Ultimate 3D design navigation tool

To the untrained eye, the 3Dconnexion SpacePilot PRO looks and sounds like a pretty slick game control. But you’d be wrong. The mouse is, in fact, a serious tool for design engineers to navigate about and control three-dimensional computerized models.

The SpacePilot PRO is designed to create easier access to 3D applications and smoother workflow. In particular, the mouse features: a new color LCD screen, from which design engineers access such information as email, calendar and tasks; second-generation QuickView Navigation technology; customizable dual-function keys; and a sculpted design, with soft-coated wrist rest, for enhanced comfort and control. A symmetrical layout of the function keys makes the device intuitive to use with either hand.

“3Dconnexion’s 3D mice have rewritten the rules on the way design engineers and professionals interact with 3D environments,” says Dieter Neujahr, president of 3Dconnexion, a subsidiary of Logitech.

“Our new SpacePilot PRO builds on our market-leading industry experience, delivering the most powerful 3D mouse we’ve ever made. It enables increased performance that ultimately results in better designs, created in less time.”

Unlike traditional mice, the 3Dconnexion mouse range – including SpacePilot, SpaceExplorer and SpaceNavigator – is not restricted to moving about a flat plane, but rather moves in all three dimensions simultaneously, using six-degrees–of-freedom sensor technology. Design engineers can easily pan, zoom and rotate 3D models by lifting, pressing and turning the control knob on the SpacePilot.

According to 3Dconnexion, the 3D mouse is not only more intuitive, but requires half the number of clicks compared to a regular mouse and boosts productivity by 20 percent. To fully appreciate how the SpacePilot PRO works, click here.

3Dconnexion 3D mice are supported by more than 130 3D applications, including Autodesk Inventor, SolidWorks, CATIA, Pro/ENGINEER, NX and Solid Edge. A complete list of applications is here.

Priced at USD$499, the SpacePilot PRO is supported by Windows XP, Windows Vista, Sun Solaris 8, Sun Solaris 10, and Linux.

Paul Best