3D motion controller

I've got on loan a 3D Connexion Space Traveller (£125 + VAT in the UK) and I
love it!
I've not used one of these devices before, but I find it completely
intuitive.

It also has some extra cool features like a toggle for controlling the
position of a component, rather than for manipulating the display.
e.g. add a component into an assembly, and use this function to orient the
component into its correct approximate position, before applying mates.

Just thought I'd let you all know.....

John H

 

Welcome to the club. If you like that one, you should then try the
SpacePilot. It has the same controller as that one, but it has a whole set
of buttons and a display that shows you what you have programmed on each
one. There's more I could tell you, but you can get more info on their web
site.

WT

 

But how much does that one cost???

John

 

Ahh, the catch - I presume a fair bit more than the small one. Last I
heard, a special price might get you into the $400 range or so, but I
haven't really been checking. Check with your local user group too see if
they have any special offer from 3DConnexion.

WT

 

I bought a Spaceball 5000 last year, and paid £275stg incl carriage.
Very happy with it. One of the best ways to speed up drawing I'd say,
but I also use it with Office and if drawings come in as .pdfs, then
it's handy for zooming, panning, and rotating.

 

Has anyone bought one of these yet? Price is right...just curious how
well it functions compared to the spaceball.

http://www.spatialfreedom.com/pages/default.asp

 

Has anyone bought one of these yet? Price is right...just curious how
well it functions compared to the spaceball.

http://www.spatialfreedom.com/pages/default.asp


I signed up for their news letter about 2 years ago, never received
anything. They seemed to be way behind schedule to release this thing even
back then they were taking "Pre-orders" for a product that was in
development. I gave up on them about that time. That notice on their site
(the same after 2 years) about "Initial supported applications include:"
still doesn't include SolidWorks.

I would be a little bit wary, hopeful someone else in this group will have
something better to say about them. It would be good to have some
competition to Connexion, even if just to grow the market.

Checkout their web history http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

John Layne
www.solidengineering.co.nz

 

Yes, they are having a bit of time getting their drivers working well.

The company actually used Solid Edge to design the Astroid. They have Solid
Edge API gurus (not UGS employees, just SE users), helping them write the
drivers, so the focus has been on improving usability with SE. They also
support UG/NX, Pro/E, and a couple others, but SW is not on the short list.
Neither are any MS Office apps or Adobe apps for that matter.

Then again, considering the basic function of 3D motion works in most CAD
packages, it is still a bargain compared to a 3DConexion controller and may
be worth investing in to have that functionality while the drivers get
developed.

If you are a SW API guru, you may want to contact Spatial Freedom and offer
your services to help develop a SW driver. The company seems very open to
input from users.

--Scott
PM >>>


Has anyone bought one of these yet? Price is right...just curious how
well it functions compared to the spaceball.

http://www.spatialfreedom.com/pages/default.asp


I signed up for their news letter about 2 years ago, never received
anything. They seemed to be way behind schedule to release this thing even
back then they were taking "Pre-orders" for a product that was in
development. I gave up on them about that time. That notice on their site
(the same after 2 years) about "Initial supported applications include:"
still doesn't include SolidWorks.

I would be a little bit wary, hopeful someone else in this group will have
something better to say about them. It would be good to have some
competition to Connexion, even if just to grow the market.

Checkout their web history http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

John Layne
www.solidengineering.co.nz

 

Well...considering that there alot more Swx users than SE users, they
should hire someone to put together a driver quick.....or everyone will
have purchased spaceballs.

Dos the basic driver still work with Swx....for basic rotate, zoom,
panning? I'd could care less about programming buttons to Swx commands
at this point. Hell, I forget to use the buttons on my Spaceball 5000
at work.

Anyway...I'd like this for home...and the $150 price is right.....if it
works well.

 

I'm not positive because I don't have a current license of SW with access to
an Astroid. All I know is the details about SE, the tech papers on
supported apps, and that I use Alibre Design at home and it works there -
the basic pan, zoom, rotate functions, that is.

I'm guessing it would work with SW in that limited fashion. For $150, it's
worth the try.

--Scott

Well...considering that there alot more Swx users than SE users, they
should hire someone to put together a driver quick.....or everyone will
have purchased spaceballs.

Dos the basic driver still work with Swx....for basic rotate, zoom,
panning? I'd could care less about programming buttons to Swx commands
at this point. Hell, I forget to use the buttons on my Spaceball 5000
at work.

