I've tried 3D mouse long ago with AIX operating system. It was a little odd, because I couldn't "program" buttons and therefore I had to use ordinary mouse in same time. That was not so good. During those days I also had a Windows 2000 PC and driver crashed W2k... But I've become courious about people's experience about working with CAD and 3D mouse. Is it worht of that?
yes - but not everyone likes them and they take a little getting use to them. My only real real grip is that it spins my Solidworks model from a central point ratehr than the view I am at - but I can live with that for the additional flexibility. try and find time to try one and see how you get on. Tony
I've been using one for years, first the original Spaceball, now the Spacepilot. I wouldn't want to do 3D CAD without one. Note it doesn't replace your standard mouse; it's a completely different control.
Like Dana, I used to have a 3D mouse that spun the model from a central point rather than a sensible place in the view in SW. This was really annoying (actually pretty much unusable...), but it was a very old model. I now have a much newer model that's perfect.
I definitely like to use a 3D mouse (don't forget we're giving a particularly sexy one away here). They might take a little bit of getting used to at first, but once you've got the hang of it I guarantee you'll never want to be without one! I particularly appreciate them because they reduce a lot of strain in your mouse hand, especially from all that zooming in and out with the scroll wheel which is unnecessary with a 3D mouse. One company I worked for a colleague really turned up his nose at my new 3D mouse (didn't see the point of it), but after having a play with it for a little while the bugger went and ordered himself the top-of-the-range model.
The control to set the center of rotation is dependent on the software you're using; it's not built into the device itself (though the software may use one of the buttons on the device).
I use a Spacepilot with Autodesk Inventor and love it. It has 2 buttons, I set one to go into the settings and the one under my thumb is set to the Orbit feature. This allows me to change where the model spins from, so it doesn't always spin from the center of the model. I can zoom in on something, click orbit, click on it, then spin around it and look for tolerances in really tight locations extremely fast. I had a coworker at a former job let me try his out, and I went out and bought one immediately. Totally worth it, and I can barely 3D model without one now. It now feels very clunky trying to spin the model by clicking and dragging.
