SolidWorks eDrawings Viewer jerky (only) with SpaceNavigator

David.P · Post by **David.P** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:55 pm

Hi forum,

I'd like to look at some very simply *.easm files (SolidWorks eDrawings Viewer 3D models).

All is perfectly smooth with my nVidia Quadro 4500 -- as long as I use the normal mouse to move, rotate and zoom the model in eDrawings Viewer.

However, as soon as I try and move the model with my SpaceNavigator (3DxWare correctly switches to the "eDrawings 1" configuration as soon as eDrawings Viewer is started), the movements become incredibly jerky, and at the same time CPU load gets very high.

If I let go the SpaceNavigator knob and grab the mouse, everything becomes perfectly smooth again.

What could be wrong here? Should I switch to the new beta v10 drivers?

Thanks already for any help
Cheers David.P

David.P · Post by **David.P** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:51 am

...what's more, if I move the model around with the SpaceNavigator, after a while the eDrawings Viewer jumps to 100% CPU load (of one CPU core) and stays there. This does not happen when moving the model with the mouse.

Fred · Post by **Fred** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:11 am

Open the 3Dcontrol panel, click on calibrate.
Now open the Edrawing and see if this fixes the issue.

David.P · Post by **David.P** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:19 am

Nothing changed after calibrating the SpaceNavigator this way.

Still the same jerky movements and high CPU load of the 3D model when being moved by the SpaceNavigator.

David.P · Post by **David.P** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:28 am

PS: This is the model:
http://www.bmw-einzylinder.de/Start/bau ... l25-0.EASM

and here's the viewer:
http://louk.solidworks.com/htdocs/pdown ... nglish.exe

Fred · Post by **Fred** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 11:19 am

Im able to rotate without any issue.
Are you using up to date video drivers?
Does the device work correctly in Solidworks, Our demo?

David.P · Post by **David.P** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 11:44 am

OK, by looking at this file:
http://www.roboticsclub.org/redmine/pro ... embly.easm

which moves perfectly smooth also when using the SpaceNavigator, I found that transparency is the problem.

If I take the first file above (the exhaust pipe) and click on the transparent hull such that it becomes highlighted and is not transparent anymore, the model suddenly moves perfectly smooth.

However I don't understand what is happening here, because the jerky movements (when transparent objects are present) are only there when using the SpaceNavigator -- but not when using the mouse.

How can the SpaceNavigator prevent one certain type of hardware acceleration (transparency) from working?

David.P · Post by **David.P** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:28 pm

Here's some more findings:

If I use the mouse and start to move a model (that has transparency), keep holding down the mouse button and only THEN start moving the model around with the SpaceNavigator, the model also moves and rotates perfectly smooth.

What happens, if the model is rotated/moved using the mouse, the transparent sections are not rendered in detail (until the mouse button is released) which is why the movement is smooth. However when rotating/moving with the SpaceNavigator, the transparent sections are permanently rendered in full detail -- which obviously bogs down the graphics card.

Bummer.

Post by **ngomes** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 10:54 am

Hi David.P,

I suspect the application is optimizing the drawn model more when a dynamic move begins using the normal mouse but not with the 3D mouse.

Can you see a difference in the model quality when doing a dynamic move/rotate using the normal mouse? If do you, see if you can see the same effect with the 3D mouse.

eDrawings has native support for 3D mice and the code is maintained only by DS SolidWorks. Please report this issue to SolidWorks and, if you can, let us know what they say. If you get a ticket number, please do not post it publicly (you may send it as a PM).