Jeff's Tool Shed

I’m a few days behind on this, but 3DConnexion has improved the driver for their 3D mice (mouses?) by automatically determining the optical center of rotation. I was part of the beta testing of this driver and I really like what they’ve done. Rather than defaulting to the origin, or having to select a particular point manually, this new driver figures out what the “new” center of rotation is. Personally, I think it’s pretty damn sweet. While I’d figured out how to rotate a model around the origin while zoomed in, it was still a pain in the you-know-what. This new driver takes care of that annoyance. Color me happy!

For your enjoyment, I’ve ctrl+c, ctrl+v’d the press release:

3Dconnexion Announces the Next Step in Intelligent 3D Navigation for SolidWorks Users
Newest Update Allows 3D Mice to Automatically Follow Point of Interest for Smarter Model Design Work
ANAHEIM, Calif. (SolidWorks World, Booth 201) – Feb. 1, 2010 – 3Dconnexion today announced new 3D mouse capabilities for SolidWorks, bringing increased navigation intelligence to the design process. With this new feature, 3Dconnexion 3D mice can now automatically follow a designer’s point of interest and continuously determine the optimal center of rotation, enabling an easier and more intuitive exploration of the largest models and the smallest details. In addition, the center of rotation can now be seen at all times via an icon, further enhancing the navigation experience.
3Dconnexion will be demonstrating the new intelligent navigation feature in Booth 201 at SolidWorks World in Anaheim, Calif., Jan. 31 – Feb. 3, 2010.
“Previously, SolidWorks users had to zoom in fairly close and manually select a new center of rotation. We have listened to the feedback of our customers to provide designers with total control over the point of interest,” said Dieter Neujahr, president of 3Dconnexion. “By automatically establishing and displaying the optimal center of rotation, designers are now free to focus on design creativity and flexibility when using 3D mice in SolidWorks.”
When using the new update, two modes of setting the center of rotation are available. The new Auto Rotation Center sets the center of rotation to a point on the model that is nearest to the display screen center, particularly useful for use at higher zoom levels. For additional control, users can easily pick a new center of rotation point on the 3D model to suit the design task.
Availability
The new feature will be available in late February via a free 3DxWare software update, and will support SolidWorks 2005 – 2010 on Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, and Windows 7 across the entire product line. The 3Dconnexion product line includes the Professional Series with the new SpacePilot PRO (MSRP $399), SpacePilot™ (MSRP $299 with promotion) and SpaceExplorer™ (MSRP $299), and the Standard Series with the SpaceNavigator (MSRP $99) and SpaceNavigator for Notebooks (MSRP $129). For additional information, visit www.3Dconnexion.com.
About 3D Mice 3Dconnexion 3D mice deliver a level of comfort and control that is not possible with a traditional mouse and keyboard. Users engage both hands in a balanced and cooperative work style with one hand using the 3D mouse to position the model, while the other hand simultaneously uses the traditional mouse to select, create or edit. By spreading the workload across both hands, users experience productivity increases of more than 20
percent as well as a more comfortable working experience by reducing traditional mouse clicks by up to 50 percent.
About 3Dconnexion, a Logitech Company 3Dconnexion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI), is the leading provider of 3D mice for 3D design and visualization. 3Dconnexion devices support today’s most popular and powerful 3D applications by offering users a more intuitive and natural way to interact with computer-generated 3D content. 3Dconnexion’s award-winning 3D mice serve a wide variety of industries and are used by 3D designers, animators and artists worldwide. 3Dconnexion is headquartered in Fremont, Calif. with European headquarters in Seefeld, Germany and offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.3Dconnexion.com.
# # #
© 2010 3Dconnexion. All rights reserved. 3Dconnexion, the 3Dconnexion logo, and other 3Dconnexion marks are owned by 3Dconnexion and may be registered. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.