SW2007 - Assembly Mode

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spainman
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SW2007 - Assembly Mode

Post by spainman »

Hi,

I'm running sw2007 Sp3.1 with a Spacenavigator PE and 3DxSoft V3.3.6.

Playing around in the assembly mode of SW I noticed that it is NOT possible to move a part in all dimensions. I can move the part up/down and left/right
and rotate it but movement into depth does not work.

In conclusion: Moving the whole scene in all dimensions works fine. Movement of a selected part doesn't.

In the puzzle demo (comparable to the assembly mode of SW) movement in all axis works as expected.

I'm new to SW and the Spacenavigator, but searched all the way through the configuration options of SW and the 3dx plugin and did not find a solution. Am I missing something?

Regards,
Ruben
ngomes
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Re: SW2007 - Assembly Mode

Post by ngomes »

Hi spainman,
Playing around in the assembly mode of SW I noticed that it is NOT possible to move a part in all dimensions. I can move the part up/down and left/right
and rotate it but movement into depth does not work.
This is correct. When manipulating a part in an assembly -- what we call the sub-part movement feature, the 3D Mouse will not move it along the depth direction. This is by design.

When moving a part within an assembly in SolidWorks, the human eye is unable to distinguish the very subtle changes when moving the part along that direction.
Nuno Gomes
spainman
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Post by spainman »

Hi,

is this by design of SW or of the 3dx plugin? It would be desirable to let the user choose if he wants to restrict movement of the part into depth.

Is there any way around this restriction?

Thanks,
Ruben
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Post by ngomes »

spainman wrote:is this by design of SW or of the 3dx plugin?
By design of the 3Dconnexion add-in.
spainman wrote:Is there any way around this restriction?
Currently, there is no possible of enabling movement along the depth direction (z direction/axis).

Note that, if you deselect the part, the 3D Mouse will control the entire view. You can toggle between moving the part and the view very easily. In doing so, you will be able to place the part more precisely using the 3D Mouse.
spainman
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Post by spainman »

Hi,

yes - there are ways around it. Nevertheless - it is a 3d mouse and movement is restricted to 2d. AVOIDING Toggling, clicking, changing between movement , view, rotation etc. was the reason to evaluate a 3D mouse.

I don't think that anybody needs high precision when placing a part manually. Most of us olny need the ability to roughly place a part in 3d space in correct relation to other parts (this includes before a part/behind a part). For precision are mates.

You also have to consider that the result of the 2-dimensional movement happens on the current view plane. So you have to keep switching around the 3 planes and moving around till the part is where you want to. It IS a real hassle and feels like a silly thing to do when having a 3d input device right in your left hand.


It really feels like a restriction to me and I would be very happy if you 3Dx people would implement the z-movement as a new feature in one of the next releases. Have a look at "move with triad". Mapping this function onto a key of the mouse would also be big help.

Thanks,
Ruben
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Post by ngomes »

spainman wrote:I don't think that anybody needs high precision when placing a part manually.
This is out understanding as well but that's not why we disabled movement along z (the depth direction): the problem is that it is very difficult to control that direction.

As an example, try moving along the depth direction when the triad axis is almost coincident with that same direction.
spainman wrote:Have a look at "move with triad". Mapping this function onto a key of the mouse would also be big help.
Are you using the "button mapping" panel? You should have access to all functions available on the toolbars and map them to a 3D Mouse button.
spainman
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Post by spainman »

Yes, I use the button mappings. Did not find a mapping for "move with triad". Maybe I need to have the corresponding toolbar activated. I will try later.

Thanks!
Bowtie Bob
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Post by Bowtie Bob »

ngomes wrote:
spainman wrote:I don't think that anybody needs high precision when placing a part manually.
This is out understanding as well but that's not why we disabled movement along z (the depth direction): the problem is that it is very difficult to control that direction.
It may be difficult, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have the OPTION to turn it on. If it was set to default as Off, then most users wouldn't notice a difference, but for those of us that would like this, it would be nice to be able to turn it on....at least in some situations.

