On Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:52:51 -0600, Tim Wescott wrote:

On Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:11:19 +0000, Jim Mueller wrote:

On Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:15:54 -0500, rickman wrote:

On 1/21/2013 3:58 AM, raypsi wrote:
Well then, when I send in the files they need to produce the PCB how
will I know it's going to come out right, wait unless the software
shows me a layout of the PCB on my monitor and I just do a print
screen and photoshop it?
A costumer would be not so bright to spend hundreds of USD on a bunch
of PCB's that don't come out right.
PCB123's minimum cost is $109 for 2pcs of 9 square inch board. You
must be from a third world backwater country if you think that is a
high price.

You don't get the concept. They lock you into buying boards only from
them. Otherwise they would just let you produce Gerber files from the
tool.

Why not use a good, open source tool like FreePCB? That is what I
recommend.

Rick

Actually ExpressPCB doesn't completely lock you in. They will make
Gerber files for you for $60 AFTER you have ordered some boards.

So, a deal that's 99.44% sucky is better than a deal that's 100% sucky?

I dunno, I think I'd rather get some free layout tools and learn to use
them.

Depends on how you are using it. ExpressPCB is great if you need a quick
prototype, and, if it works out, you can get Gerbers to go into
production. The software is very easy to use; hardly any learning curve
at all. It's just not appropriate for hobby projects. I used it when
laying out the board myself was quicker than writing instructions for our
regular layout person.

They also include a schematic capture program which is equally easy to
use and, if all you need is a schematic, is fine. It's made for Windows
but I'm using it under Linux with the aid of Wine (a popular Windows
emulator).

--
Jim Mueller

To get my real email address, replace wrongname with dadoheadman.
Then replace nospam with fastmail. Lastly, replace com with us.