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