The CAD Comfort Manual

Proven ways to reduce pain and strain

while working in CAD

Table of Contents

0102 03 0405

SEC T ION

The Challenges
of CAD Comfort

SEC T ION

The Biggest Threat

to Your CAD Career

SEC T ION

Habits for Pain-Free

Design Sessions

SEC T ION

Tools for Improved

Design Comfort

SEC T ION

About
3Dconnexion

01

The Challenges of CAD Comfort

CAD professionals face tons of daily
challenges. Solving complex design
problems under pressure. Hitting deadlines
while handling unforeseen production,
manufacturing or client-facing issues.
These challenges are critically important to
your projects, career and company. Theyre
also normal to face on the job.

This isnt normal, even though far too many

people think it is. And even occasional
symptoms can have serious, long-lasting
effects by causing repetitive strain injuries
(RSIs) that damage your health and limit
your potential.

But there is one challenge that CAD

professionals often face that they dont
need to: pain and strain at the desktop.

An uncomfortable working experience

doesnt just affect the individual CAD
user. It can have a ripple effect, disrupting
productivity and creativity across whole
teams and companies.

After long hours of repetitive clicking,

scrolling and dragging the mouse, you
experience pain or discomfort in your
hands, wrists and / or arms. It may even
get so bad you need to step away from your
workstation.

This guide breaks down how seemingly

innocent comfort issues can actually cause
serious injuries, and how to make sure that
doesnt happen. Its designed to help you beat
pain and strain, regain your productivity and
health, and start enjoying CAD work again.

Pain and strain shouldnt come hand-in-hand

with working in CAD. And they dont have to.
Read on to find out how to eliminate them
for good.

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02

The Biggest Threat to Your CAD Career

Pains and strains are annoying distractions
during your work day. But they can turn into
something far more sinister.
Stiffness. Swelling. Aches and pains.
These arent just run-of-the-mill
consequences from a long work day. Theyre
also indicators of repetitive strain injuries.
Repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) are a
collection of ailments caused when too
much stress and pressure are put on the
bodys muscles, nerves and tendons.
Unfortunately, too many people believe
these aches and pains are simply a byproduct of everyday life. In reality, RSIs are
serious health issues that often grow worse
over timeleading to increased pain, lost
productivity, even more serious conditions

(like carpal tunnel syndrome) and, in some

cases, forced retirement.
This makes RSIs serious considerations
for anyone who uses a computerand
CAD professionals in particular. We love
designing and the freedom of creating
physical objects using only our imaginations
and some killer technology.
However, that takes time. A lot of time.
According to a survey conducted by
Technology Assessment Group, 41% of
CAD design engineers surveyed spend 5 to 8
hours a day using CAD-related applications.
A full 17% use CAD for 9 to 12 hours per day.

Driving your workstation for that length of

time can cause serious pain and discomfort
issues for CAD professionals. According
to a study by VSI Risk Management
and Ergonomics, 46% of designers
reported their pain was so impactful that
it interfered with their job performance.
52% of survey respondents identified mild
to moderate design-related pain.
Pain in CAD is all too common. And it has
real effects on 3D professionals.

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Take Nolan Farmer as an example.

Nolan runs Farmer Plastics & Machining,
which provides invention, product design
and other production services out of Boulder,
Colorado. Nolan spends a ton of time using
CAD software, both for his job and his hobby
of designing state-of-the-art scale-model
motorcycles. But both his livelihood and his
enjoyable side pursuit were under threat due
to serious arm pain.
My right arm was going out on me and
running the mouse was getting to be
excruciating, he says. These turned out to
be early symptoms of RSIs. Nolan quickly
found out that the pain affected both
his physical health and the health of his
business by:

Stunting productivity. When youre in pain

at work, performance suffers. And you
may even miss days due to serious RSIs
like carpal tunnel.
Decreasing output quality. When you push
through pain to work, errors and sloppy
craftsmanship become more common.
Stifling creativity. When CAD
professionals consistently experience
pain while designing, the less likely they
are to unlock their full creative potential.
Many CAD professionals who experience
RSIs or chronic pain and strain have
identified the culprits to be:

Input devices
Office space peripherals (such as the type
of desk or chair used).
Posture, body position or arm position.
The nature of professional CAD (where you
click all day, every day).
Thankfully, Nolan prevented these issues
from becoming the norm. Using some of the
tips and tools in this guide, he alleviated and
eliminated the arm painleading to designfilled, pain-free CAD sessions.

03

03

Habits for Pain-Free Design Sessions

Reducing pain and strain in CAD starts with
the habits you use every day. How your body
moves, feels and is positioned during the
day impacts your level of comfort.

Thats why adhering to these easy, fast and

effective habits is the first step towards
pain-free design sessions.

