OnShape and "modo 601" killing 3dconnexion driver?

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on macOS.

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michaelprichard
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Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:22 pm
Location: Carlisle, MA

OnShape and "modo 601" killing 3dconnexion driver?

Post by michaelprichard »

I've been using 3dconnexion with OnShape on a 12" Macbook running El Capitan 10.11.4 since the release of 3dConnexion driver 10.3.1. The App listed in the control panel is not OnShape or Safari (OnShape is a WebGL based CAD app running inside a browser) but instead something called "modo 601" which I'm assuming is some form of plug-in glue to connect the driver to the web process. I've been experiencing slightly more frequent seize ups where the Navigator will completely stop responding, although the LEDs are still lit. No other CAD apps can use it either at this point and the 3D Demo within the Control Panel is also unresponsive. I can turn the LEDs on/off with the checkbox and I don't get an error from the Calibrate button, but still no response. I've even tried unplugging/plugging the Navigator to no avail. The Navigator is running Firmware version 4.31.

In the Console, I found this ominous entry:

5/2/16 11:21:51.808 AM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.3dconnexion.3dxnlserver.212192[566]) Service exited due to signal: Segmentation fault: 11

There are a few Launchd items that seem to be part of the 3DConnexion driver, but I decided not to monkey around too much trying to restart these. The only thing that fixes this problem is restarting the machine. While I'd love for the bug to be fixed, it would be super useful to at least have a Terminal command(s) I can issue to restart the driver without forcing a reboot in the interim.

Thanks for any help.

PS. The only other datapoint I'd add is that I do switch between a wired Space Navigator and a wireless one at home, usually without restarting the machine, simply waking it from sleep. I used to have to restart the CAD app (when using NX or Solid Edge inside a Windows VM), but that doesn't seem to be required anymore with one of the recent driver updates; still, thought this might be perhaps related.
UtaSH
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Re: OnShape and "modo 601" killing 3dconnexion driver?

Post by UtaSH »

Hello michaelprichard,

the Mac driver UI does not switch to the application that is used. In case you want to make changes to a configuration you have to select the proper one manually in the drop down list.

Can you specify at which time the 3D mouse stops responding in Onshape? Right after the first use or just after a few minutes, hours, ...?
Or does it happen after you did something specific in Onshape?

It might be that the fact that you put your machine to sleep and do not reboot is related. I will see if I can make some test in our lab.

We are highly interested in the crash log. You should find it when you open the console and then go to "User Diagnostic Reports". Search for a name like "3DxNLServer_YYY-MM-DD-hhmmss_<machinename>.crash". Please send this to us; I will provide an email address to you.

As a workaround you can start the 3DxNLServer (which is needed for Onshape) in a terminal with this command:

Code: Select all

open /Library/PreferencePanes/3Dconnexion.prefPane/Contents/Resources/3DxNLServer.app
michaelprichard
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:22 pm
Location: Carlisle, MA

Re: OnShape and "modo 601" killing 3dconnexion driver?

Post by michaelprichard »

I've sent the 7 crashlogs that were available from that folder via the e-mail as requested.

As for the symptom, so far it seems to happen only after it’s been running for a while, possibly after a few sleep/wake cycles, I’m not certain, but I’ll monitor more closely. It’s actually quite infrequent as well, but one symptom of it is short periods of freezing of the graphics pane for 1-5sec. a few times within the 1-10 min. period just before it stops working completely. The activity I'm always engaged in at the time of the freeze-up (or I guess crash) is simply spinning the model around as I ponder different angles, as well as zooming in and panning for more detail in certain areas.

One possibly related symptom is that rotating the model by the normal (non-Space Navigator) method using a 2-finger-drag has a long delay of 2-4 sec. before it responds, and even then, it can get very sluggish compared to what it used to be prior to installing the 3DConnexion driver. I don't know that this is 3DConnexion related or simply an issue within OnShape but I thought I'd mention it.
michaelprichard
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:22 pm
Location: Carlisle, MA

Re: OnShape and "modo 601" killing 3dconnexion driver?

Post by michaelprichard »

Just crashed again and sent log. I also tested the command to restart the driver which didn't restore functionality to the currently open instance of Safari, but quitting/restarting Safari DID restore functionality, so at least I don't have to reboot the machine. Thanks for the workaround.
jesfro
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Re: OnShape and "modo 601" killing 3dconnexion driver?

Post by jesfro »

I do encounter the same problem and i'm happy that i found this thread to get aware if the workaround.
I noticed that the problem occurs when i switch from a part studio to a drawing and then try to control the view of the drawing with my Space Pilot Pro.
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