How big of a monitor for Fusion 360?

[Tecnico]

Please tell us more about your mouse and why you like it so much. I'm still using a regular Logitech Gaming Mouse and I keep hearing that CAD mice are WAAAY better. But few explain why.

Not really a mouse per se as @StevSmar says below but a different way to grab your 3D model and move it around as if you could grab it with your hand and move it to see it better. You'll find me working on my model with one hand on the space mouse and the conventional mouse in the other.

Getting a SpaceMouse was a revelation!!!! If I was to choose between a bigger monitor or a SpaceMouse, I’d get the mouse

Instead of using a mouse to navigate, it’s a control that allows you to navigate easily and intuitively. Funny, because it is so intuitive I can’t remember the exact way I use it.
It make it soooo easy to:
- zoom in/out.
- rotate left/right.
- pan around.
The only view control I use is “zoom to extents” when I get lost and I need to reset the view.

I have an older version of this control:
SpaceMouse Compact
Perhaps I’d get the wireless one now, if the wireless is rechargeable.
The buttons are configurable so you can add commands to them (if I recall correctly 4 commands per button?).

Edit: The SpaceMouse sits in one spot, it’s not like a mouse that moves side to side. More like a joystick than a mouse. So perhaps wireless isn’t really desirable like it is for a mouse.

Per @StevSmar 's Edit, it sits stationary on a heavy base with a grippy rubber ring and you manipulate it like a joystick plus pull & push on axis to zoom in & out and twist to spin the model. Oh, it also works in Word/Excel if you happen to bump into it LOL!

I too have the older version of the Compact and I wish I had another for my shop computer.

Once you use one of these you will miss it every time you sit down to do any modelling and your click finger will thank you.

You can program the speed of motion kind of like adjusting the zoom wheel of your mouse and other things too. I probably don't use half of the capability but the grab and manipulate is the biggest feature.

Get one!


Oh, that was kinda OT, we were on monitors weren't we? Me? I have a couple of 22" units in front of me and they do me fine. Even better, they were among freebies diverted from the landfill run at a former employer and rescued by replacing a few electrolytic caps. Just rubs me the wrong way to see things being junked for the want of a little bit of fixin'.

D

 

[kstrauss]

For those who crave a SpaceMouse this article may be of interest: https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Space-Mouse-for-Fusion-360-Using-Magnets/

 

[StevSmar]

Oh, that was kinda OT

Not in my opinion, I still believe that if you’re considering a larger monitor you’d first be better spending money on a SpaceMouse. With a space mouse I have never really felt that my puny (high definition) 15” laptop screen was a huge limitation.

For those who crave a SpaceMouse this article may be of interest:

That’s super cool!

 

[Susquatch]

@StevSmar @Tecnico

So I priced the Spacemouse compact and damn near swallowed my beard.

Seems like a lot of coin for a twisty little thing that prolly won't even make happy noises.

Then I saw the pro and swallowed both my tongue and my beard.

If I'm gunna spend that kind of money I'll need some advice. I particular, what are the advantages of the pro and is it really worth it.

 

[DavidR8]

@StevSmar @Tecnico

So I priced the Spacemouse compact and damn near swallowed my beard.

Seems like a lot of coin for a twisty little thing that prolly won't even make happy noises.

Then I saw the pro and swallowed both my tongue and my beard.

If I'm gunna spend that kind of money I'll need some advice. I particular, what are the advantages of the pro and is it really worth it.

I think you'd need to do CAD work all day long for the Spacemouse to be a worthwhile investment.

 

[Susquatch]

I think you'd need to do CAD work all day long for the Spacemouse to be a worthwhile investment.

That's prolly part of my problem with Fusion. I used to regularly do CAD all day long but using Catia and an SGI Workstation with a dedicated CAD Pad. I can't get comfy with Fusion input let alone the model constraints. I was thinking better input handling would help. Especially after @StevSmar & @Xyphota say that Spacemouse input is better than a bigger monitor.

But ya, the price tag stopped me cold in my paw prints.

