Product Description

3D Connexion SpacePilot

Product Details

• Brand: 3DConnexion
• Model: SPU
• Dimensions: 5.00 pounds

Features

• Product #: 0133031000
• Manufacturer: 3Dconnexion
• Manufacturer Item #: 0133031000
• UPC: 821123130012

Customer Reviews

Great tool for 2D and 3D artists!
The Space Pilot has totally changed my workflow - I love how it enables me to interact quickly and efficiently with my work. Once I learned the button locations and programmed my own shortcuts, my productivity literally doubled overnight.

The device is well made and sturdy - I was concerned at first that my meaty paws would damage the sensitive input knob but after using it for a couple of weeks I now know my worries were unnecessary. The buttons are crisp and solid, the knob is tight and responsive and the screen is easy to read.

The only downside to this input device is its lack of support as a joystick or game input. After using it, I believe it would make a very effective input device for flight simulators and certain FPS games.

Despite this small shortcoming, I think this is one of the most effective peripherals I have ever purchased (aside from my 21 inch Wacom display tablet). If you are a 3D artist or Photoshop user, you will most likely find the Spacepilot 3D a valuable addition to your palette of tools.

Shane Simon
[..]

Good but flawed
I recently purchased the spacepilot after obtaining Autodesk Inventor. I have to say first and foremost that the quality of construction is top notch. The spacepilot is well built and very heavy. Everything seemed to work fine until i noticed a problem with the software. Without going into to much detail, basically the software has a mjor bug in it that 3dconnexion hasn't found or fixed yet. Upon calling I was told buy 2 seperate techs that i should just figure out a way to work around it and that they hadn't noticed the glitch until i brought it up. Now forgive me if i'm wrong but for almost $400 i find it hard to believe that something as simple and obvious as the software would work better. Overall the accessory is well built and worked well. But the software was a point i couldn't work around and so i ended up returning the spacepilot.

New SpacePilot has nice features
When Solidworks went to version 2008, I sadly had to say goodby to my classic Spacemouse--an unsupported serial device. The replacement, the 3Dconnexion SpacePilot, is a welcome replacement. The puck control has less mechanical travel than the Spacemouse, which was easy to get used to. The quality of the device is better than I expected from seeing the images. But the most useful improvement to me is the application-context-sensitive button mapping. When you change applications, the SpacePilot updates its LCD screen to show you how the buttons have been remapped for that application. When you go to Solidworks assembly mode, for example, the buttons change so that you can easily go to insert, mate, rotate, etc. Also there is a special button specifically for "Fit", which is a zoom-all command. Very nice, overall, and as with other 3D mice, facilitates two-handed CAD actions.