Fusion 360 support for older 3dconnexion SpaceMouse

[mickey.wakefield]

Hello Everyone -

In the most recent update to Fusion 360 (November 30, 2021 - Fusion Build Number 2.0.11685) we added official support for the 3dconnexion SpaceMouse products. Note that this support is for Windows only - MacOS is expected in the future.

Unfortunately - this change affects older SpaceMouse products. Many people where already using a SpaceMouse and are finding that it no longer works, post-update.

Fusion 360 did not officially support using a SpaceMouse but it was possible to position the models on screen and some shortcuts did work. Many users likely did not notice that their SpaceMouse buttons could not be mapped to most Fusion 360 commands, and did not function properly in Fusion 360's various environments.

To remedy this loss of functionality - we plan to include a preference in the next minor update of Fusion 360 (scheduled for Dec 2021) which will allow users to select legacy support for their older 3dconnexion SpaceMouse products. (see attached mockup) This will allow for functionality as before. The SpaceMouse should be able to position models properly, but not all mappings will be available and these will not change depending on the active Fusion 360 environment.

To be able to take advantage of full support for the 3dconnexion SpaceMouse - users will need to upgrade their SpaceMouse to a newer model which can support 3dconnexion's SDK 4 or higher.

[ash_wareing]

Great work as ever. Thank you.

[creator_215]

You only talk about "space-Mouse-Products" - what about other older Device like "Space-Pilot"? Are they maybe included to work again also?

[henryclarkJNRDQ]

Great.

I look forward to using my SpacePilot again for rotating and zooming my model.

Thanks.

[autodeskB6XZM]

3dconnexion have over time had multiple CAD pointing devices such as SpacePilot, SpaceNavigator and SpaceMouse, all, which until the latest update, could be used with Fusion 360.
To avoid confusion I suggest you refer to legacy devices as "3dconnexion devices" rather than "SpaceMouse products" which is only a subset of 3dconnexion products in use.
So sentences like "Many people where already using a SpaceMouse and are finding that it no longer works, post-update." would be more accurate if worded "Many people were already using a 3dconnexion device and are finding that it no longer works, post-update.
This will help avoid confusion as to support with regard to legacy SpacePilot and SpaceNavigator products.

[autodeskB6XZM]

I would also like to suggest on your proposed screen mockup you change the label "SpaceMouse Driver" to "3dconnexion Driver"
Thanks.

[mickey.wakefield]

Hi creator 215 -
Yes - As far as I am aware - the "SpacePilot" is a particular model of SpaceMouse. It is one of the models affected by this change - and yes - the update coming soon should help you.
All of 3dconexxion's 3D positioning devices are known collectively as "SpaceMouse" products. They also manufacture regular computer mouse products, and other peripheral devices, but these use other designations. (the mice are called "CADMouse" I believe.)

[AndreasSchwürzinger]

Hope Autodesk do this fast. Work in a complex design without Space Pilot is very hard.

[autodeskB6XZM]

While all the 3D mice sold by 3dconnexion  are currently branded "SpaceMouse" this has not always been the case.
3dconnexion  manuals define the terms  "SpaceMouse", "SpacePilot", "SpaceNavigator" etc as "product lines". The collective term used by 3dconnexion  has changed over time. For example in 2003 they called them "3D Motion Controllers". In 2009 after the SpacePilot was released they sold the "SpacePilot", "SpaceExplorer" and "SpaceNavigator" and referred to them as as a "3D mouse". Brochures of that era had no mention of the term "SpaceMouse" as that product line had been discontinued. The current models of 3D mice are again sold under the "SpaceMouse" product line and they now refer to them using the terms "3D Navigation" and "3D Mouse"
Perhaps the more generic label of "3D Mouse Driver" might be more in line with 3dconnexion  terminology and avoids confusion between product lines and differentiates from the more conventional "CADMouse" that 3dconnexion also sell.

[kward101]

Hi. Sorry, not sure this is exactly on topic, but it showed up at the same time as the legacy driver compatibility issue.
My SpaceMouse Pro and Compact seem fine on a few updated systems, except there is a new behavior. To 3D move, it's recently often necessary (entering sketch) to first hold shift and move the middle mouse button to jail break the 3D mouse. I saw it come up on the FBk forum too. I understand there may be a logic behind the behavior, but is there a setting or preference that allows choice?
Thank you for all your hard work. :^)

.

[mickey.wakefield]

Hi kward!
Yes! You are correct! At about the same time as you posted this, we began getting reports of this & are working to update our implementation so that this could be an option if desired. It will take some work by the 3dconexxion team - but we expect it to be done quickly. (upcoming release - fingers crossed)
Thanks for your patience.

[Phil.E]

There is an update to Fusion 360 to address the following issues for customers using Windows:

• Support for older 3Dconnexion devices
• 3Dconnexion pan and zoom behavior in Sketch mode

The update includes a new preference to use the legacy 3Dconnexion drivers for the experience of the previous integration between Fusion and 3Dconnexion devices. If you have an older device, it should be supported by the Legacy driver setting in Fusion.

