Setting up your 3DConnexion 3D mouse for Fusion 360

[schneik-adsk]

A 3DConnexion 3D mouse can be a great time saver and productivity boost. It allows seamless navigation of designs and access to quick tools. Moving your non-mouse hand off the keyboard and onto a 3D mouse increases productivity.

It can be an even bigger productivity boost if you take a little time to customize the experience using tools offered by 3DConnexion.

Launch the 3DConnexion settings. On OS X you will find these in the system preferences.

Select Autodesk Fusion 360 so that your are configuring your settings specifically for Fusion 360. If you make changes in Any Application it will change the settings across all applications and if you use multiple CAD tools like I do, that can be an annoying mistake.

To create some Fusion 360 specific customizations switch to the macros tab. In the macros box click the + to create a new macro.

Let's name the first macro Hide Pallets. In the macro steps click +  add two Keystroke steps.

The first is keystrokes to hide the Browser Pallet: Press CMD + OPTION + b

The second is keystrokes to hide the Comments Pallet: Press CMD + OPTION + a

Next create a second macro Data Panel. In the macro steps click + an add two Keystroke steps.

The keystrokes to hide the Data Panel: Press CMD + OPTION + p

Last create a final macro Full Screen. In the macro steps click + an add two Keystroke steps.

The keystrokes to swap into and out of Fullscreen: Press CMD + CONTROL + f

Now switch to the Radial Menus tab.

Click the + to create a new radial menu and call it something distinctive. I used F360.

Select the top 12 o’clock well. Under Mapping choose Run Macro. Under Macro choose Full Screen.

For each well set them as show in the next image. The 6 o’clock well use mapping of 3D Mouse and Command to Virtual NumPad.

Now we need to map this to your buttons.

For my device, I like to set the radial menu to Button 2. I make one other change... Many devices with > than 2 buttons have the virtual numpad set to button 1. I have button 1 set to a new feature not yet available in production but coming November 15th . With our custom radial menu we keep access to the numpad, it is just a click away.

Limiting my customization to button 1 and 2 makes it really easy to switch between my travel 3D mouse and my desktop 3D mouse. Besides, most of the out of the box customization on my desktop 3D mouse feels good once I made these small changes. I just don't feel the need to change much more.

When using Fusion 360 you can click Button 2 and get your special tools right at your cursor.

I hope this helps make Fusion 360 and your 3D mouse an even better combination.

[LMD001]

Hello Kevin,

Very useful, thanks!

Best regards,

Ludo

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I have an 3Dconnexion CadMouse and I want to map the Radial menu to views.

How can I do it? Do I have to make some macros? Where can I find the keystroke to make it?

Thank you.

[lubbed]

I'm using a SpaceMouse wireless.  When you open the 3DConnexion settings window it recognizes the current active application.  With Fusion open and active, open the 3D mouse application.  In the application choose 'buttons', then choose the drop down under the button you'd like to add views too.  In the drop down list look for Radial Menus and choose 'RM Views'.  This option has pre-defined views.  Easy screen manilpulation while working in Fusion 🙂 Hope this helps!

[richard_sim]

I noticed a change in behaviour with my 3DConnexion SpaceMouse Pro recently, after the Fusion update a month or two back. I'd avoided reporting it as I assumed it was obvious enough (as I know a lot of the Fusion team also use 3DConnexion devices) that it'd get resolved anyway.

The issue is around zooming in with the SpaceMouse; when the (mouse) orbit behaviour was changed to support pivoting around a specific point on a model/space, that also became the cameras target for zooming. As you zoom in, once you reach that point you are unable to zoom any further and the rotation axes seem to flip. This doesn't seem to be too big an issue with mousing around the model as the camera target is frequently reset during navigation, but this is not the case when using 3DConnexion devices and results in pretty annoyingly having to fight with the camera if you zoom in a lot.

I'd suggest one of three ways this could be addressed when the input is from a 3DConnexion device:

1) Move the camera target in the cameras Z/look-at direction when 'zooming' but maintain the distance from the camera target. This essentially just moves the camera forward/backward.

2) Intelligently automatically update the camera target/orbit&zoom centre to be on the surface of whatever is directly infront of the camera at the start of any move/orbit/zoom command.

3) Use the old orbit/zoom/camera target behaviour.

[Bruceiwish]

Need desperately to find out how to map views to this as I cant even get an answer from the people that make, which says a lot about them. 

Prob one when I press iso button used to go to home view but now goes to Y up when it used to be Z up

prob two. Press front ok them only press for back view does nothing even though it the edit and assigning keys it says back view, now if I set this to side view it works ? It’s like is does not recognise certain views. 

Without me listing all the problems we start with these, it worked once so I know it can do it, only had it few weeks but all gone to pot. Got to be so one out there knows how to assign keys and views as from the gui you get some don’t work. 

Im during fusion 360 by the way. 

[Bruceiwish]

Need desperately to find out how to map views to this as I cant even get an answer from the people that make, which says a lot about them.
Prob one when I press iso button used to go to home view but now goes to Y up when it used to be Z up
prob two. Press front ok them only press for back view does nothing even though it the edit and assigning keys it says back view, now if I set this to side view it works ? It’s like is does not recognise certain views.
Without me listing all the problems we start with these, it worked once so I know it can do it, only had it few weeks but all gone to pot. Got to be so one out there knows how to assign keys and views as from the gui you get some don’t work.
Im during fusion 360 by the way.

