Any experience using Wacom tablets w/ Solidworks?

[rltw]

Has anyone ever used a Wacom (...or similar...) tablet with Solidworks? If so, what sort of experience did you have? Also, at what point in the design process did you find it most helpful?

I'm specifically interested in what I believe are classified as "pen displays" - LCDs w/ the pressure sensitive (...I think...) pens.

An example...

http://www.wacom.com/lcdtablets/Architecture.cfm

 

[Theophilus]

A client of mine has the Cintiq (pressure-sensitive monitor you can "draw" on). I have a Intuos 2 (pressure-sensitive pad I draw on to display lines, etc. on my regular monitor).

I don't use my tablet for SW. I could, but I'm quicker with a mouse and keyboard--since most of the SW stuff is point/click oriented instead of drag a line oriented. I have the tablet for use in drawing within Photoshop and similar graphical programs where I can truly sketch with pressure sensitivity using tools such as pencil, airbrush, etc. Extremely helpful in that regard.

What's your interest in SW? The Cintiq is very nice, but you'll want to check especially for compatible drivers first to see if it will even function properly with SW before making the plunge (unless you're an ID guy like me who loves to truly sketch/draw digitally--in which case you can use this in other applications). I think that's the biggest issue you'll face, since SW is such a stickler for proper graphics hardware/software/drivers. At this point, I don't know if the Cintiq will work or how to find out, short of contacting Wacom and asking them directly.

Meanwhile, my tablet works just fine with SW, but is more cumbersome than I prefer to deal with.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.

 

[MadMango]

Also see thread559-60642

[green]"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."[/green]

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[rltw]

Jeff. Thanks for your thoughtful response.

Why am I exploring the Wacom? I'd like to capture more of my "napkin sketches" and "back of the envelope" work in a more streamlined manner than scanning whatever bit of paper I happened to use at that time. I work with several other designers - not one is within 300 miles of one another. So, I guess Solidworks isn't my primary concern - however, I'd be really happy if it opens up a few new options for me in SW.

I currently use a CadMan 3D controller and a Kensington Super Mouse. Oh, and I've never used a digitizer pad or anything like you see near ACAD work stations. (...dirty secret: I can't use ACAD...)

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

What's wrong with the "scanning whatever bit of paper" method.

Once the sketch is inserted into a part document, all the regular sketch tools and features can be used (in "heads up" mode) to re-create the geometry.

Each to their own, and you need to do whatever works best for you, but IMO tracing a sketch on a tablet is a big step backwards.

 

[Theophilus]

So do you plan to draw digitally (as in SketchBook Pro, Photoshop, etc?) or to trace already drawn stuff? Big difference.

If drawing digitally (and directly), try out the tablet first if possible. Bigger certainly isn't always better--depends on the size of your natural drawing stroke. I have a 5 x 8 and have found that's plenty large for my style. Also, some programs have better "brushes" to draw with. I really like the pencil in SketchBook Pro, but have figured out a custom Photoshop brush (actually, Photoshop Elements) that delivers basically the same results within a program that's more universally useful.

It's a bit strange dealing with the parallax between tablet and monitor, but not too difficult to get used to. I've been able to do some things with the tablet that I wouldn't ever have been able to feasibly do otherwise. But I don't use it at all for SW.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.