04

03
Working long hours in front of a computer
makes it easy to fall into a sedentary lifestyle, which is dangerous to your health.
Sitting all day doesnt just cause pain and
strain in CAD; it can even lead to an early
death.
Pain and muscle tightness are early
indicators that youre sitting too long and
your body is responding poorlyso stretch
out the afflicted areas as soon as you can.
There are a number of stretches you can
even do right in your office, including:

Habit One: Stretch and

Sideways stretches.
Upper arm stretches.
Head tilts.
Arm swings.
Back stretches.
And many more.

Take Breaks Regularly

Breaks are also key. While its easy to get

into the zone when designing in CAD, set
a timer periodically to step away from the
computer, perform
a stretch or just
stop clicking and
dragging your
mouse for a few
seconds.

For a good list of easy-to-learn stretches,

check out this website.

05

03

Habit Two: Turn Your Office

Theres plenty of low-key exercises you can
do right in your office to help keep your
blood pumping. Try taking a lap around the
office, doing bicep curls with a stapler (dont
count on getting big guns) or tightening your
abs in increments of 15 seconds.

Into A Gym
Also try:
Taking the stairs, not the elevator.
Tricep dips (all you need is a chair).
Shoulder shrugs (just raise your shoulders
towards your ears, hold, and repeat).

The list of desk exercises you can do is

nearly endless.
Heres a full list of 33 work exercises to
keep you on your toes.

06

03

Habit Three: Correct Your Posture

Poor posture runs rampant in offices
whether youre slouching during a meeting
or hunched over a computer screen. And
studies have shown that it wreaks havoc
on your health. Bad posture has been linked
to depression and reduced energy levels.
With side effects like fatigue and muscle
pain, fixing your posture is a no brainer.
You can improve it instantly by:
Uncrossing your legs.
Pulling your shoulder blades together.
Aligning your ears with your shoulders.
And squaring your shoulders.

In addition to poor posture, your body

position at your desk causes muscle cramps
and aches.
For optimal positioning, ensure your arms
meet the desk at a 90-degree angle, the
top of your computer screen is at eye
level, and your feet are planted firmly and
flat on the ground.
Habits are just one piece of the puzzle.
There are also specific tools that enhance
comfort and reduce pain.
Read on to learn exactly which ones can be
combined with healthy habits to create a
truly pain-free experience in CAD.

07

04

Tools for Improved Design Comfort

If you work in CAD, chances are youre an
expert at using advanced tools to solve
painful problems. Why not do the same
when it comes to your CAD-related pain and
strain?
With just a few key tools, you can optimize
your workspace with ergonomic comfort in
mind and reinforce the good habits youve
already learned.

08

04

Chair & Desk Tools

For many CAD professionals, most of the working day is spent at a desk. These tools are built
to improve posture, increase productivity and reduce design-related pain.

Once you have the tools, use this workstation planner to find the right position for your
workstation components.

Lumbar Cushion

Exercise Ball Chair

Adjustable Desk

Wrist Support Pads

Laptop Stand

Bad posture is often to blame for back

and neck pain. A lumbar cushion aligns
your spine while sitting and improves your
posture. Youll still need to maintain good
posture, but its much easier to do using a
lumbar cushion.

Dont be fooled by this chairs quirky

appearance. The exercise ball chair
strengthens your back muscles and your abs
as you sit. The result is better posture over
time as your core muscles grow stronger.

Sitting all day can be terrible for your health.

However, standing all day can be exhausting.
The adjustable desk offers a happy medium.
Its a workstation that adjusts to sitting or
standing preferences quicklyall without
interrupting your work.

Continuous typing and keyboard use put

stress on your hands and wrist joints. Even
basic wrist support pads help mitigate this
pain, and are a cost-effective way to stop
recurring wrist issues.

This handy little device props your computer

up so you can view the screen at eye level.
Keeping the screen at eye level is one
critical way to maintain good posture and
body positioning at your desk.

Pro tip: Dont want to buy a lumbar cushion? Try rolling

up a blanket or sweatshirt and placing it between the
small of your back and your chair.

09

04

The Ultimate Pain Reduction Tool:

The Two-Handed Workflow
Now that youve optimized your workspace,
its time to optimize your design sessions.
Good news: Theres one easy change
you can make to your CAD workflow that
dramatically reduces pain and strain. Its
called a two-handed workflow, and using
it is scientifically proven to eliminate major
RSIs and CAD discomfort issues.

The repetitive motions and tedious clicks

quickly add up as almost all the input
commands are being channelled through
this single device.
A two-handed workflow solves this
problem. Its the most sensible way
to work in CAD and you can adopt it
immediately.

RSIs are most common in professionals who

only use a regular mouse to click, drag and
select items in their CAD software.

