CoryDora: A Macropad, A Supply Chain, and A Case for Local Manufacturing

This talk is the story of CoryDora an open-source macropad I designed, assembled, and sold entirely from my home in India. Unlike mass-produced factory items, it's a small, handmade project built with open tools and persistence. Through this journey, I explore what it truly takes to bring hardware into the world today. I'll walk through the process of building CoryDora, part by part, using it as a lens to examine supply chains, the dominance of global manufacturing (especially China), and why rebuilding local manufacturing capabilities matters now more than ever.

Here's a brief overview of what I'll cover:

• The full supply chain behind CoryDora, from keycaps to microcontrollers.

• How I designed, prototyped, and shipped the Macropad from my home in India.

• The hidden challenges of sourcing locally and what's missing in the Indian hardware ecosystem.

• Why I believe small-scale, local manufacturing matters not just for self-reliance, but for creativity, community, and resilience.

This talk blends hands-on hardware experience with reflection on the broader systems we rely on and what it means to be a builder outside the factory system.

Some key takeaways from this talk are:

• A firsthand look at what it takes to design, manufacture, and ship open-source hardware independently from India.

• A breakdown of CoryDora’s supply chain, what can be sourced locally, what still depends on global manufacturing, and where the gaps are.

• How open-source tools (like KiCad, QMK, FreeCAD, etc.) make small-batch manufacturing possible without access to expensive proprietary ecosystems.

• The challenges and opportunities of local manufacturing for hardware builders in a world dominated by mass production.

• Why open hardware isn’t just about schematics, it’s also about sharing process, sourcing, and the philosophy of transparency in how things are made.