spaceball 4000 + USB-SERIAL adapter

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on Windows.

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albertomaffi
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spaceball 4000 + USB-SERIAL adapter

Post by albertomaffi »

Hi all,
I'm having some troubles to get run my spaceball with an usb-serial adapter.
I follow the suggestion to get run the driver on the default application adding the -com 2 after "C:\Programmi\3Dconnexion\3Dconnexion 3DxWare\3dxsrv.exe".

This make the spaceball run with the demos but not with Inventor.
Is it possible to let Inventor know which is the com that has to be used?

thanks
Alberto
Peter
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Post by Peter »

Alberto,

Serial to USB adapters are not supported. Proper connectivity cannot be achieved between the motion controller and the PC using any type of adapter.

Peter
albertomaffi
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Post by albertomaffi »

I'm able to run the spaceball with the adapter without problems.
All the demos are working correctly.

I'm not able to run the spaceball just with Inventor because, probably, it does not start the driver on the right com.

I would like to know if there is any possibility to know which modification is made when the Inventor plug in is installed.

Thanks
Alberto
ngomes
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Post by ngomes »

The reason why Serial-USB adaptors are not supported or recommended by 3Dconnexion is stated in this Knowledge Base article.
Nuno Gomes
albertomaffi
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Post by albertomaffi »

May be I have not been clear.

The USB-SERIAL adapter is working correctly if I run the driver outside Invertor making this modification when I start the driver:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\3Dconnexion\3Dconnexion 3DxWare\3dxsrv.exe" -com 1

It does not work with Inventor because probably I need to do the same when the Inventor plug-in has been started but I don't know where I can do that.

Can you help me?
ngomes
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Post by ngomes »

Please refer to this article regarding the supported Windows operating systems for serial devices.

If you're using Windows XP Pro x64, I suggest you unsure that 3DxWare is started before launching Inventor.
jwick
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Post by jwick »

Hi Alberto,

It may be possible for your 4000 to work with Inventor on 32-bit systems with a USB-to-serial adapter. It seems though that you are trying to run on an x64 system. This has always been an unsupported configuration, because, frankly, it didn't work reliably.

Do you have a 64-bit version of Inventor? Have you installed the 64-bit version of 3DxWare. Your command line shows that you are starting a 32-bit version.

When you say that they demos are working, are you running the 32-bit or 64-bit demos.

Jim
3Dx Software Development
albertomaffi
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Post by albertomaffi »

I'm running the driver on Vista 64bit.
My PC does not have a serial port so I'm using an USB-Serial adapter.
I've been able to install the driver version 2-8-2 following the suggestion of mlb on this message:
viewtopic.php?t=43&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15
Then I have specified the com in this way:
"C:\Programmi\3Dconnexion\3Dconnexion 3DxWare\3dxsrv.exe" -com 2
and I gor the driver runing correctly (I can see and open the icon on the try bar.

I have both 32 and 64 bit version of Inventor and none is able to run.
I have installed the inventor plug in but it does not run.
My opinion is that it does not run because I need to specify the come also when the Inventor plug in starts (when I start Inventor).
Is it possibile?

Starting Cube 3D demo, my spaceball is running correctly.

Thanks
Alberto
ngomes
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Post by ngomes »

Hi albertomaffi,

You can try disabling User Access Control (UAC) in Vista but I believe it won't be enough. Vista is not a supported OS for release version 2.8.

Also, note that the 3Dconnexion add-in for Inventor is not necessary for the SpaceBall. The application has native support for 3D navigation using a 3D mouse. You only need the driver (3DxWare).
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