Trackball recommendation

To be honest, I never liked the trackball for doing cad work. Perhaps it’s just me, but I found it to be too “twitchy” for me and it actually seemed to make my hands more tense because I was clenching too much. Maybe other people have a better time of it, but I’ve sworn off trackballs since. Notice that the vast majority of people don’t use these devices. If they were better than a mouse, I would imagine, in our ergonomic-oriented offices, they would be more prevalent.

29 years using ProEngineer/Creo.  For a long time, I used the Logitech mx518 mouse.  After I started getting carpal tunnel problems, I switched to the 3DConnexion CAD mouse.  It has a dedicated middle mouse button.  This is a huge improvement because you don’t have to crank your finger back to press the wheel button anymore; simply drop your middle finger on the dedicated middle button, which produces much less strain on the wrist.  Later on, we purchased the 3DConnexion Space Mouse Pro.  This effectively split the workload across both hands.  I am so sold on this setup that I’d buy them myself, if my company would not buy them for us.

I had my first logitech M575 many years ago and bought the 2nd unit after 2 years. Both units had the same issue on the middle button(roller) after 2 years of usage. I had no ergonomic issues with this model, just the quality issue. I switched to MX Ergo 5 years ago and I have been using it since then. I like this model a lot and I would recommend this to other active Creo users as well. 

Hi
I’m sorry about your pain.
I currently use a Logitech Lift Left Ergonomic Vertical Mouse Wireless Bluetooth or USB Receiver Logi Bolt Silent 4 Buttons Compatible with Windows/MacOS/iPadOS, Laptop, PC - Graphite.

Interestingly I parted from a Logitech MX Ergo S Advanced Wireless Trackball Mouse. I liked the latter for the tilting angle for the wrist but found that it strained the thumb a little and because it is weighed, transportation was a little cumbersome. All in all, great equipment, no issues with Creo, programming buttons is a breeze.

I currently use the Logitech MX Ergo S with the precision mode buttons mapped to adjust the sensitivity.

Pros:
• Comfortable once you get used to it
• Precision mode for detail work (detail splines and model rotation)
• Reduced wrist strain compared to a traditional mouse

Cons:
• The ball gets gunked up pretty quickly and needs routine cleaning
• Takes a bit of getting used to if you’ve only ever used a regular mouse

There is also an updated Logitech MX Ergo S Plus model that adds a 10° spacer, which should help ergonomically if you’re trying to reduce wrist/elbow strain further.

I’m also beta testing the new Naya Create modular keyboard with an integrated 3D mouse and trackball. I bought one of the pre‑production Kickstarter units:

Naya Create (pre‑prod unit)
• Very promising concept, especially for people who want an integration between keyboard and mouse controls
• Still a bit rough around the edges, some software glitches and key mapping issues.
• $500 price tag vs. ~ $430 for a SpaceMouse Enterprise
• I wouldn’t discourage it, but I’d probably wait until the kinks are worked out before recommending it to someone right now

Thanks for this complete answer. With the MX Ergo I’m afraid to develop thumb pain and not be precise enough compared to a finger trackball. But I never tried any of those, so don’t really know ! 😅

The Naya products looks really cool. I’ll keep an eye on these.