Board outline and dimensions in PCB Design - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a PCB design engineer at an electronics manufacturing company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants a clear report showing the board outlines and dimensions for the latest PCB designs to ensure they fit into the product casing.

📊 Data: You have a dataset containing PCB design files with board outlines defined by coordinates and dimensions including length, width, and thickness.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a dashboard report that visualizes the board outlines and lists their dimensions clearly for the engineering and manufacturing teams.

Sample Data

Board ID	Length (mm)	Width (mm)	Thickness (mm)	Outline Coordinates
B001	100	80	1.6	(0,0),(100,0),(100,80),(0,80)
B002	120	90	1.6	(0,0),(120,0),(120,90),(0,90)
B003	150	100	1.2	(0,0),(150,0),(150,100),(0,100)
B004	80	70	1.6	(0,0),(80,0),(80,70),(0,70)
B005	110	85	1.0	(0,0),(110,0),(110,85),(0,85)

1

Step 1: Import the PCB design data into your BI tool.

Load the table with columns: Board ID, Length (mm), Width (mm), Thickness (mm), Outline Coordinates.

Expected Result

Data table with 5 board records loaded.

2

Step 2: Create calculated measures for board area and perimeter.

Board Area = Length (mm) * Width (mm) Board Perimeter = 2 * (Length (mm) + Width (mm))

Expected Result

New columns showing area and perimeter for each board.

3

Step 3: Build a visual showing each board's outline as a rectangle using Length and Width.

Use a rectangle shape visual or custom visual with X=Length, Y=Width for each Board ID.

Expected Result

Visual display of 5 rectangles representing board outlines.

4

Step 4: Add a table visual listing Board ID, Length, Width, Thickness, Area, and Perimeter.

Configure table columns as specified.

Expected Result

Table showing all dimensions and calculated values for each board.

5

Step 5: Add filters to select boards by thickness or size range.

Add slicers for Thickness and numeric range filters for Length and Width.

Expected Result

Interactive filters to explore boards by dimension.

6

Step 6: Arrange visuals on a dashboard with clear titles and labels.

Title: 'PCB Board Outlines and Dimensions' Labels: Units in mm, clear axis labels.

Expected Result

Clean, accessible dashboard ready for presentation.

Final Result

B001

↓

B004

✓Board B003 is the largest by area and perimeter.

✓Thickness varies between 1.0 mm and 1.6 mm across boards.

✓All boards have rectangular outlines as expected.

✓Dashboard allows quick filtering by thickness and size.

Bonus Challenge

Add a visual that overlays the board outlines to compare their relative sizes and shapes in one view.

Show Hint

Use a scatter plot or custom shape visual with coordinates normalized to a common origin.