Reddit reviews 3Dconnexion 3DX-700028 SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse

The roci's control stick is a CAD drawing input device. Pretty sure it's this one, but I'm not looking at a screen grab or anything.

Its a 3D mouse.

looks like one of these

Yes.
https://www.amazon.com/3Dconnexion-3DX-700028-SpaceNavigator-3D-Mouse/dp/B000LB7G00

Oh well, they do look pretty damn similar though. This is the 3d mouse I was thinking about.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000LB7G00/ref=mp_s_a_1_2/160-3341195-7490625?ie=UTF8&qid=1487020354&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=3d+connexion+mouse&dpPl=1&dpID=417Vll2NOSL&ref=plSrch

$103 sorry for long link, I'm on mobile. And lazy.

Edit: But ya, they get pricey. We had some $500+ ones in the engineering building at school.

You can't go wrong with calipers.

Another idea - Rotring 600 pencil. Arguably one of the best mechanical pencils ever made. Kind of thing an engineer might appreciate.

If he does CAD work you could get him a SpaceMouse I use one every day and they are life changing.

once you get the mouse, consider this gadget!

http://www.amazon.com/3Dconnexion-3DX-700028-SpaceNavigator-3D-Mouse/dp/B000LB7G00/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463145024&sr=8-2&keywords=3d+mouse

According to Microsoft.com it works with all Windows 10 devices however, some of the features are only enabled on the special Surface Studio screen.

Here is a list of apps that already have Surface Dial support:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3136628/windows/the-surface-dial-will-work-with-these-apps.html

Any Win32 or Modern appstore vendor can add compatibility if they want to. GitHub samples code projects are listed here:
https://channel9.msdn.com/coding4fun/blog/Radical-Samples-for-the-Surface-Dial

For those that want general CAD and fully programmable support, look into a "3D Mouse" like the SpaceNavigator by 3DConnexion. Way more flexible than the Dial, but not really the same class of device.

Well, we don't know exactly why you're looking for a mouse-substitute, so all we can do is throw out suggestions.

Here's two that haven't been mentioned :

3DConnexion SpaceNavigator - not really a gaming controller, but hey, maybe you've been getting into Maya? There's also its big brother.

Zalman Gun Mouse - basically a standard mouse with a vertical grip.

A nice set of calipers, or micrometers could be a gift that would last decades, but a quality set will run you at least a few hundred.

If this engineer does a lot of CAD work, you might consider a 3D mouse? $115 for this guy , but man I cant imagine doing design work without it now.

A nice Kuru Toga mechanical pencil is also great for drafting and pretty inexpensive.

I was hoping they'd have these config controls as well. I'd like to be able to keep the mouse on head tracking as in the hangar and pilot the ship with either the keyboard of one of those game pad things. Maybe even a 3d mouse like this.

In case you're curious

I use a 3d mouse (http://amzn.to/2sEaYmg ). After getting used to it for a while, it just feels very natural and quicker to align the models than a regular mouse. Fusion does have some quirks (or I’m missing an obvious setting) when I’m in sketch mode - the sketch seems to move in odd directions, but I just readjust myself and work through it.

There's always the expert and slimblade. Both well liked. No scroll wheel though, but they have a scroll ring.


If you use Rhino a lot, have you considered looking at a 3D mouse? I have one of these and it's absolutely portable.

26 year old mechanical engineer here. Its hard to believe, but us MechEs are all a bit different, so you're going to have to list some of his interests and your budget.

If he is anything like me and he likes zombies and comics, then the Walking Dead megabook would be a great gift.

If any of his work is CAD related and he doesn't have one of these, then maybe you can get him that. It makes modeling 10 times easier.

However, since you are his sibling, you are allowed to troll him for christmas and get him the complete twilight series.

Yes, but:

1. it's annoyingly hard to avoid triggering unwanted yaw by accident when you're pitching and rolling with a three-axis stick. Maybe you'll be a lot better at it than me, but meh.
   
   
2. Perhaps partly because of 1), I don't think any actual aeroplanes use stick yaw to control the rudder. Authenticity isn't so much of an issue if you're flying a Cobra mk. III of course, but will be for IL-2 or whatever.
   
   
3. On the other hand, in a spacecraft you're free to translate in three axes, not just one. So even if you use the stick to yaw, rudder input would still be useful to control sway (side-to-side translation), and you could control heave (up-and-down translation) with the toe brakes. On the Apollo landers, which apparently did use three-axis joysticks, it seems they used one stick for rotations and another for translations. Instead of a rudder pedals I suppose you could use a 6DOF controller to control translations, or maybe translations plus yaw (see 1).
   
   
4. Speaking of which, yes: toe brakes, another pair of analogue inputs.

Would this (3Dconnexion 3DX-700028 SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse) be a workable alternative? Seems like it would be perfect for throttle control.

It's a 3D mouse, mainly used for design.

Thanks, I was thinking more of this when I saw it.

http://www.amazon.com/3Dconnexion-3DX-700028-SpaceNavigator-3D-Mouse/dp/B000LB7G00/ref=pd_sim_e_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0B4A8GDDT392M39WP1Z4

Does FS2015 support a 6DOF joystick/mouse, like Space Navigator? It's compact and gives you an extra axis to assign. Not many games support them, but some do.

One of these.

It allows you to manipulate things in 3d space very easily.

Here's a promotional video from the makers of Big Buck Bunny.

How about just physical knobs for a ton of different things

Yeah, that exists. I hear it's actually pretty awesome and has some good uses in AV editing and whatnot (scrub timelines in Premiere/Audition/Ableton, contact sheets in Lightroom, etc.)

There are also more specialty devices such as the Contour (Basically the same, but with programmable buttons) or 3 dimensional mice which have a niche market in CAD applications.

I am really interested in recommendations for this too. I realized that using my crappy $20 Logitech doesn't cut it after using a coworkers fancy mouse. Also does anyone have experience with the SpaceNavigator Mouse?

It is a 3d mouse often used for CAD because it can orbit and zoom. http://www.amazon.com/3Dconnexion-3DX-700028-SpaceNavigator-3D-Mouse/dp/B000LB7G00

If you're working in 3D, you might be interested in something like this.

Hey here is a fine mouse. Not even $10.
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-B100-TAA-Optical-USB-Mouse/dp/B003L62T7W

This one is pretty rad. 8 buttons! You can change the DPI if you care.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BCEK2LA/?tag=li-org-per-mou-us-20

Nice wireless mouse. Small enough for a laptop bag, but still comfortable in the hand. http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Anywhere-Mouse-Mac/dp/B007PJ4Q4A

Watch out, this mouse might assimilate your family! http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Catz-M-M-O-7-Gaming-Mouse/dp/B006LVZEN0

Hold on is that even a mouse? http://www.amazon.com/3Dconnexion-3DX-700028-SpaceNavigator-3D-Mouse/dp/B000LB7G00

Another option might be a Space Navigator. (whew, the price for this thing went up)

Not software or a book, but this could be an interesting enhancement for a modeler. And if he doesn't like it, you might be able to return it and get a book of his choice.

and yet that mouse knob thing in the background costs about $100

I have a SpaceNavigator but as of yet have not been able to get it working in AC. To be honest, the drivers for it are pretty bad.