My thought on upgrading SW has always been if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. Upgrading any SW usually fixes bugs and adds functionality but also introduces new bugs.
That said, i am thinking of upgrading to the latest version of CC and CM but i don’t want to have to do a redesign on all my projects.
I have had my XL Pro for a little over a year and am currently running CC 530 and CM 535. I have over 100 different projects, some were done in CC Version 4 and some in CC version 5.
I was wondering if there is a way to do this upgrade with the minimum amount of pain and suffering.
Question 1: Could I install the latest version of CM 566 and keep using my current version of CC 530 and use all my existing files without any issues or redesign. So is CM 566 compatible with CC 530?
If that works without any issues then:
Question 2: Can i install the latest version of CC 726 and also keep my current version CC 530 of CC So i use use either version.
I would appreciate any thoughts or advice. Has anyone gone through this upgrade.
You don’t mention what platforms you are using. I am on a Mac for CC and I use a raspberry pi for CM. On the pi I am pretty sure it is more trouble than it is worth to try to have two versions available of CM. The latest version is stable and I have been running it for a while. You definitely need it if you use V7 of CC.
On the Mac it is pretty easy to have multiple versions of these packages. I just started using V7 and I am adjusting to the change in workflow that comes with having a separate .nc file for the gcode. Frankly, I am not happy with this change. The enhancements are great, so I’ll end up just dealing with it. There are some weird things I have encountered and I am sure they will get resolved in time.
I have been thinking of buying the pro version for a while, so when I make that move I’ll be able to use the old workflow if I wish.
My thought was if the latest version of CM 566 is compatible with either CC 530 or CC 726 i could use it to run either my older files designed in CC 530 or newer files designed in CC 726. Then run CC 726 to design any new projects or CC 530 to modify any of my older projects. That is if CC 530 and CC 726 can both be installed on the same Windows 11 computer together.
If you update Carbide Create to Build 726, but don’t update Carbide Motion to 566, you won’t be able to directly send files to your machine — you would have to go to a web page:
and extract the G-code from the file using that, and then send it.
You can have pretty much all major versions of Carbide Create installed on a machine and switch back and forth — I’d recommend installing v6:
which can be a fallback if you don’t like v7.
Carbide Motion has had some major updates, and is well-worth updating to for the G-code visualization. On a Mac it’s pretty simple to name copies of the app by version number and switch between them (a lot of us do this for testing purposes).
I installed the latest version of CM 566. It was simple because it pulled in all the settings for the Pro XL machine and the bit setter settings from the older version. I’m testing now but it looks like I can still run all my projects that were created in my older version of CC 530. That was what i was worried about. Having to redo all my existing projects. If testing goes well i will install CC 726 and try it out.
From what I understand I can i can have both CC 530 and CC 726 installed on the same Win 11 computer and then just open the version i want to use. Can anyone confirm.
You are correct about keeping two versions. The only caution would be if you pull an older version into V7 it is changed if saved and you cannot go back. I have not used it but I think in v7 there is a save in v6 but you will have to investigate that.
I moved all my older projects to another folder marked “v6 and below” to avoid messing them up if I want to recycle them. Now over time some of the 3.x files would not import tool paths into later versions and there have been other anomalies when C3D has made major revision changes so I is always a good idea to save your installers so you can always install an older version if necessary to open an older project and not have to make major changes.
Thanks, that makes sense. Now that i know CM 566 will run all my current projects my plan is to keep my current CC 530 for any maintenance on my current projects and use CC 726 for any new projects. I may wait a bit to see if any bug fixes are added to CC V7. I was part of an IT software team that tested and implemented business software, upgrades, and modifications, so I know how this whole process should be handled to minimize unwanted issues. Measure twice (or More), and cut once.
Just throwing out a somewhat strange albeit my alternative… currently have both CC V6 and V7 installed on my “design” computers but since my computer that’s tethered to my SO3 is ancient and finicky, I haven’t installed the latest CM to run .c2d files straight from V7 yet. I’m a CC Pro subscriber so I just export .NC files.
I haven’t updated my CC in a while and have been using the older CC 530 version. When I tested CM 726 it ran my .nc files from that version just fine so i would assume it will also run Version 6 files. When i accidentally tried to load a .cd2 file created with my older CC 530 version i got a message that it couldn’t run that file because it wasn’t created with Version 7 so CC 726 will run either one. I tested a few of my older .nc files, one with 1 tool path and one with multiple tool paths and they both ran without issue.
Below v6 the .nc files were separate from the c2d file. The v7 encrypts the toolpaths inside the .c2d file. The newest version of CM, 566, will run either v6 and below .nc files or the newer c2d files and extracts the gcode from the file. You can run v5, v6 and v7 CC on your computer if you just have them installed. The v6 is rearward compatible with just about all versions of CC.
When I download a new version of CM or CC I keep the install files in a separate folder just in case I want it. Periodically people on the forum need an older version and I post it on my google drive with permission for anyone with the link.
