Proteus Software

[mister_e]

Home made pcb is still good for small production and/or proof on concept, but yes you need to play a little bit with chemicals and stuff like that. Home made SMD, double side PCB is not a problem. I still do it here, then once I'm sure everything's o.k I go for the outsource.

Does ExpressPCB software allow you to export to gerber or you need to stick with their service only? Beauty of third party one, is the ability to generate standard gerber format so you can have your PCB made everywhere. Some place even accept Eagle files directly, not only generated gerber ones.

[cncmachineguy]

Express PCB is strickly stick with their service. Mind you their service is good. I have never had any problems with it.

[Darrel Taylor]

Everyone probably already knows my oppinion of Proteus, but I'll say it again.
It's totally awesome. Best SIM I've ever seen. I'll never be without it again, unless I quit programming PIC's.

I just recently started using ARES (the PCB part) at work, and I've never made PCBoards so easily. It was actually fun for once. I always hated doing PCB's before.

It isn't exactly cheap, but if you can afford it, I would recommend it above anything else.

And NO, you don't need the "Advanced Simulation" stuff.
The real strength of Proteus is the simulation of your code in a microprocessor.
The analog parts work, if your design is good. Out of spec designs give results you wouldn't see in real life, so it's not a "Proof of concept" if you don't have a good design to start with.

It is invaluable for debugging code though.
Especially when you're debugging other people's code.