3Dconnexion’s new SpacePilot PRO 3D Mouse

Before this month, I’ve never owned any 3Dconnexion 3D-mice in my life.  Heck, I wasn’t even exactly sure how to pronounce 3Dconnexion.  That “x” in the middle of the name throws me off.  Despite this, I’ve had some interest in their devices.  This has never taken me to the point of testing one on my own.  After all, I feel I’m pretty fast with my mouse-work and keyboard shortcuts.  So, when 3DConnexion asked to meet with me at SolidWorks World 2009, I was interested in seeing what they wanted to show me, yet skeptical about finding any game changers.

SpacePilot PROThey introduced me to the SpacePilot PRO 3D mouse.  (It may already be available on Amazon or other locations if someone is interested in looking for price comparisons.)  The SpacePilot PRO is the latest 3D mouse in a long line of professional 3D-mice which “have rewritten the rules on the way design engineers and professionals interact with 3D environments,” as noted by Dieter Neujahr in the official press release.  OK, so what am I doing quoting press release comments?

Now, anyone that reads my product reviews knows I’m no sell-out.  I don’t give shiny reviews to get free stuff.  I don’t run promotions.  For full disclosure, I must say that 3Dconnexion did give me a free SpacePilot PRO a few days ago.  This was given to me without any strings attached.  Technically, they didn’t even ask me to write any review or comment on the unit they give to me.  I made it clear back in February that if I did review the product based on the unit they were going to give me, it was going to be unbiased.  They seemed to insist upon that.  Even at that time, I had a few critical comments about the device (which I cannot remember now), to which they were receptive.

Does getting a free $499 device impact my opinion?  You betcha….JUST KIDDING!!  However, I do feel it is appropriate for me to write about my experiences, to give others a sense as to whether these devices are worth the cash.  Expect my usual sarcastic comments juxtaposed with well deserved praise, and demands for further improvement.

I’m not going to write one all encompassing review.  This is a highly capable device.  I doubt I can write completely about my experiences with this unit in one review without the article getting excessive in length.  I mean, just look how long this article is already, and I haven’t even started my review yet!  More information will come soon.

SolidWorks Spell Checker (or Spelling Check)

SolidWorks’ Spelling Check can be fairly useful when proofreading a drawing.  It’s not extremely powerful, but it is as functional as one might expect from a manually initiated spell checker.  For those who didn’t even know that SolidWorks has a spell checker, it’s available under Tools pulldown>Spelling….  (I don’t know the SW version where it was introduced.)  To improve its usefulness, it may be a good idea to add more words to your Spelling Check dictionary file(s).  There’s several main ways to add words to the Spelling Check.

Method 1

The most obvious method is to add your new word to an annotation note in a drawing, then run Spelling Check.  When it identifies your new word as a misspelling, simply click the Add button (this isn’t the most efficient way to add multiple words).  This method will add words to your swdictionary.dic file located in the SolidWorks folder under C:\…\lang\english.

Method 2

If you wish to update the Spelling Check with a bit more control (adding and deleting words), start the Spelling Check and choose the More Options… button.  On the Spelling Options window, choose Dictionaries button.  Stay with me, there’s more.  Highlight “swengineering” then choose the Edit button.  Finally!  OK, now that you’ve made it here, add and delete words one at a time as you please.  This method will edit your swengineering.dic file (same location as the swdictionary.dic file).  Funny thing is that even though you are editing the swengineering.dic file with hundreds of words, you cannot delete any already existing words.  You can only delete the words you add to it.  It is also funny that this method edits the swengineering.dic file, while the main screen of the Spelling Check edits the swdictionary.dic file.

Hmmm…hey SolidWorks Corp, why are there two different dictionary files?

Method 3

In my opinion, the easiest way to add words to Spelling Check in bulk is by editing your swdictionary.dic file directly with Notepad.  With the file open, add one new word per line.  Use all capital letters.  Capital letters are not a requirement.  It will simply keep the dictionary listings consistent within the file, especially if other words are added later by using the Spelling Check.

Networking

As with other similar types of SolidWorks resource files, the swdictinoary.dic and swengineering.dic files can be located on a network drive for standardization across an enterprize.  Presumably, these files should be in the same folder.  To set the file location, goto Tools pulldown>Options…>File Locations and select Spelling Folder.  New dictionary files can also be added within Spelling Check’s Dictionary window.

Enhancement Request

One function I would like to see added to the Spelling Check is the ability to add to automatic replacements for common misspellings of user words that are added to the dictionary files.  For example, if I add the word Loctite and someone spells it as Locktite, SolidWorks currently doesn’t know to suggest Loctite as the correct spelling.

