Gerber files from expressPCB

[R.G.]

OK - I lied. The trick is to NOT use ExpressPCB to do the layout in the first place. Use a more capable PCB program that already generates Gerber and NC drill files. Ideally, one that also tells you when you have touching traces from different nets, or violate the "too close to etch" rules, etc. But THEN...

Download a free Windows transparency app, like Peek Through. This lets you see through a window to the window underneath it.

Put your layout from the good, usable, non-hijacking layout program on the screen in one window, overlay the ExpressPCB window on top, make it transparent, and then just start whapping in components and traces over the good layout. Turning the underlay on and off lets you check for "did I get all the traces in yet?" Working on one layer at a time in both programs is most efficient for me. It's a PITA, all right, to do the diddling with screen sizes and placement to get a good tracing, but I did a modestly complex board in about 30 minutes including figuring out how to work the thing as I went.

I have never been able to get the various conversions from whatever Express PCB provides to some other program to work consistently. I'd get results, but it would take as long as this process took me, and be much more frustrating. The most recent was ExPCB Helper, which would supposedly take the DXF form of a layout in some other PCB program and automagically transfer it into ExpressPCB by taking over the mouse and using the computer to mouse it in on auto. Neat idea, could not get it to work consistently.

The transparent-window thing does give you both ExpressPCB protos - which are a good compromise between fast, cheap, and good, although a winner at none of these in particular - and Gerber for producing more of them if  you want. There is a bonus in that you almost always see ways to do the layout better by the process of tracing.

[theehman]

Have you tried Copper Connection?

http://www.robotroom.com/CopperConnection/