PSA: I switched from a basic mouse to a 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse for CAD work and it cut my modeling time in half.

For years I used a standard mouse for all my 3D work, thinking the extra cost for a dedicated navigation device was a waste. Last month, my firm in Charlotte got a project with a very tight deadline, so I decided to try one. The ability to pan, zoom, and rotate a model all at once with one hand while the other hand works on features is a complete game changer. Has anyone else made a similar switch, or do you think mastering keyboard shortcuts with a regular mouse is still the better route?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_taylor322d ago

My buddy at the engineering firm in Raleigh swears by his SpaceMouse too. He said the same thing about working on big assemblies, where you're constantly spinning parts around to check clearances. He told me it felt weird for the first day, but after a week his normal mouse felt slow. It seems like the kind of tool you don't know you need until you try it.

jake_miller2d ago

Yeah, I tried one once and spent ten minutes just making the model spin like a top. Felt like a kid with a new toy, not a pro with a fancy tool.