Note: This will also remove the newest features like constrained orbit, and advanced button customization features, but only temporarily. We are currently working with 3Dconnexion on a solution for the sketch pan/zoom behavior that is intended to provide both the latest functionality as well as options for sketch behavior.

To get the latest build, 2.0.11894:

1. Restart Fusion 360
2. Watch the Job Status indicator
3. When complete, click Restart Fusion

To get the Legacy driver option:

1. Open Preferences
2. Click the dropdown next to SpaceMouse driver
3. Select Legacy
4. When prompted, restart Fusion

[henryclarkJNRDQ]

Thank you so much for making my SpacePilot work again so quickly.

I can now use Fusion 360 properly.

[AndreasSchwürzinger]

Thank you very much!

Updated, old driver 3Dxware 10.4.8 re-installed and now my 2009 Space Pilot works again. Don't let Hardware die from software!

[Anonymous]

Ok new 'hotfix' release of Fusion 360:
Running SpaceMouse Enterprise (so a new product!)

SpaceMouse Enterprise FW 4.4, Drivers 10.8.3-r3407 (newest stable release for Win64)
- Legacy Driver mode - doesn't work
- Latest Driver mode - All of the functional buttons on spaceMouse, except 1-12 don't work!

Performed downgrade to FW4.4, Drivers 10.7.4-r3350
- Latest Driver mode - Same issues as before the December HotFix
     a) Annoying default lock behaviour on the sketch, where the SpaceMouse lock button has no effect and the viewport has to be manually rotated to 'unlock' it
     b) When zooming in randomly the camera will rotate by 180deg
     c) Frequent crash to desktop operations when even performing simple tasks like selecting edges (I found this to be most frequest when working with Surface toolkit, but it may be just my bias as generally this requires more - select edges etc. operations)

- Legacy Driver mode
Back to what seems to be, the old behaviour prior to the two previous releases.

As it looks, newest 3D Connextion drivers are completly unsupported by the F360. The newest working release of them is 10.7.4-r3350.
The issues with the new integration are still unresolved
Can Autodesk confirm:
- Which 3D Connexion products and Driver version did the AutoDesk Fusion360 QA tested on?

[Anonymous]

To be on the safe-side, I also performed test by going back to very-old 3D connextion driver 10.6.4-r3119
It is same behaviour as on 10.7.3-r3350 with the latest driver.

Also:
Point a) Annoying default lock behaviour on the sketch, where the SpaceMouse lock button has no effect and the viewport has to be manually rotated to 'unlock' it
a) Annoying default lock behaviour on the sketch, where the SpaceMouse lock button has no effect and the viewport has to be manually rotated to 'unlock' it
I noticed another issue in the sketch mode; when entering the sketch mode, the Camera 'pivot/focus on point' is not on the sketch and not on the sketch plane
Can you also look at fixing it so the camera focus by default will be at least on sketch origin point? (preferably at a point that is center for all objects on the sketch with viewport zoomed to fit all in sketch?)

[Phil.E]

Can Autodesk confirm:
- Which 3D Connexion products and Driver version did the AutoDesk Fusion360 QA tested on?

Thanks for the heads up. It sounds like you wish to use the legacy setting. 10.6.4 will provide the same experience as before, when used in combination with the Legacy driver setting in Fusion. This will be the same experience as the last several years with this combination.

Note: We are currently working with 3Dconnexion on a solution for the sketch pan/zoom behavior that is intended to provide both the latest functionality as well as options for sketch behavior.

[CameronN393M]

Rotation lock while sketching is more than annoying, it’s seriously frustrating.  How do I disable this?  I’d like to add my vote to take care of this as soon as possible.

[mickey.wakefield]

We're working on it - but its not totally in our control. We require 3Dconnexion's assistance to get it fixed up. We do expect it soon, however.
For now - you have the option of either breaking the lock by using your rotation keys (depends on how you have set this up in Fusion) or by pulling on the view cube to break the "lock to normal" - or, alternatively - you can set your view to ALWAYS be "perspective"....this should keep the lock from happening in the first place - but your sketches will show perspective, even if you are looking directly at them.

[Naureka]

From my experience there is something terribly wrong with latest 3DXWare software update. I'm using a SpaceMouse Wireless which is 3-4 years old and after recent update it started to crash every program that used their API (not only F360). I had same issues with Luxion KeyShot, Prusa Slicer and even Microsoft Office.

The only way to be able to use my device was downgrading drivers back to v10-7-4_r3350. I've been using 3DConnexion products for more than 10 years now and driver problems and were always there. From my experience this release was the only one in the whole history that caused no major problems. The only issue I have is losing a device ocassionaly. Reconnecting the USB dongle a few times a week is a standard routine 🙂

3DConnexion is making a superb hardware, they have a great consumer support. Unfortunately their IT departament is not the best in the world. They even messed up a battery charging firmware one day. Wireless devices were dying and they required a firmware update to ressurect a "dead" battery. Every 3DXware release has always been a lottery - fixing one bug created another two. Good luck with cooperation 😄