10

04
Command
Bandwidth Increase
Command

+ Switch Time

Command

+ Switch Time

Command

Command

+ Switch Time

Command

What Is A Two-Handed Workflow?

The most notable addition when adopting
a two-handed workflow is the use of a
dedicated 3D input device, most commonly
referred to as a 3D mouse.
With a 3D mouse you have the extraordinary
ability to simultaneously pan, zoom and
rotate models while the regular mouse stays
in its regular place. More advanced models
also provide a built-in wrist rest for even
higher levels of comfort and arrays of useful
buttons for fingertip access to your favorite
application commands.

both hands, resulting in less clicks, reduced

mouse travel and crucially, reduced strain
on key body parts.

More recently, 3Dconnexion introduced a

replacement for the regular mouse in
direct response to requests from CAD users.
Designed specifically for CAD professionals,
CadMouse features an intelligent ergonomic
design, high-precision laser sensor and
selection of smart software features
that make working in CAD a much more
enjoyable and rewarding experience.

97% of users say using a 3D mouse

in tandem with a regular mouse reduces
pain.

The 3D mouse and CadMouse work together

in a balanced, cooperative workflow. Muscle
movements are distributed evenly across

61% say a 3D mouse increases comfort

and reduces pain within the first month
of use.

The two-handed workflow is proven to

provide serious benefits:

For more information on the 3D mice

and CAD-specific mice that reduce pain
as part of a two-handed workflow,
visit the 3Dconnexion website.

A 3D mouse reduces right- and left-hand

motions by 66%, meaning you deal with
dramatically less muscle fatigue.

11

05

Improve your CAD work with the

3Dconnexion Family of Devices

12

The 3Dconnexion Family

SpaceNavigator

SpaceNavigator for Notebooks

SpaceMouse Wireless

The 3D Mouse for Everyone

The Travelers Best Friend

Perfect for you if you want a more natural way to

interact with your CAD content at an affordable cost.

Perfect for you if you use 3D applications in lots

of different places.

For Fans of Clean Lines and

Clutter-Free Desktops

The SpaceNavigator is the entry-level 3D

mouse, but it still packs a punch thanks
to the patented six-degrees-of-freedom
(6DoF) controller cap, the central feature of
all 3Dconnexion 3D mice.

The SpaceNavigator for Notebooks offers

the same 6DoF navigation and two buttons
of the SpaceNavigator, but in a travel-sized
package thats half the weight of its cousin
and two-thirds the size.

Perfect for you if youre looking for a sleek, stylish

and intuitive way to interact with digital 3D content.

The SpaceMouse Wireless is the worlds

first wireless 3D mouse. Its 2.4 GHz wireless
technology, cord-free design, one-month
battery life and two buttons make this
mouse a 3D designers best friend.

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05

The 3Dconnexion Family (cont.)

SpaceMouse Pro

SpaceMouse Pro Wireless

SpacePilot Pro

The 3D Mouse for the Professional

The Wireless 3D Mouse for

the Professional

The Mouse for the Elite Designer

Perfect for you if youre a busy professional who

spends more than a few hours per day working with
3D content.

The SpaceMouse Pro offers 15 completely

customizable buttons including four
intelligent function keys and QuickView
navigation keys so youre always in control
of your designs.

Perfect for you if youre a busy professional who

spends much of the day working with 3D content
and appreciates the finer things in life (like a cordfree desktop).

The SpaceMouse Pro Wireless offers the

same professional features as its wired
sibling with the added convenience of a
cord-free workspace. Its 2.4 GHz wireless
technology and two-month battery life offer
a real-time, reliable and precise connection
between you and your design.

Perfect for you if you need as many features as

its possible to pack into a 3D mouse.

Recognize your true creative ability

with the right tools at your fingertips.

Equip yourself with a 3D mouse

With 10 intelligent key functions, QuickView

navigation keys and full color LCD screen,
youll spend more time in the zone and
less time traveling back and forth to the
keyboard.

14

3Dconnexion Product
Comparison Chart

Professional Series

Personal Series

SpacePilot Pro

SpaceMouse Pro
Wireless

SpaceMouse Pro

SpaceMouse
Wireless

SpaceNavigator

SpaceNavigator
for Notebooks

3Dconnexion 6DoF Technology

Compact Controller Cap

32 Views
(10 Keys)

12 Views
(4 Keys)

12 Views
(4 Keys)

Speed, Rotation,
Pan/Zoom,
Dominant

Rotation

Rotation

Intelligent Function Keys

10

Total Programmable Keys

31

15

15

Full Color LCD

Advanced Hand Rest

Keyboard Modifiers
(Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Esc)

