game controller and autocad

Hey guys,

I was just did a search in this forum for "game controller" and "joystick" and about anything else I could think of but the newest posts I could find were circa 2005-2006. So I'm gonna ask this question anew:

Has anyone tried any of the fancy new gaming joysticks for cad use? they have an abundance of buttons and interesting stuff that might make things easier and quicker. Not sure about trying to draw with a joystick though....any thoughts?

That would be so cool. Instead of "erase" I could use "destroy". Instead of "zoom" I could use a key-combo and "jump/run/and duck". How would a drawing be scored?

yeah there's so much you could do, there's "explode", "slice" ooooo, just kidding:wink: .

concept is tempting but i dont think there will be a good interface with any drawing technique itself coz we really need the keyboard,,, and a controller is held with two hands.

yeah there's so much you could do, there's "explode", "slice" ooooo, just kidding:wink: .

concept is tempting but i dont think there will be a good interface with any drawing technique itself coz we really need the keyboard,,, and a controller is held with two hands.

Well, i was actually thinking more about the joystick style controller, that sits on the desk...more like the flight simulator sticks and such. The playstation style controller would be very cumbersome to use for this application. My local Best Buy store has 3 or 4 different ones ranging from 50 to over 100 bucks each, and anywhere from 6 to 20 user programmable buttons. They have a gaming keyboard as well that could be very interesting. It has additional keys for the right hand that could be programmed with an assortment of commands and macros.

I don't know...might give it a try and see if I could make it work.

Going back to the terms...we could "clone" instead of copy..."beam in" instead of insert...

I can see it now...Autocad the Star Trek version...SolidWorks Stargate Edition...

I'm pretty certain we had a thread on something similar not so long ago, and one of our members did claim to be using something along the lines of a gaming controller

have you had a good rummage about in the old threads?

It may even be worth checking out the chat section as tech threads posted in there tend to be a bit more surreal

it could also have been a thread on repetitive strain injury - think outside the box a bit with your searches

well i used one of those.

the belkin Nostromo N52. Been a long time gamer i had one of those eating dust in one on my shelf. There really helpful and a lot cheaper than those 3D mouse 3DConnexion have to offer

Nostromo N52

http://www.3dconnexion.com/

The biggest reason why i use it was because of carpal tunnel syndrome. With the nostromo you are able to bind key but also Long Command

and every key fit in your hand. I love it

You really get used quickly to it after you pass the question session at work.

Oh and you can set preset for different apps a bit like a wacom tablet.

ie. A set for photoshop action, another for 3ds max and another for Acad.

Sorry if this look like i'm selling something its just a tool i found very useful and i'm sure other ppl will appreciate it

I'm pretty certain we had a thread on something similar not so long ago, and one of our members did claim to be using something along the lines of a gaming controller

 

have you had a good rummage about in the old threads?

 

It may even be worth checking out the chat section as tech threads posted in there tend to be a bit more surreal

it could also have been a thread on repetitive strain injury - think outside the box a bit with your searches

As I said in the very first post, I used the search function looking for "game controller" and "joystick" and just about any variation of that I could think of. The newest stuff I found was a couple years old. Not saying that's the only stuff there, it's just all that turned up in the searches I did.

It's not a big deal, I was just curious if anyone had tried them lately.

Oh, and by the way, the gaming keyboard I mentioned earlier had extra keys for the LEFT hand, not the right....apparently my fingers got ahead of my brain on that one. I may give that a try before the joystick controller thingy...put all the most used commands on the extra keys and see if that saves any time. I'm lazy...anything that makes my job easier, I'm up for it.

well i used one of those.

the belkin Nostromo N52. Been a long time gamer i had one of those eating dust in one on my shelf. There really helpful and a lot cheaper than those 3D mouse 3DConnexion have to offer

Nostromo N52

http://www.3dconnexion.com/

 

The biggest reason why i use it was because of carpal tunnel syndrome. With the nostromo you are able to bind key but also Long Command

and every key fit in your hand. I love it

You really get used quickly to it after you pass the question session at work.

 

Oh and you can set preset for different apps a bit like a wacom tablet.

ie. A set for photoshop action, another for 3ds max and another for Acad.

 

Sorry if this look like i'm selling something its just a tool i found very useful and i'm sure other ppl will appreciate it

That looks very interesting. Never seen those before. I may have to take a closer look if I can find someone locally that sells them.

Thanks for the info!

quick answer.. mouse FTW!! buy a fast mouse (rec. A4tech X7 series) and you will have no problems. unless you buy a Wii joystick... imagine what would you go through to draw a spline..

I did buy n52te...that thing is pretty cool. If i can get used to it and remember what all the buttons are programmed for...lol...been leaving the programmer up so i can toggle back to check and see which button I programmed for what. pretty cool tool tho.

the joystick on it is not much help, but being right handed, it may be that i just don't have the coordination in my left thumb to drive it yet.

in all , i think it will make a useful addition. there's only one thing about it that i don't like. i don't really care for how many of the spaces it uses to program a macro. for instance, if you want it to enter "e" , instead of just recording an "e" it puts a "e press" and an "e release" on the line, using 2 of the available spaces. an "E" is "shift press, e press, e release, shift release"...4 spaces!!

overall tho...i like it.