SolidWorks Legion

SpacePilot PRO (Smudge Factor 10)

The SpacePilot PRO is a clean looking device right out of the box, with its swoopy shape and classy mix of matte black, patent black and dark grey colors. It even feels comfortable when I rest my palm on it and place my fingers around its control knob.

SpacePilot PRO

Size and placement

SpacePilot PRO is larger that one might expect for a control device. Its size is almost sprawling as it takes up a considerable portion of any desktop. I had difficulty in trying to find a location for my SpacePilot PRO. 3DConnexion recommends that their 3D mice be placed on the left of one’s keyboard and operated with the left hand. In the literature, it shows a mouse, keyboard and the SpacePilot PRO placed comfortably on a desktop. Unfortunately for us ergonomically educated individuals, this is not practical. I use an adjustable keyboard shelf. On most keyboard shelves, there’s room for the keyboard and the mouse (usually). So, where am I supposed to place my 3D mice? Well, I like the device enough to consider a modification to my keyboard shelf.

Look and feel

When taken right out of the box, the pristine device is handsome. It looks like it is meant to be used. It doesn’t take long to realize that usage (particularly of the upper patent black region around the LCD screen) quickly envelopes the device with smudges. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the SpacePilot PRO a Smudge Factor of 10. Touching the shiny surface (heck, maybe just breathing on it) will leave a smudge that quickly gives the SpacePilot PRO a worn-in look.

There are a lot of buttons on this device. They are kinda spread out. The device could take up slightly less desktop space if the buttons are brought in closer to the knob. This would allow them to be more readily accessed by one’s fingers. As for the number of programmable buttons, the device seems appropriately equipped.

One may find that sometimes the left hand will shift a bit while using the control knob. The are guidelines on the side of the knob, but these are not easily felt. Strangely, the most obvious location for guiding features would’ve been on the top of the knob, or around the knob’s top ledge, but none are there.

Do not take my criticisms as a reason dislike the device. These are minor details that should to be a addressed by 3DConnexion in future versions of this device. They are not show stoppers. It is great to have a control device with programmable buttons. I actually like the SpacePilot PRO for the programmable buttons as much as the 3D flexibility granted by the control knob.

SolidWorks Spelling Check (who’s using it?)

I recently conducted a small poll on SolidWorks Yahoo! Group asking who was using SolidWorks Spelling Check. To my surprize, almost half (so far) have never even hear of Spelling Check.

Spelling Check Poll

Only 21% of respondents use Spelling Check regularly. I guess the next question is, “Why aren’t more people using this seemingly obvious tool in SolidWorks?” Is there a good answer for that? From my own experience, I use Lenny’s CommonNotes, which means most of my general notes are pre-fabbed. Since the bulk of the text appears in the general notes, there isn’t much text left in the body of the drawing where misspellings can hide. So, out of a lack for necessity, I’m in the “Yes, sometimes” category.

Here’s the kicker. For the Spelling Check to work, Microsoft Word has to be installed since SolidWorks piggybacks the Microsoft spell checker.

This brings me to another point. Why does this tool have a weird name? We all know this function is a spell checker. So, why is it referred to as “Spelling Check” in SolidWorks? This seems to be a rather odd quirk.

(To access Spelling Check, open a drawing and goto Tools pulldown>Spellingâ€¦.)

Using Empty Views (Part 2: Creation)

In this article I’m going to cover how to create an Empty View, and the ugly hack for making it a desired size. In Part 2, I will cover how to use Empty Views for quick zooming and bookmarks in PDFs.

Creating Empty Views

Creating Empty Views is easy. With a drawing open, goto Insert pulldown>Drawing View>Empty.

Add empty view to drawing

SolidWorks will then ask for a location on the drawing for the Empty View. Simply LMB click at the desired location. In the example below, I’ve placed the Empty View in what might seem to be an very unusual location (covering the Revision Block table). I’ll cover why in Part 2 of this article.

Pick location on drawing

Ugly Hack

To get the Empty View to stretch across the full length of the Revision Block table, we’ll need to employ an ugly hack. Within the new Empty View, draw a line that starts from the corner of the border. Terminate the other end at the vertex of the table at other end. The endpoints of this line will not attach to these two vertices, but will drop on top of them when the line is created.