Year of Richard Doyle

This is truly Richard Doyle’s year in the CAD community.  He was honored by his peers and associates at SolidWorks World 2009.  Now, CAD Society announces Richard Doyle is the winner of the 2009 CAD Society Joe Greco Community Award for his achievements in building the SolidWorks community throughout this decade.  Given his tremendous and tireless dedication, these types of accolades are long over due.  Please see Matthew West’s comments and announcement.

Terminology: Bill of Material

It’s somewhat humorous to see incorrect word forms.  Some mistakes are from mispronunciation, such as ax for ask or supposably for supposedly.  Others are based on a misunderstanding of the word.  In the field of engineering, one of the most commonly mistaken word-forms is the plural for Bill of Material.

Of course, the term is Bill of Material or Bill of Materials for singular form.  In this case, the words material or materials both refer to the total sum of material that makes up the assembly; they mean the same thing (kind of like flammable or inflammable).  The plural for Bill of Material is Bills of Material, as in multiple bills, not multiple materials.  This is similar to Flights of Fancy, Peas in a Pod, Chariots of Fire, and Dogs of War.  I guess some confusion comes from the abbreviation for multiple Bills of Material, which is commonly BOMs.  It would rather silly to try to pronounce BsOM.

Leveraging the Online Community (Pontiac?)

*Edits to this article are in this color* 

I’m noticing that many companies are starting to get-it when it comes to leveraging online communities.  SolidWorksCorp has been ahead of the game, which is working to their advantage.  This isn’t going unnoticed by others in the 3D CAD industry.   Of course, nor is the idea of leveraging online communities unique to 3D CAD companies. 

PTC recently sent out an email with a survey regarding their plans to improve their presence within the online communities.  Sure, they already have user and corporate blogs, forums and such.  What are they missing?  Well, not being involved with PTC, I’m not going to guess.  Nor am I going to fill out their survey.

What made me think about this is something that happened which is almost completely unrelated to 3D CAD.  My wife and I were recently profiled in G8 version Pontiac Performance.  This is a magazine that is sent out to owners of Pontiac vehicles.  I’m not sure why I, as an owner of an awesome new 2009 G8 GT, would need a magazine full of articles pointing out the greatness of Pontiac cars.  I already get-it.  That’s why I bought the car!  (Maybe they are hoping I will buy another model right away?)  Anyway, the magazine does have its use, and I’m getting to the point soon.  First, if you want to see my profile article, I believe the magazine is carried by Pontiac dealerships.  If you feel so inclined, go in to a dealership and ask to see if they have copies of the G8 version Pontiac Performance Spring 2009 edition.  (It has to be the G8 version of the magazine since it appears they publish different versions of the magazine based on what car you are interested in or already own.) The article is on pages 12 and 13 (pages vary based on the version of the magazine, but its somewhere between page 9 and 14 in most G8 versions).  Then, while you are there, check out the G8.  I’m actually not being sarcastic when I suggest this.

Anyway, back to the point.  In the magazine is another article called Car Camaraderie about how online forums are bringing Pontiac drivers together.  They did a whole article about online resources being utilized by Pontiac owners.  As far as I know, none of these resources are directly related to GM.  This move by Pontiac to promote the online community reminded me of the efforts that SolidWorks has already undertaken.   The writer of the Pontiac article understands the Pontiac’s online community well enough to mention the most popular sites for each of their models.  This is just one article in one magazine that doesn’t have public distribution.  It’s a start for them, though.  Sure, OnStar has been online based for awhile now, but that is a paid service.  The act of actually profiling users on several of the forums (even mentioning their user names) is something that is not that common yet.  Like many other old-school companies, they are starting to understand the Information Age, finally.  

SolidWork Corp isn’t a vanguard in how they leverage the online communities, but they are ahead of the curve…with other companies close on their heels.

Brave new world (online)

SolidWorks Corp is doing something well.  They are taking advantage of current and relavent networking technologies, such as Twitter (search #SolidWorks), to promote the software and its users.   In fact, SolidWorks Corp has a substantial online presence.  Some of this is their own doing, some of it by users stepping forward on their own.  There are a multitude of outlets for information and support.  There are forums, blogs, resource sites, networking sites (such as Linkedin and Facebook) .

Even with all this, there are still other interactive online resources.  Who’s checked out the SolidWorks Wikipedia.org article?  I recently made a minor edit to that article.  It can certainly benefit from many more edits.  Or, who’s checked out or contributed to SolidMentor’s Solidwiki?  This is on Ben’s site.  He also has the SolidJott SolidWorks add-in, which is growing rapidly in popularity.  What are your favorite online interactive sites?