Sketchup hangs after 5 minutes with BigSur. Fine on same iMac with Windows 10

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on macOS.

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MickHealey
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2021 1:56 pm

Sketchup hangs after 5 minutes with BigSur. Fine on same iMac with Windows 10

Post by MickHealey »

I’m interested to know if anyone else has issues with Sketchup Pro 2021 hanging, after 5 minutes use of 3DConnexion Enterprise, on macOS Big Sur.

My configuration is as follows:
iMac (Retina 5K 27 inch, 2017), 40GB of 2400 MHz DDR4, 3.5GHz Intel Quad-Core i5 processor, Radeon Pro 575 4 GB graphics card.
MacOS Big Sur version 11.6.
Sketchup 2021 version 21.1.331
3DXWare Beta (version 10.7.0 r3386 - Beta 20 - published on 19/10/2021).

Problem:
1. For about 5 minutes of use in Sketchup, the Enterprise “cap” works perfectly, then suddenly stops working. It is no longer possible to use the Enterprise to manipulate the Sketchup model.
2. User tries to quite Sketchup - but Sketchup will not quit.
3. User selects ‘Force Quit’, which kills Sketchup.
4. User launches Sketchup again - Enterprise working again, although sometime get a ‘BugSplat’.

Workaround:
I already have Parallels installed on my iMac27”, and can run Windows 10 as a virtual machine (VM). So, I installed Sketchup Pro and 3DxWare (64 bit) on Windows 10. It works perfectly, and the above problem is not present. So, this eliminates any issues with the Enterprise hardware, or my iMac hardware, since the VM is running on the same machine.

Thoughts:
Remaining suspects would seem to be macOS BigSur, Sketchup 2021 or 3DxWare drivers. Since 3DConnexion have written an extension for Sketchup, then I think we can eliminate Sketchup as the culprit, since 3DConnexion have to make their software compliant to Sketchup. Likewise for macOS BigSur. So, as I see it, we are left with the 3DConnexion driver as the prime suspect. Please correct me if I am wrong. Hence, I would like to know if anyone else is having the same issue.

Diagnosis:
During my macOS investigations, I uninstalled old, unused software, reset the SMC, reset the NVRAM and ran an Apple diagnostic, which found no issues with my machine.
I have tried to make sense of mac logfiles and Spindumps, but it’s mainly gibberish to me. The hang seems to occur when turnstile is waiting for 3DxNLServer.

I have been in contact with 3DConnexion [CASE:124589]. Level 1 support were helpful, but developers say they can’t help me, as they are unable to reproduce the issue in house. I understand from customer support that they use Mac-Mini computers running on Apple Silicon M1 processors. Since the M1 has 8 cores, running the ARM instruction set, and I have Intel i5 processor with 4 cores running x86 instruction set, I am hardly surprised that they cannot reproduce my issue. Chalk and cheese?

Am I the only one?:
I’m hoping that other people have a similar setup to me, and experiencing the same problem. I cannot believe I’m the only person on the planet with this issue.

Finally:
When running 3DxWare on the PC, I find this to be a wonderful system. It does exactly what I want, and I never want to send it back for a refund. I do however, find it disappointing that I have to use the PC version of 3DxWare, when I am essentially (and by choice) a Mac user.
slbaumgartner
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed May 31, 2017 2:15 pm

Re: Sketchup hangs after 5 minutes with BigSur. Fine on same iMac with Windows 10

Post by slbaumgartner »

I have seen similar behavior with SpaceMouse. This seems to be a regression in the latest version (3386) and I think it may be the same as they are tracking as MAC-323. I went back to the previous version (3356) and this problem doesn't occur, so it is clearly an error in 3386. Alas, 3356 has the bug that you can't turn off the LEDs!
MickHealey
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2021 1:56 pm

Re: Sketchup hangs after 5 minutes with BigSur. Fine on same iMac with Windows 10

Post by MickHealey »

slbaumgartner, than you so much.
Great work on the regression testing, which clearly shows there is an issue with 3386, and that I wasn't going mad. Out of curiosity, I would be interested to know what kind of Mac you have. I'm willing to bet, that like me, you don't have an Apple M1 processor.
I'm a system verification engineer, primarily testing software for radiotherapy machines. Configuration control is everything. 3Dconnexion cannot assume that only testing on M1 Mac-mini's will cover all configurations in the field. I think we are both suffering from this oversight.
ngomes
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Re: Sketchup hangs after 5 minutes with BigSur. Fine on same iMac with Windows 10

Post by ngomes »

MickHealey wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:02 am 3Dconnexion cannot assume that only testing on M1 Mac-mini's will cover all configurations in the field.
No, we don't.
Nuno Gomes
MickHealey
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2021 1:56 pm

Re: Sketchup hangs after 5 minutes with BigSur. Fine on same iMac with Windows 10

Post by MickHealey »

ngomes, I'm glad to hear that.
Please can you update your support team accordingly. My comments were based on information received from them. Here is the final reply I received from your support team to my case number 124589:

Hi Mick,

Indeed we do use Mac Minis to perform our testing. I can’t say if this is related to this or something else.
I have discussed with our developers and we won’t be able to offer a solution if we can recreate this issue internally.
We do not want you to experience the frustration of not being able to use your device after your retractation right has expired.
For this reason, we encourage you to exercise this right.

We are very sorry for the bad experience you have suffered and we would like to apologize for the inconvenience this whole process has caused you.

Best regards,
slbaumgartner
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed May 31, 2017 2:15 pm

Re: Sketchup hangs after 5 minutes with BigSur. Fine on same iMac with Windows 10

Post by slbaumgartner »

MickHealey wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:02 am I would be interested to know what kind of Mac you have. I'm willing to bet, that like me, you don't have an Apple M1 processor.
You are right. I have a 2019 16" MBP.
MickHealey
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2021 1:56 pm

Re: Sketchup hangs after 5 minutes with BigSur. Fine on same iMac with Windows 10

Post by MickHealey »

I installed the latest beta version today, (version 10.7.0 r3408 – RC1- published 13/Dec/2021). I am pleased to report that the issue with Sketchup hanging after 5-10 minutes of SpaceMouse use, appears to be fixed. There are no longer any reports in the 'system.log' concerning '3dxnlserver' issues.

Despite my best efforts, I was unable to reproduce the problem.

This is great news. Thank you for getting this sorted 3DConnexion team.
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