Pick location on drawing

The result is an Empty View sized as required. The way to hide the line in this hack is to place it directly over another line (in this case, the Drawing Border). (A RMB click on the line and choosing the Hide function will not work. The view will resize back to its default shape.)

Pick location on drawing

Now RMB click on the view and choose the Lock View option. This will keep the view in place (preventing it from accidentally shifting around).

Making the Empty View useful

To make this new Empty View useful, rename it in the FeatureManager. Renaming the Empty View Renamed Empty View

This will allow for easier identification when it comes time to use this (and any other Empty Views). Part 2 will explain more about this and the reason for these additional steps.

DS SolidWorks Surpasses One Million Licenses

As predicted for 2009, SolidWorks Corp has exceeded 1 million software licenses. It has taken 14 years to come to this achievement. In the press release today, SolidWorks Corp stated that the 1 millionth sale was by OGIO International, a Utah-based company “that is working on a new line of motorcross racing accessories.” They have been a SolidWorks customer for 4 years.

“We are excited to reach the million mark and very grateful for each customer that has trusted SolidWorks software to help drive his or her organization’s success”, said SolidWorks CEO Jeff Ray.

Press release is available here.

View two drawing sheets at same time

Here’s a quick tip to view both sheets of two-sheet drawing at the same time. (This works best if no other documents are open.)

Open the multi-sheet drawing and have it active.
Goto Window pulldown>New Window. A second window of the same drawing will pop up on screen.
Goto Window pulldown again, and select Tile Horizontally or Tile Vertically. Both windows of the drawing will tile.
Within each window, select the desired sheet tab.

This will allow for the viewing of multiple sheets of the same drawing at the same time. (Unfortunately, this tip does not allow for the viewing of different configurations for parts or assemblies at the same time.)

3DConnexion SpacePilot PRO (Tinkering with buttons and views)

I’ve been tinkering with the SpacePilot PRO. I love customization. The SpacePilot PRO offers a high level of customization. I will discuss different facets of the device in future articles. This time I am writing about the programmable buttons.

The SpacePilot PRO has 21 programmable buttons. Additionally, 10 of those buttons have dual mappings for a total of 31 mapped commands. That is a lot! On top of that, each of the buttons are mapped differently for each program or mode supported by the device. Within SolidWorks itself, there are three different mappings: Drawing, Part and Assembly modes. (There is no mapping just for sketches, but there should be.)

Many of the buttons are directly related to functionality of the device or specific commands that are defined by intuitive icons. Ultimately, I only recommend changing the mapping for the five buttons. These are the dual mapped buttons labelled 1/6, 2/7, 3/8, 4/9, and 5/10. When holding the left hand over the navigation knob, these buttons fall under the pinky finger. Giving the dual mapped button a single quick press initiates the first command. To choose the second command instead, press and hold the button down for a second. These buttons are a little awkward at first (being under the pinky), but I got used to it pretty quickly.

The 5 dual mapped buttons to the right of the knob (accessed with the thumb or index finger) provide quick access to standard model views. For example, one button jumps to the front or back views of the model. Most of the standard model views are covered by this set of buttons. However, one thing that is missing is the ability to save a named view and to return to it at any time. Given the level of detail that has gone into the SpacePilot PRO, it surprizes me that this ability is missing. I think this is one of the points I mentioned to 3Dconnexion back in February.

So, you know what I did? I made up for this missing functionality by writing a pair of macros that do just that. One saves the current model view as a named view. The other returns to that named view. I then programmed these two functions to button 1/6. (I’ve already uploaded these to my resources site here: Quick View Save and Restore. These macros can actually be used with any device with programmable functions, or even just as icons on a toolbar.) Let’s hope that 3Dconnexion covers this basic function in future iterations of their 3D mice.

Hint: for users of SolidWorks 2008 and 2009, I would recommend programming one of the buttons to the letter “S” for the shortcut toolbar. This would practically eliminate the need to touch the keyboard except for typing notes and numbers.

Overall, I have found that the plentiful number of buttons is a big plus for the SpacePilot PRO. These buttons extend the functionality of the device beyond just being a 3D mouse.