Personally, I don't find it all that difficult to figure out where something is in a 3D space, and as spainman said, it doesn't require a high precision for placement....just to get it in the general location. I think if we can figure out how to control the Puzzle Demo that comes with the software, we should be able to move parts around in 3D in SolidWorks. (BTW, you might want to adjust the sensitivity of the "snap" feature in the puzzle demo....I've noticed its very hard to get a piece to move once it has snapped itself to the block)
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Post by ngomes »

Hi Bowtie Bob
Bowtie Bob wrote:It may be difficult, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have the OPTION to turn it on. If it was set to default as Off, then most users wouldn't notice a difference, but for those of us that would like this, it would be nice to be able to turn it on....at least in some situations.
This is a fair comment, one that user spainman has also made.

I've create an enhancement request (for your reference this is number 4524). Note that 3Dconnexion is striving to simplify the User Interfaces in our products and adding yet another option may not be acceptable. Having said, there are other alternatives (for example, a reg value).
Carltonium
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Post by Carltonium »

Any news on this enhancement?

I finally upgraded to a SpaceBall 5000 I picked up on Ebay and was dismayed to lose simultaneous zoom and rotate.

I realize that the new driver interface is easier for new users to comprehend and separating translate and rotate eases the learning curve, but I think a lot of your users have gotten pretty good with simultaneous 6 axis control.

After getting over force and torque translating to displacement, I really miss being able to manipulate my virtual assemblies as I would in the physical world.

Could an expert users driver be released which also brought back the exponential gain options? I found it very handy being able to finely control movements in low deflection and rotate fast in higher deflection of the ball.

I really miss my FLX4000 now, but it's serial interface can't talk to my laptops or KVM switches anymore. Please offer an expert users driver. I reckon that a lot of your users are disposed to figure out a complicated yet feature rich driver.
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Post by ngomes »

Hi Carltonium,
Any news on this enhancement?
At this stage the only way this seems to be doable (enhancement request 4524) is to through a reg value, without touching the add-in GUI.
Carltonium
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Post by Carltonium »

Well I'd be happy with that. Is the reg value currently adjustable or will it only be available in the next driver revision?
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Post by ngomes »

Hi Carltonium,
Well I'd be happy with that. Is the reg value currently adjustable or will it only be available in the next driver revision?
It is not yet available. We will post here the info when we know more.
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Post by ngomes »

An update on this issue. The enhancement request 4524 has been implement and will be made available in the add-in shipped in 3DxSoftware v. 3.5. The software is planned to be available for download in late October.

To enable "sub-part" movement along the Z direction (perpendicular to the viewing plane), you will need to edit the Registry.

Note: an incorrect edit of the Registry may render your Windows installation unusable. Make sure you create a backup of the Registry and that you are confortable with the procedure.

Instructions are as follows:
  • Exit SolidWorks and login as an administrator;
  • Upgrade to 3DxSoftware v. 3.5.0 or later (will be available from here);
  • Login as the normal user (if required);
  • Start SolidWorks: confirm that the 3D mouse is working properly;
  • Exit SolidWorks (this is important);
  • Open the Registry Editor and go to
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\3Dconnexion Add-In for SolidWorks
    and change the value "SubPartMoveAlongZ" to "1" (one);
  • Exit the Registry Editor;
  • Start SolidWorks, load an assembly and check that you can now move a component along the "z" direction.
We appreciate if you could post here any feedback on this enhancement.

A note of caution, one of the reasons why it was not possible to move along the z direction was the SolidWorks problem described in SPR 134867:
SPR 134867 - Model faces become transparent when moving assembly component towards and through viewing plane.
Whether this will affect you or not will depend the assembly document being edited and your version of SolidWorks.
Carltonium
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Post by Carltonium »

I just installed this new driver and changed the reg value.

Thanks for putting this change in. I'm much happier being able to move with 3 simultaneous DOF.
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