What Mouse?

I wonder sometimes about the suitability of gaming peripherals for industrial design tasks, CAD and rendering and the like. Would imagine they are both intended for looooong-duration use and comfort, and having more hot-keys on the hand might be helpful. Granted my MX Master has a second scroll wheel and some hidden buttons that I never ever use.

any other accessories game changers for you?

I use a 3DConnexion SpaceExplorer for CAD. Saves the panning and zooming for the non-dominant hand. Helps with repetitive-use injuries, such as middle-finger-on-trackwheel-tumble-finger.

hmmm, I might have to pick one of those up: https://www.amazon.com/3Dconnexion-3DX-700059-Spacemouse-Compact-Mouse/dp/B079V4PXYD/ref=asc_df_B079V4PXYD/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309773039951&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4701969713185180583&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032926&hvtargid=pla-552724041547&psc=1

I’ve always wondered if these were a gimmick or not. So they actually work nicely?

The other option I’ve considered is to use a gaming keypad for my left hand and hotkey commands so my arm can sit in a more natural position.

Seems like forearm ache is a common problem on Core!

If 3Dconexion are a gimmick for CAD?!
As much as a hammer is a gimmick for carpentry.

Personally I cant use CAD without them anymore. Orienting a model is just so much more effecient when you’re used to it. If you bind some frequent key modifiers to it (esc, ctrl, enter, ctrl-8 in SW) you save an incredible amount of time.

I actually avoid CAD when I dont have the 3d-mouse, so that little thing is always in my laptop bag. On my desk is a 10+ y.o ”Space Explorer” that still works flawlessly, and I dont feel the need to replace it.

I wouldn’t get the biggest one though, eats way to much desk real estate.

I couldn’t get used to the 3DConnexion myself, but didn’t use it long enough to give it a fair test. It is pretty amazing how smoothly an experienced user can scroll and pan around a CAD scene with it. On I screen-sharing call with a remote ME, I could instantly tell that he was using the 3D mouse and he got a chuckle out of that.

I like the think that ID people are pretty computer-savvy (with how many CAD, rendering, and 2D creation programs we use), so the jump from gamers as power users to ID didn’t seem too crazy to me.

When I hear someone does CAD without a 3D connexion, I feel the same way that I would if they told me they use their feet to draw. How do you do that?!?!?!

Richard: Logitech is Swiss. I find some of their brand names work better in French than English. This might be the great logi v. lugi divide. It is weird that their branding is so inconsistent. I always thought it was Logitech, I never noticed the switch to Logi before…

They made the switch to Logi about a year ago. Having lived through several rebrands I have felt that pain. We had the same issue at Polk. We had an 800 SKU product portfolio. Some of the products like rear channel wall mounts hadn’t been refreshed in a decade and were not scheduled too. Some products still had the 70s/80s logo, some had the 2000’s logo, and the new products had the new logos. Coordinating those changes is incredibly difficult and expensive. It would kill me to walk into retailers and see retail fixtures with logos from 2 generations prior. Unless you have Nike and Starbucks money and discipline, it is very difficult to make an instantaneous transition.

Personally I like it a lot. Simple, 4 letter name, makes the logo short and discrete, eliminates the need for a logo mark and goes right to a word mark, fits and scales better on product, and saying things like “tech” just ins’t as cool as it was in 1992. I unsuccessfully tried to drop the word “Technology” from the “Definitive Technology” name about 8 years ago… to long and Definitive is a great word on its own, but I lost that one. I did get the new logo that is still being rolled out across product 8 years later. Yikes.

I like leaving the “tech” in Logitech just because it defines the mission a little bit: computer accessories. Logi doesn’t mean anything. They could have just as well picked an entirely new name.

I wonder if there is a psychological element too. It feels like an 8 letter name feels better for a tech company making sophisticated product. 4 letters begining with “L” means toys to me, but maybe it’s just having a lot of boxes around the house with a 6 year old!

Note to Mac users: while the 3D Connexion technically says it supports OS X, they’ve had all kinds of issues with the past few versions. There was a spare floating around our office because a lot of our PC-based designers and engineers use them, but I couldn’t get it to work with OS X Mojave. It’s a known issue, but I imagine their Mac user base is so small that fixing it is pretty low on the priority list.

The first few times I tried a 3DConnexion device I gave up after a few minutes. After a really long CAD project with aching finger and wrist I was more amenable to trying it, and for some reason quickly got on-board with the SpaceExplorer. Once you have it set up in a way that is intuitive for you, it will unlock speed and comfort like nothing else. The SpaceExplorer is the “big one” but I even stick it in my backpack to take along with the laptop for home weekend use. I need to try the newer ‘puck’ version though - I rarely use the hotkeys though I should investigate their potential. Escape and enter are good ones.

Ok ok maybe I’ll try one one :slight_smile:

Funnily enough Logitech own 3d Connexion so they’re getting even more of my business.

My concern was that I’d buy one and then just never get used to using it.


Hotkeys and setting up the mouse drag and ‘s’ shortcuts in SW are a huge time saver! Definitely look into it.

“On my desk is a 10+ y.o ”Space Explorer” that still works flawlessly“

Also as Engio mentioned, the hardware is very well built. Or was when I bought the SpaceExplorer. Highly sensitive, robust build, and just enough software to not go dead.

I have my hot keys set to “zoom to fit” and “toggle rotation on/off”. Interesting how different we’ve set them.

3DX stuff is actually designed by the same agency as lots of logi(tech) mice, including the one in the first post here. Design Partners in Dublin.


Re: not getting used to it:
Start with the cheapest one, its still very usefull. Think of it like youre holding the model inside your fist. Start with low sensitivity, and know how to ”zoom to fit” in case you spin out of view.

Re: Hotkeys:
I hating setting those up… ctrl-8 in SW is one I cant live without though. Forget what its called - it adjust perpendicular to whatever plane is closest.

Mouse drags are awesome, never got used to the S-key though. Couldn’t get past the setup tbh :frowning:

Does anyone use a special mouse or other pointer/positioning/peripheral for rendering programs, such as Keyshot?
I have not set up my SpaceExplorer for Keyshot use.

Awesome I’ll have to give one a try. The space mouse compact looks like the cheapest one, have you used the big pad looking ones? Feedback?

‘Normal to’, is one that I also use frequently. I also use ‘f’ (find) a lot to zoom the model back out to 100% from being zoomed way in on a detail.

The s-keys are more of a secondary function for those things that I only use occasionally, but I find it easier to pop up a feature box next to my pointer than mousing across the screen over and over again. Setting up was a pita but I had a slow period and needed something to do!

I should look into a save hotkey. I’ve developed a literal ctrl+s twitch to protect myself from Solidworks crashes

I’d be lost without my spacemouse! I’ve been using them since the late nineties (when they were Magellan)