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3D Connexion 3D mouse - It's productive; not how you think it might be
euan_dykes
Member Posts: 7 ✭
Are you thinking of getting a 3D mouse? Sceptical of the benefits?
I was too. Yet now that I've been using one for 15 years in CAD, I couldn't go with out one.
I changed career in 2006 from computer graphic design to mechanical engineering. Pushed by the issue I was having with my right hand getting over use symptoms to the point I was fearing taking on new work. What's the point of being a graphic designer if you are afraid of the mouse. And it wasn't like you could keyboard your way to design brilliance either. So I looked for a career that didn't rely on the mouse so much. Mechanical engineering. I know what you are thinking, how did I not know that I'd be back to the same problem?
So fast forward to my second round of engineering schooling in 2010 having worked a full year in between as a CAD operator in Solidworks. These student projects meant long days in CAD. 2 weeks of intense work my right hand would have enough. Here I was back to the same problem. I loved CAD more than I loved graphic design, I wasn't going to give up. I needed to try everything I could.
I decided to purchase a mid level 3D Connexion mouse. Space mouse pilot I think it was. My theory was, shifting the 3D rotation tasks to another hand would reduce duty on the primary hand. Because I spent my own money on this, I forced my self to perceiver with it. It's cumbersome at the start. My left hand isn't as fine in its motor skills as the right. I needed to fine tune the speed settings to prevent loosing my view. And last I needed to stop my right hand from middle clicking to 3D rotate. It took a few months before I saw the first advantages.
Does it actually make you faster at CAD? No. If anything I reckon it could slow you down. It depends on how you want to measure being fast at CAD. It does something else that was totally unexpected:
It changes how you approach designing at the computer. Before I had a 3D mouse, I would do a lot of 2D sketch views and when finished, check back in 3D. 2D —> 3D —> 2D and so on…
With the 3D mouse, I found myself doing sketches in 3D views and more in the context of other parts around the design. Every now and again I would lock a sketch in a normal view to be precise on the line work. It became the exception to the normal. I would fly around the model. After a while I would just think, I want to go to there and my left hand knows how to pilot the view.
Did the 3D mouse solve my fatigue issues? Well sadly not. Yes it takes away some of the tasks of the right hand, it also takes away diversity of tasks that can help relieve a repetitive movement. I've since switched to a track ball mouse, and in doing so switched my primary clicking digit from my pointer finger to my ring finger. My old clicking finger and index now move the ball. It's the click and hold while moving the curser that is the killer. There's a lot of that going on in computer graphic design. I've tried everything, including foot peddles. So if you've come this far in reading this and you can relate to this, please, please tell me you found a solution to this pain, and comment.
As for the 3D mouse, do you need the Space Mouse Enterprise? The one with the screen. Put it this way. I don't use any of the buttons or programable keys. I have a mechanical keyboard and prefer the short keys on the keyboard. It also gives the hand some movement. I used them more in Solidworks as features are buried in menus more, not in Onshape. The UI makes macro setups obsolete. Instead get a 3D mouse to up your design thinking game. And try the perspective view that allows you to fly into your design. If you need to pick faces inside an object, you can fly inside without needing to use sectional views.
Comments
I'm with you @euan_dykes - I'm a recent re-convert to a SpaceMouse. I also prefer the smaller one and I also like the wired one - it really helps keeping it oriented… Keyboard shortcuts are a soapbox of mine that people around here know me for - so the programmable buttons on mice, extra keyboards (some DIY!), buttons on the SpaceMouse are all fair game.
I've been using one for over 10 years. I would have carpal tunnel from click-dragging to spin around if I didn't use one. I just recently bought myself the wireless one in addition to the wired one. I keep the wired one at home, and I'm using the wireless one at an office where I'm doing consulting. Somehow plugging/un-plugging and stowing the cord (which needs a USB-A to C adapter) was not sparking much joy, but using the zippered case for the portable one does. It was a small present to myself.
They are great for some serious modeling! Saves time since you can move the camera with the left hand while clicking things with right hand.
Though I'm surprised they don't have any competitors. It would be way cool to have an app where you could use the gyro's and accelerometer to control the part rotation 1:1 instead of a directional joystick like the space mouse. Similar to how a mouse is more precise than a controller joystick.
Maybe we could get Onshape to create a generic listener for apps that want to control the camera's position and rotation? I believe 3D Connexion has something like this?
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Bought my space mouse in 2007 - but sadly it's to old for Onshape support. I really miss it, and I agree that once you use one, it's hard to go back, Guess I'm going to have to upgrade to the latest version. Having said all that, I've used solidworks and inventor, and think the stock vanilla manipulations work better in Onshape.