From complex design concepts to amazing photorealistic renderings.
When your company’s tagline is “Stunning Product Visualizations!” you better be certain you possess the skills, acumen and tools necessary to deliver on every job. Paul McCrorey, founder of McCrorey Digital, does. He combines professional passion with extensive experience and the best tools available for getting the job done, including a full complement of 3Dconnexion 3D mice.
A computer graphic artist and mechanical engineer, McCrorey and 3Dconnexion first crossed paths six years ago when he received his first SpacePilot with his version of SolidWorks 2006.
“The minute I put my hands on a SpacePilot, I was intrigued. As soon as I plugged it in I found it to be incredibly intuitive; taking very little time for me to make it a standard weapon in my design arsenal,” said McCrorey. “Best of all, the implementation in SolidWorks was phenomenal. Right away I knew the 3D mouse would be a tool that I would not be able to live without.”
McCrorey works with a wide range of clients to not only make their designs look good, but to help them present those designs in ways that allow them to build credibility and competitive advantages in their markets. One of his clients, Staxxon, developed a dynamic space/slot optimization technology for empty shipping containers. It was a challenge for them to find a way to present this large folding, nesting container to potential customers. Creating an actual model would not only be costly, it would also be too large for them to transport to each potential client. With McCrorey’s expertise in SolidWorks and Luxology modo, he created a visualization of how Staxxon’s product would operate in a terminal. Staxxon used the visualization, demoed it to their potential clients, and as a result, gained interest in their design.
“I use my technical background and meld it with my artistic background to help visually communicate the concepts of my clients with animation and motion graphics,” explains McCrorey. “Some of my clients will give me a napkin drawing or a concept they have in their head. From that I can create a model in SolidWorks and import it into an environment I’ve created in Luxology modo.”
Luxology modo has been a great asset to McCrorey’s designs; however, integrating a 3Dconnexion 3D mouse has vastly improved his overall workflow.
“The modo community is very vibrant and helpful. When I first started using modo about four years ago, the very first thing I did was turn to the community to look for 3Dconnexion 3D mouse capability,” shares McCrorey. “Until 3D mouse support was available, working in modo with just the keyboard and 2D mouse was technically challenging. Without my 3D mouse, I noticed that it took more time to work on my designs. In order to move the object around in the viewport, it required a lot of mouse clicking and effort to manipulate the part to a preferred orientation. Now that 3D mouse support is implemented into modo 601, I am able to focus more of my creativity on the design rather than manipulating the object.”
Much of McCrorey’s success is shown with the growth of his company. His customer base has grown to include a wide range of globally recognized companies including 3M, Echochlor, SolidWorks, Luxology, and more.
“It’s hard for me to think about living without a 3D mouse. It’s possible to pan, zoom and rotate without it, but definitely not as easy. 3D navigation in a 2D medium is difficult, and not intuitive, but what 3D mice do is make it intuitive – like you’re reaching into your design and grabbing the part,” says McCrorey. “What is really key to me is that I don’t have to think about it – the distraction of navigating is eliminated and that’s the ultimate benefit. My mind is free to focus on my designs, which allows me to become more creative and expressive because I’m not burdened with tedious clicking.”