3Dconnexion released the 3Dconnexion CadMouse ($100) in the first week of February 15th, billing it as "the first mouse designed specifically for CAD professionals." The idea of a mouse designed specifically for CAD will make some professionals intrigued and others not so much. The idea it to combine ergonomic and smartly designed hardware and easy-to-use software to maximize productivity while minimizing painful cramps that come from repetitive wrist and forearm motions.
Most CAD professionals are familiar with 3Dconnexion’s SpaceMouse array of products. Some mCAD users I know use SpaceMouse in one hand for 3D navigating, while using the standard mouse in the other hand for clicking a selecting. The CadMouse is 3Dconnexion's response to reports from frustrated customers about using an ordinary mouse in this way.
“We developed the 3Dconnexion CadMouse because CAD users asked us to,” says Antonio Pascucci, VP of products at 3Dconnexion. “We took the time to understand what they needed before developing a combination of smart hardware and software features.”
“With the introduction of the 3Dconnexion CadMouse, we are excited to be meeting the demands of CAD professionals across a broad range of industries and professions,” Pascucci says. “The icing on the cake is that CadMouse enables a new level of 'two-handed power' for our current customers. In other words, using a CadMouse together with a 3Dconnexion 3D mouse like the SpaceMouse Pro or SpaceNavigator makes it possible to interact with digital content in a way that wasn’t possible before.”
CadMouse Features:
- Dedicated, Full-Size Middle Mouse Button — CAD user rely heavily on the middle mouse button, but on ordinary mice, it is beneath the scroll wheel. The CadMouse design includes a full-size middle mouse button, eliminating the need to click the scroll wheel thousands of times per day.
- QuickZoom – A thumb button allows users to zoom in and out of parts at will.
- Smart Scroll Wheel – Depending on the active application, you can “click-to-click” to zoom in and out or rapidly scroll through browsers and documents.
- Advanced Laser Sensor— With 8200dpi and a poll rate of up to 1000Hz (responsiveness of 1 millisecond) users can click exactly where they want to which should eliminate "clicking and missing" specific parts and desired areas.
- Gesture / Radial Menu Button – The gesture button opens a context sensitive on-screen radial menu. Users just have to move the cursor left, right, up or down to activate the command.
- Optimally Shaped PTFE feet – How do materials and geometry affect friction? It’s an important design question to consider being that power CAD users can move their mouse up to 1km per week! CadMouse has optimally shaped feet made from Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which has one of the lowest coefficients of friction against any solid, which results in a near perfect equilibrium. This means that the CadMouse moves more in line with a users intended direction.
Advantages:
- If you already have a 3dconnexion mouse then you do not have to update or reinstall 3DxWare 10. This is a great advantage of 3dconnexion, because not only is 3DxWare a unified driver, which has support for any product from 3d connexion, but it also allows you to set up each device separately and independent of each other.
- Switching from line by line to free wheel mode with CadMouse doesn't require the user to activate a hardware change.
Disadvantages:
- Tethered, unlike SpaceMouse wireless.
- No driver for OS X, buttons don't work even on VMWare or bootcamp.
- Clearly designed for right-handed users.