 

[Tecnico]

That's prolly part of my problem with Fusion. I used to regularly do CAD all day long but using Catia and an SGI Workstation with a dedicated CAD Pad. I can't get comfy with Fusion input let alone the model constraints. I was thinking better input handling would help. Especially after @StevSmar & @Xyphota say that Spacemouse input is better than a bigger monitor.

But ya, the price tag stopped me cold in my paw prints.

@Susquatch Relax those claws!

Don't bother with the Pro, all you really want is the joystick thingie. I had a Pro at the last office I worked at and I didn't like it, it was just big and clunky and in the way with buttons I never used. It was still better than nothing but not as good as the compact. The big value is being able to grab your model and move it around with hand #2.

I see a wired version like mine for sale at PC-Canada for $190, much better than $532 on Amazon for the clunky one. They come with an extra long wire so you can put it anywhere within your reach.

What did you have for a CAD Pad for Catia? I never worked with one of those, was it one of those digitizers that drove commands like the icon or drop down menus do these days?

D

 

[Susquatch]

What did you have for a CAD Pad for Catia? I never worked with one of those, was it one of those digitizers that drove commands like the icon or drop down menus do these days?

My claws are normally in extended mode except when I'm mating.

It was part of the SGI Workstation. Had a keypad, a bunch of programmable keys, some constraint keys, and a ball to move the part and the cursor around.

 

[StevSmar]

If I'm gunna spend that kind of money I'll need some advice. I particular, what are the advantages of the pro and is it really worth it.

I rarely use the two buttons on my spacemouse, so getting the pro version with even more buttons wouldn’t be worth it for me.

I navigate my models with my left hand, use the mouse to select almost all commands. For some commands I access them via keyboard shortcuts with my left hand. Sometimes I use the right click menu but not too often.

I have programmed the buttons on my Space Mouse to do some commands, but I don’t use them often enough to remember what I programmed them to… One button is programmed to zoom to the extents of the model, but that’s a mouse click away so I forget to use it.

If I was modelling all day and my setup didn’t change, perhaps I’d get the Pro or Enterprize version, knowing that there was a big risk I‘d just use the keyboard shortcuts.

This video shows what it’s like to navigate your model with a spacemouse:

I think you'd need to do CAD work all day long for the Spacemouse to be a worthwhile investment.

Going from navigating the model using a mouse to navigating using a Space Mouse was like going from awkward but tolerable to so natural I don’t even remember what the motions are that I use. You can translate, move, rotate and zoom without even realizing you’re doing it.

I stand by my original opinion. If you were deciding between a larger monitor and a Space Mouse, I’d get the Space Mouse first.
Of course that’s based on my experience and biases.

 

[Tecnico]

My claws are normally in extended mode except when I'm mating.

It was part of the SGI Workstation. Had a keypad, a bunch of programmable keys, some constraint keys, and a ball to move the part and the cursor around.

I’ll watch out for those claws!

I guess at that time there was a selection of tailored hardware coming with specialized work stations. I wasn’t doing CAD but I was running Sun & HP workstations, doing simulation but all I had was a 3 button mouse. The designers were running CV CADDS4 & 5.

I remember seeing digitizing tablets but never used one.

D

 

[Susquatch]

I rarely use the two buttons on my spacemouse, so getting the pro version with even more buttons wouldn’t be worth it for me.

Keep in mind that I am a complete dildoe when it comes to Fusion. That said, I did fly Catia once upon a long time ago. So......

If they are at all similar, you should at least try to assign your two favorite constraints to the buttons instead of a command. You might be amazed at how much you would use that. These were my favorites back in the day.

Horizontal/Vertical
Coincident/Endpoint
Tangent
Equal
Parallel
Perpendicular
Concentric

I'm not sure how the space mouse or Fusion works, but in Catia, pressing one of the constraints forced the new entity you were creating to conform to the constraint(s) you activated. Since the buttons were beside the ball, it could all be done with one hand.

 

[Susquatch]

I guess at that time there was a selection of tailored hardware coming with specialized work stations. I wasn’t doing CAD but I was running Sun & HP workstations, doing simulation but all I had was a 3 button mouse.

