Net labels for connections in PCB Design - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a PCB design analyst working with the engineering team.

📋 Request: Your manager wants a report showing how net labels connect different components on the PCB to ensure signal integrity and correct routing.

📊 Data: You have a table listing net labels, the components they connect, and the pin numbers involved.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a dashboard that summarizes each net label with the count of connected components and pins, and visualize the most connected nets.

Sample Data

Net Label	Component	Pin
NET1	U1	1
NET1	R1	2
NET2	U1	2
NET2	C1	1
NET3	R2	1
NET3	U2	3
NET3	C2	2
NET4	U3	1
NET4	R3	1
NET4	C3	1
NET4	L1	1

1

Step 1: Load the data table into your BI tool with columns: Net Label, Component, Pin.

Import the sample_data as a table named 'Connections'.

Expected Result

Data table with 11 rows loaded correctly.

2

Step 2: Create a calculated measure to count unique components per net label.

Unique Components = DISTINCTCOUNT(Connections[Component])

Expected Result

Measure that returns the number of unique components connected to each net.

3

Step 3: Create a calculated measure to count total pins connected per net label.

Total Pins = COUNT(Connections[Pin])

Expected Result

Measure that returns the total number of pins connected to each net.

4

Step 4: Build a table visualization with rows as Net Label, columns as Unique Components and Total Pins measures.

Configure table: Rows=Net Label, Values=Unique Components, Total Pins

Expected Result

Table showing each net with counts of connected components and pins.

5

Step 5: Create a bar chart to visualize net labels by number of connected components.

Bar chart: Axis=Net Label, Values=Unique Components

Expected Result

Bar chart showing which nets connect the most components.

6

Step 6: Add filters to allow selecting specific net labels or components for detailed analysis.

Add slicers for Net Label and Component columns.

Expected Result

Interactive filters to explore connections by net or component.

Final Result

Net Label | Unique Components | Total Pins
-----------------------------------------
NET1      | 2                 | 2
NET2      | 2                 | 2
NET3      | 3                 | 3
NET4      | 4                 | 4

Bar Chart: NET4 > NET3 > NET1 = NET2 in connected components

✓NET4 connects the most components (4) and pins (4), indicating a critical net.

✓NET3 also connects multiple components (3), important for signal routing.

✓NET1 and NET2 connect fewer components and pins, simpler nets.

Bonus Challenge

Create a network diagram visualization showing components as nodes and net labels as edges.

Show Hint

Use a graph visualization tool or custom visual that supports node-link diagrams to represent connections.