Rollover

icons for more information

Navigation

QuickView Keys
Navigation Settings Keys

Performance

On-Screen Display
Radial Menu

Comfort

3Dconnexion Wireless Technology

Additional
Dimensions (LxWxH)
Weight
Warranty

231 x 150 x 58 mm
9.1 x 5.9 x 2.3

204 x 142 x 58 mm
8 x 5.6 x 2.3

204 x 142 x 58 mm
8 x 5.6 x 2.3

78 x 78 x 54 mm
3.1 x 3.1 x 2.1

78 x 78 x 53 mm
3.1 x 3.1 x 2.1

68 x 68 x 46 mm
2.7 x 2.7 x 1.8

880g / 1.94 lbs

563g / 1.24 lbs

665g / 1.47 lbs

424g / 0.93 lbs

479g / 1.06 lbs

250g / 0.58 lbs

3 years

3 years

3 years

2 years

2 years

2 years

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05

Perfect for you if:

You want the best possible
experience out of your
CAD software.

CadMouse
The Perfect Match For Your 3D Mouse
The two-handed workflow enabled by a 3D
mouse delivers the best results when you use
a CadMouse. CadMouse is a high-performance
device used in your dominant hand to click,
select and create in your software, while your
3D mouse in your non-dominant hand does the
rest.
Take a look at some of the extraordinary
features that put CadMouse above and
beyond any other mouse on the market.
Dedicated, Full-Size Middle Mouse
Button: Every CAD user knows how much
they rely on the middle mouse button, but
ordinary mice bury it under the scroll wheel.
The CadMouse has a dedicated, full-size
middle mouse button, so its no longer
necessary to click the uncomfortable scroll
wheel thousands of times per day.

with the 6-degrees-of-freedom navigation

enabled by a 3Dconnexion 3D mouse for
previously unseen levels of Two-Handed
Power.
Smart Scroll Wheel: Automatic scroll
wheel performance depending on the
active application. Precise click-to-click
zooming in CAD applications or speedy
scrolling in browsers and documents. Its
a seamless experience that ordinary mice
just cant provide.
Advanced Laser Sensor: With 8200dpi and
a poll rate of up to 1000Hz (responsiveness
of 1 millisecond) youll click exactly
where you need to, when you need to. The
CadMouse has the level of precision CAD
professionals demandand deserve.

Optimally Shaped PTFE Feet:

Because 3Dconnexion specializes in CAD,
we pay acute attention to details like how
materials and geometry affect friction. Its
especially important when you consider
that serious CAD users can be moving their
mouse up to 1km per week. CadMouse has
optimally shaped feet made from PTFE, a
material with one of the lowest coefficients
of friction against any solid, resulting in
a near perfectequilibrium. The result?
CadMouse moves exactly how you mean
it toevery time.

Gesture / Radial Menu Button:

The CadMouses gesture button opens a
context sensitive on-screen radial menu.
Simply move the cursor left, right, up or
down to activate the command.
Learn more about CadMouse here

QuickZoom: Effortlessly zoom in and out of

your models or drawings with a single click
of a thumb button. Combine this feature

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About 3Dconnexion
3Dconnexion designs powerful, ergonomic
hardware and smart, easy-to-use software
that combine seamlessly to make working in
the worlds most popular CAD applications
fast, comfortable and fun. From our
SpaceMouse 3D mice to the CadMouse,
3Dconnexion products provide a superior way
for CAD professionals to interact with and
experience the digital world.
The 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse product line
delivers natural, precise positioning of digital
models or views that just isnt possible using
any other input device. With a SpaceMouse
you have the extraordinary ability to
simultaneously pan, zoom and rotate models
while the regular mouse stays in its regular
place. Its a comfortable and efficient twohanded workflow that feels good and enables
you to achieve more in less time.

We pioneered this two-handed workflow,

and then we perfected it with the release
of the CadMouse. The CadMouse is the first
mouse used in your regular mouse hand that
is built specifically for CAD professionals.
With a unique dedicated middle mouse
button, Smart Scroll wheel and useful set of
CAD-specific tools including the incredibly
convenient QuickZoom, the CadMouse makes
working in (and out) of design and CAD
applications more comfortable, efficient and
fun.

3Dconnexion provides peace of mind to 3D

professionals who design the buildings,
machines and products that power our
world. They take their work seriously, and
so do we. Technology and build quality
combine to deliver the performance that CAD
professional demand and deserve.

Learn more about how to reduce

pain with 3Dconnexion products
on our website

Stay up-to-date with all the latest

company and industry news via:
3Dconnexion Blog

When you pair a 3Dconnexion CadMouse with

a SpaceMouse, the results are extraordinary.
The SpaceMouse smoothly positions your
object or view, while the CadMouse selects
and creates with ease. Its a natural and
comfortable work style that cant be
matched.

17

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