With Catia, simulation and design were integrated. Some called it CAD but most called it CAE. A workstation was an absolute requirement. Today, it prolly runs fine on a PC.

 

[Tecnico]

If Fusion is like Inventor (and Solidworks) I think the way of working is a bit different. When you select geometry the software pre-selects the probable mate type for you and lets you accept it or choose a different type. Usually your geometry selection dictates the right choice so I’m not sure hot keys for mate type would be as productive as the Catia you’re used to.

Of course I haven’t used Catia so I may be wrong about that.

D

 

[Tecnico]

With Catia, simulation and design were integrated. Some called it CAD but most called it CAE. A workstation was an absolute requirement. Today, it prolly runs fine on a PC.

I think I may have been at the leading edge time wise of the notion of the integrated applications environment. To me it was a natural integration but only IDEAS Master Series was going that way - on one hand it didn’t have the thermo CFD package we were looking for and on the other the corporate CAD system was CV so IDEAS was a non-starter.

In the meantime all that has changed bringing it all together on the desktop in Windows apps. Just the CFD app I eventually ended up with was north of $40k a seat per year!

D

 

[Susquatch]

Just the CFD app I eventually ended up with was north of $40k a seat per year!

Fluid Dynamics, Heat Transfer, Stress Analysis, etc etc were all built right into CATIA. But ya, Catia was something like 50k a seat.

 

[StevSmar]

you should at least try to assign your two favorite constraints to the buttons instead of a command.

I probably should, I just find the ribbon so easy to get to with the mouse. And when you’re sketching, the ribbon for constraints is right there.

The right click menu is Ok, but I find how it changes all the time based on context more hassle than it‘s worth. I have to look at it each time to see where the commands are.

 

[Susquatch]

I stand by my original opinion. If you were deciding between a larger monitor and a Space Mouse, I’d get the Space Mouse first.

Well, my space mouse arrived today.

That thing is slick but wow, twisting against a vertical axis is super non-intuitive. For roll back, I usually end up zooming out. Same with roll sideways and forward. Rolling is difficult for me. I wanna let out a blood curling scream and grab it like a goose's neck!

 

[SomeGuy]

For the record, you want to match resolution to screen size and how good your eyes are and how far you are sitting. You DO NOT want to run anything but 100% or 200% scaling in Windows, any of the intermediate ones result in partial pixel decisions by the scaling (ie. you have one pixel to draw, but at 150% scaling, you either can draw 1 or 2 pixels...which ones do you choose to go either way?) which results in less crisp display.

Personally I find 20" and lower works well in 1080p, 22-27" in 1440p (definitely the sweet spot and what most of my monitors sit in), and anything larger is ok to bump to 4k...though honestly 4k really isn't ideal until you get up into television sized displays, at a desk to get the right size ratio you're sitting far too close that your eyes now have to move a long way to see all the edges of the screen. With desktop work you're not aiming for immersive displays like you are with home theatre, you're aiming to be able to see an entire app and maximize workable space (which is really down to pixels not physical size).

 

[StevSmar]

I wanna let out a blood curling scream and grab it like a goose's neck!

That’s no good you’re finding it so non-intuitive. So you’re saying its different to how you navigated in Catia?

 

[Susquatch]

Personally I find 20" and lower works well in 1080p, 22-27" in 1440p (definitely the sweet spot and what most of my monitors sit in), and anything larger is ok to bump to 4k...though honestly 4k really isn't ideal until you get up into television sized displays, at a desk to get the right size ratio you're sitting far too close that your eyes now have to move a long way to see all the edges of the screen. With desktop work you're not aiming for immersive displays like you are with home theatre, you're aiming to be able to see an entire app and maximize workable space (which is really down to pixels not physical size).

My wife bought me a big curved 32" monitor for Flight Simulator. I love it. Even up close it is, as you said, a more immersive experience.

But I was also surprised by how well it works with other applications. I can easily open and use 4 windows simultaneously. Even six is usable.

I'm no fusion wizard, but I have found that I can open a browser with help information or documentation beside my CAD window and it makes things easier than just having one window open.

In other words, I don't think a screen can be too big as long as you remember that your application doesn't necessarily have to fill the whole screen.