capacitance
1nF
C9
Capacitance
0.1uF
R14
Resistance
Resistance
C22
Capacitance
0.001uF
C10
Capacitance
0.1uF
C26
Capacitance
0.001uF
R7
Resistance
1kΩ
C19
Capacitance
0.1uF
R5
Resistance
33 Ω
R19
Resistance
470 Ω
C18
Capacitance
47uF
R6
Resistance
100 Ω
R16
Resistance
100kΩ
R13
Resistance
1kΩ
C15
Capacitance
15pF
R9
Resistance
100kΩ
R15
Resistance
1kΩ
R17
Resistance
1kΩ
C5
Capacitance
0.1uF
C2
Capacitance
0.1uF
C23
Capacitance
0.001uF
Logo1
VBUS
VSYS
+3V3
+1V1
VSYS
+3V3
VSYS
+3V3
+1V1
+3V3
+3V3
VSYS
VSYS
VSYS
VSYS
+3V3
+3V3
VSYS
+1V1
VSYS
+3V3
VSYS
+3V3
+3V3
+3V3
+3V3
+3V3
VSYS
+3V3
VSYS
VSYS
+3V3
VSYS
+3V3
U11
H3
U8
U5
H1
U7
U12
H4
U14
U4
U6
U9
U15
U13
H2
U10
XIN
QSPI_SCLK
STATUS
ROW_3
ROW_3
SW_ENCODER_1
ROW_1
USB_DM
A_ENCODER_1
GPIO29_ADC3
USB_DP
USB_DP
ROW_0
WS2812_DATA
SWDIO
XOUT
B_ENCODER_1
SW_ENCODER_2
COLUMN_3
QSPI_SD3
QSPI_SD2
QSPI_SS
ADC_VREF
WS2812_DATA
SW_ENCODER_2
COLUMN_0
SWCLK
LINEAR
GPIO29_ADC3
B_ENCODER_2
GPIO23
RUN
QSPI_SD2
QSPI_SD1
A_ENCODER_2
SW_ENCODER_1
A_ENCODER_2
ROW_1
QSPI_SD1
STATUS
ROW_2
SWCLK
SWDIO
GPIO23
COLUMN_3
QSPI_SS
XOUT
QSPI_SD0
ROW_0
B_ENCODER_2
USB_DM
XIN
COLUMN_1
QSPI_SD0
QSPI_SD3
COLUMN_2
GPIO24
A_ENCODER_1
ROW_2
QSPI_SCLK
COLUMN_0
GPIO24
3V3_EN
B_ENCODER_1
LINEAR
COLUMN_1
COLUMN_2
SW1
SW11
D10
D3
SW12
SW10
D2
D11
SW8
SW3
SW13
SW4
D13
SW2
SW6
SW9
D12
D7
D4
D5
SW5
D9
D6
D8
SW7
R23
Resistance
10kΩ
R22
Resistance
10kΩ
SW14
Q1
R24
Resistance
10kΩ
R21
Resistance
10kΩ
U2
PROG
L2
Inductance
2.2uH
Y1
Frequency
12MHz
R25
Resistance
10kΩ
R20
Resistance
10kΩ
SW15
RV1
Resistance
10kΩ
C11
Capacitance
0.1uF
C13
Capacitance
4.7uF
C12
Capacitance
4.7uF
D1
LED1
L1
Inductance
Inductance
C14
Capacitance
4.7uF
C20
Capacitance
4.7uF
U3
C7
Capacitance
4.7uF

Pico Macro Keyboard AI Placement [Example]