[stevsmar13]

Thanks @schneik-adsk, this is helpful to me. I've thought of customizing the buttons but wanted to become more familiar with Fusion first. Now I can use your experience at a guide!

[Bruceiwish]

CMD do u mean CTRL

[Bruceiwish]

My spAcepilot pro wont even pick up fusion 360 now in the program lcd screen how do i tell it to navigate there its just greyed out and cant type a path

[jasonhomrighaus]

Any chance you can figure out how to map the apple command button.  I have tried and i can't seem to get it to work like the other buttons do.

[Bruceiwish]

Its great you trying to help and sure its helping a few on here, but the space pilot pro last week wwhen i pressed iso it went to my home view which was Z up etc. now it does nothing, no matter what i choose, however it works what you say assigning rm views, but y wud i want to press two lots of buttons when i can simply press the cube or home tab in the top right, ? makes no sence something happened this week that's thrown it all to pot, mine wont even pick up the fusion 360 and now lost all keys on it although the movement knob does work, so ive tried old drivers new ive remove all programs thinking they are influencing it, ive been on for a week now, workt thing is the pricks at connecxion ive filled their crate account form in some 30 times now and they don't even send you an email so you can ask them direct which kinda sums up the problems they bare having else they would talk to people.

I'm just about to send mine back as they put on there list it works with fusion well ive trawled the net this week for answers and all i see is it not working.

My first ever question was and cant seem to get this question across correctly, but last week i pressed the iso and it went to home view as it Z up and them iso 2 and it reverse, EXCELLENT then this week none works and even some of the others ie front view then long press i still get front view ?, even though its assigned back view.

Removed and cleared regedit some 15 times now and still not works i have a state of the art expensive pc with a 12 gig titan water cooled GPU, so its not the system letting me down.

Seems no one on the net really knows deep down a config file and ive looked believe me where you can config the scripts, no onje knows best kept secret, but they must loose sale galore as ive not seen one person happy with it yet.

so if anyone has a deeper knowledge share it quick before mine gets thrown against the wall

[scruff.r]

Thanks for that info!

I've just got my SpaceMouse Pro today but now I'm struggling with getting a SetOrbitCenter (for view rotate) macro to work.

With the standard mouse on Windows this would be easily done via Shift+MiddleMouseButton, but when I record such macro with the 3DConnexion software it only works once out of ten times.

Any hint how to overcome that?

Or - even better - is there some kind of keyboard shortcut to get the "Set Orbit Center" feature onto one of the custom keys?

[jasonhomrighaus]

with fusion all you need to do is click someplace and that little green dot becomes the orbit center

[scruff.r]

Thanks for that reply, but I am aware of that.

My point rather was how to get the "Set Orbit Center" feature assigned to a custom key on the 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator Pro. The image attached was just meant as illustration which feature I was talking about.

I don't want to first activate the feature via the context menu but directly get the Orbit Center dot attached to my mouse pointer by one single press of a custom button on my 3D mouse.

[Bruceiwish]

i click the dot and that's on fusion not on the selection iso view on the selection screen for the connexion ?, so don't quite get you can you elaborate rather than few words, if i click on fusion screen it goes away its asking me o the connexion screen to select from a drop down box

[scruff.r]

I don't quite get you there

Quote: "i click the dot and that's on fusion"

When I try to click the dot, nothing happens - and in addition while not orbiting the dot is not visible to be clicked and if it's located within an object clicking isn't that straight forward either.

However, the 3DConnexion devices have the option to add custom mouse button/keyboard macros to add features not provided by the Fusion 360 (or any other application) stock profile, but in order to make these extra features accessible one needs a working mouse/keyboarb shortcut to supply to the 3DConnexion software.

So if I wish to add the "Trim" feature to one of my custom buttons, I'd just assign a "T" macro to that button or if I wanted to add a 2-Point Arc as a special feature I'd add a "s 2-point arc [ENTER]" macro to one button which just uses the search feature to find and activate the 2-Point Arc.

But for the Set Orbit Center feature I just can't find a way to do that.

If you have a 3DConnexion device, open the "3DConnexion Properties" application, hit the "Keys" button, select "Macros", scroll down to "New Macro" and there you can do a lot already. I'm even going a step further into the "Fusion360.xml" and edit the macros in there as you'll have more options than with the "macro recorder".

It'd be a powerful tool, but as it seems Fusion 360 doesn't expose the Set Orbit Center feature in a way that'd make it accessible - or I just can't find the solution.

[stevsmar13]

I can see this is going to be one of those suggestions where I need to print it out this forum post as well as a listing of keyboard shortcuts.

(Funnily, I'm still struggling to overcome my AutoCAD learning from 15 years ago- where D meant delete..... not dimension.... Maybe I'll assign one of the 3D connection radial menus to delete...)

[Bruceiwish]

Think im going to bin it, just not enough scope and next to no info on the net on how to get keys on the soacepilot pro be assigned in fact i cant find one sentence that says how to do it.
Hard to explain but everyone wants to explain the obvious about assighning keys. But not looking deep at the question being asked.
The worst thing that lets this company down is the absolute zero support tried over 30 times not to create account to ask them questions and guess what no verification email comes from them sooo its a bit like their product ? Software does not work and lots of company's sell on this, product looks ace but software writers haven't got a clue.
Its a shame as got to go back to using keyboard keys to navigate.
I think one day someone will crack it and come up with a modded file that works with fusion360 but until then could be years.

[Bruceiwish]

"t directly get the Orbit Center dot"

read posts above this was suggested i was merely responding with the same terminology