Customer Reviews

3D connexion SpaceExplorer 3D Navigation Device with USB Interface ( 3DX-700026 )

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The hype is true. This mouse does make SolidWorks faster and more pleasant. The learning curve (adjustment period) is about 15 minutes. Some fiddling with the setup may be required, but this is relatively painless. In short, I love it. But...

It has an annoying habit of not working from time to time. If you look long enough, an internet search will reveal a "reboot" procedure where you hold the 1 and 2 buttons down while plugging it into the USB port. You'll want to make a note of this, because I have to do it fairly often. Without the reboot, the mouse occasionally will not work. As in completely dead. I had to find this little secret reboot tidbit on the internet after an hour of frustrated fiddling around. I called tech support and received decent help, but only after answering a dozen marketing survey questions that I found to be invasive and annoying. My mouse was dead and they wanted to know my number of employees etc before they'd answer anything.

That said, I'd buy another one if this one died. I just wish the company spent some of their marketing/data harvesting budget on fixing the reliability issue.

I've been using a spaceball for over 10 years. This is a big improvement over previous models and I'm happy the price has finally come down. I've so thoroughly integrated this into my workflow than I am handicapped without it.

The advanced ergonomic design, offers effortless navigation when I'm using SolidWorks. This is a great time saving CAD tool. As the product description states; "Simply push, pull, tilt or twist the controller cap to simultaneously pan, zoom and rotate 3D objects and environments." It is really is that easy. The only negative, the price.

The 3D connexion SpaceExplorer is a great time saving tool, when using SolidWorks.

I love this thing! For years I've been using the mouse and keyboard. Now I can't work without the 3D connexion SpaceExplorer. Very intuitive navigation and programmable button capability reduces the time it takes me to design with Pro/E and Inventor. I highly recommend this device for anyone working in 3-D.

Christoph is correct. Even though 3D Connexion claims that this device is supported under OS X and with Cinema 4D, it is basically a paperweight. Virtually none of the buttons work, and on their support forums the company refers complaints to a 2 year old thread where they claim they're "working on it". This company doesn't give a damn about Mac users but they want Mac users' money; that's the bottom line. Look to another company for your 3D devices on Mac.

Product functions well. It would be nice to have more indents on some of the buttons so your fingers don't get lost. One major complaint I have is with the protective rubber coating around joystick. The coating is thin and made of rubber and started coming off whithin a month of use.

I got this for work because I did not like the basic version they were willing to buy me.

It only works with a small portion of software out there. When I got laid-off from work I found it useless for the home office so I sold it.

This is my latest "crutch" product, right after my TrackMan Wheel (e.g., products that I MUST HAVE to work productively...). I use it on Pro/E, AutoDesk products and SolidWorks.

Yes, the "3D mouse" aspect is all but transparent after about 10 minutes.

Yes, it requires a huge amount of customization to get it to do exactly what "you expect it to" / "it should".

Yes, it is not nearly as plug-and-play as an average user would hope for, given the price of admission.

But seriously. Buying a specialty piece of hardware aimed specifically at a market segment that thrives on cutting-edge time savers comes with its own caveats. The "I want it to do exactly [this] with [this one piece of software] that I use [every day] and so do [the 8 other people in the world] that use it" is available, you just have to know how to get there without the company that produced the hardware holding your hand.

This is a commercially produced product that comes with its own SDK; that alone should clue people in to the capacity, limitations and developer expectations of this product.

What it boils down to is this:

You have the capacity to change the "supported software" list on your own. If you're not up for that, find a different solution.

The SpaceExplorer is one of this is the best 3d controllers for 3d cad I know of. We has about 5 of these at our shop and they are used constantly.