My final review on the astroid from my :
Ok, I know you've all been waiting for this. Forgive me if it runs a little long, I want to make sure I cover everything...
I've been using the Astroid for just over a week and I do like it. Will it replace my SpacePilot? Not at work (I am going to use it at home though), but not every person, or company, is willing, or able, to spend $500 on peripheral hardware (I'd say, too, that the Astroid is meant to compete with the SpaceBall, not the SpacePilot).This is where the Astroid will make its mark. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Astroid is only US$149. The Astroid does exactly what a designer would want a spatial controller to do. It manipulates the part or assembly on your screen so that you can get it orientated as you need. In drawings, it zooms and pans. The function buttons allow for quick access to the tools you most often use.
When you begin using the astroid, you'll notice a cursor-like graphic where your origin is normally located. Spatial Freedom calls this a motion handle. The benefit of the motion handle is that you can move it anywhere on your screen. It is around this that your part or assembly will rotate. This is especially helpful when working with large assemblies. I can't tell you how many times I've zoomed in on a part, bumped my controller and lost my place in the assembly with my SpacePilot. There is also a feature to "fence" the motion handle. By enabling this feature, it will keep the motion handle within the bounds of the SolidWorks screen. This, too, is nice in case you have your sensitivity settings off. It keeps the part/assembly from flying off of your screen. I know I can't be the only one that this has happened to...
While I wasn't too keen on not having a cd to install the software from, the installation was easy. The Astroid is also hot-pluggable; you don't need to shut down SolidWorks to plug/unplug it. The one other thing that bothered me was if I didn't have my hand completely on the Astroid, it would slide on my desk while I was using the ball. Granted, it may be due to the fact that my desk isn't the cleanest one, but I'm inclined to think it's because the astroid is so lightweight.
Since getting the Astroid, I've had the pleasure of speaking with John Hilton a number of times. He, and his team, are aware of the shortcoming (e.g. the feel/look of the ball and its lightness) and are diligently working on them. He also told me about the Astroid's camera control which, unfortunately, isn't available with SolidWorks. It allows you to fly into, and design inside of, your models. You can see a demonstration by going to Spatial Freedom's website. He explained how there was something in the SolidWorks code that prevented it, but Spatial Freedom is trying to get SolidWorks to change that. He also explained that the scroll hat, which doesn't do much now, will have increased functionality in the future.
My ultimate opinion? I think that the astroid is a good buy that will become an even better buy as time goes on. I think that the positives outweigh my perceived negatives. While I haven't used a SpaceBall, I believe that the Astroid is a vialble competitor and should be included in any researching you do for such products. I get the impression that John and his team are working hard to make the astroid a top-notch product. In his words, "We’re endeavoring to deliver a peripheral product that is as reliable as a keyboard or mouse."
There will be a spatial freedom booth at SolidWorks World 2007, so you'll be able to try one out then. If you have any questions, let me know!
Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
CAD Administrator
SW '07 SP1.0, Dell M90, Intel 2 Duo Core, 2GB RAM, nVidia 2500M