Anyway...I'd like this for home...and the $150 price is right.....if it
works well.

 

It's probably worth emailing them directly for an answer, as my spacemouse
doesn't work that well with unsupported applications.

John Layne
www.solidengineering.co.nz

 

Scott, how does it work with SE compared to a Spaceball. Supposedly,
the Astriod has some newer technology so I was wondering if you could
tell the difference...provided that you have ever used a spaceball.

John Hilton, emailed me back and said that the Solidworks driver was
delayed but is now in set to be released end of June. According to the
website, this is the same guy who invented the spaceball so that sounds
like a positive.

 

Coincidentally, there is a discussion going on right now in the SE newsgroup
(the private ones hosted by UGS) about additional functionality of the
Astroid with MS Apps and Adobe apps. John Hilton, i.e. the Spatial Freedom
President and CEO and ex-Spaceball designer, posted this message.


"In speaking with a lot of people regarding their use of their SpaceWhatever

invariably the non-CAD features are hardly ever used. If the feedback for
non-CAD functionality is louder than other priorities we can do non-CAD
stuff sooner than later. The Astroid's scroll-hat will have Microsoft
Windows 2D scroll functionality in the future.

"I designed the Astroid using Solid Edge and as a user I was very frustrated

with the Spaceball - especially since I was the inventor and knew what it
could do! The reasons the Spaceball interface didn't do what I wanted is
some history that I won't go into. The Astroid interface is designed by me,

a mechanical engineer, for mechanical engineers. Most of my design time is
spent repetitively zooming into a model, editing/creating features, spinning

the model to get a better view, then zooming out and panning/zooming to
somewhere else on the model. This is object control. When I'm sketching a
profile or working with a 2D drawing the pan/zoom control mode is what I
want for quick interaction. Then, when I'm reviewing the model to check
things out camera control is what I want. That's it! All the other pieces of

the interface revolve around these three modes. Sure there are a zillion
other things you can do with a nifty new input device but as a user I'm far

more interested in the real meat of the interface that helps me do my job.

"Our focus is on delivering a totally clean spatial user interface. Since we

don't own the Solid Edge source code it takes a lot of time and effort to do

this. I'm thrilled with result so far. The Solid Edge API is really well
designed and has allowed us to do some great things. It still takes a lot of

time and effort - just ask Jason Newell.

"We're interested to hear from our users in this newsgroup. I think an
Astroid helps you get far more out of your investment in Solid Edge - but of

course people would expect me to say that.

John Hilton
Spatial Freedom"


Scott, how does it work with SE compared to a Spaceball. Supposedly,
the Astriod has some newer technology so I was wondering if you could
tell the difference...provided that you have ever used a spaceball.

John Hilton, emailed me back and said that the Solidworks driver was
delayed but is now in set to be released end of June. According to the
website, this is the same guy who invented the spaceball so that sounds
like a positive.

 

I have a Spaceball 4000 FLX currently.

The ball of the Astroid is harder than the rubber on the Spaceball. At
first, it didn't feel very nice, but after a day of use I got used to it and
it felt better than the Spaceball. Also, it doesn't collect dust and finger
oils as quickly as the Spaceball, so it stays much cleaner.

The overall unit is lighter than the Spaceball (spaceball has some lead
weights or something in the base.) At first, it felt like I was going to
through this thing all over my desk, but quickly got used to the lighter
touch. Even with a very sensitive setting on the Spaceball, I get hand
fatigue after cranking on it 8+ hours a day; not so with the Astroid.

I'm really looking forward to the scroll hat on the Astroid becoming
effective. I think it will work really well for games!

I would really like to see the display of the spacepilot be incorporated
into the Astroid. The biggest reason I don't utilize the buttons more on
the spaceball is because I can't remember what they do from app to app.
I've often thought of buying a Spacepilot just for that reason, but I don't
have the $$$ right now. I'd rather get another dozen Astroids.


Scott, how does it work with SE compared to a Spaceball. Supposedly,
the Astriod has some newer technology so I was wondering if you could
tell the difference...provided that you have ever used a spaceball.

John Hilton, emailed me back and said that the Solidworks driver was
delayed but is now in set to be released end of June. According to the
website, this is the same guy who invented the spaceball so that sounds
like a positive.

 

So, how is it for playing Oblivion? Flight Sim?, Chessmaster? Fable?