Manufacturing constraints awareness in PCB Design - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This table shows PCB components with their actual sizes and the maximum allowed sizes for manufacturing.

Cell	Value
A1	Component
B1	Size (mm)
C1	Max Allowed Size (mm)
D1	Status
A2	Resistor
B2	3.2
C2	3.5
A3	Capacitor
B3	4
C3	3.8
A4	IC Chip
B4	10
C4	10
A5	Connector
B5	12.5
C5	12

Formula Trace

=IF(B2<=C2, "OK", "Too Large")

Step 1: B2 <= C2

Step 2: TRUE

Step 3: IF(TRUE, "OK", "Too Large")

Cell Reference Map

    A       B       C       D
1 |Component|Size(mm)|MaxSize |Status
2 |Resistor |  3.2   |  3.5   |  ?  
3 |Capacitor|  4.0   |  3.8   |  ?  
4 |IC Chip  | 10.0   | 10.0   |  ?  
5 |Connector| 12.5   | 12.0   |  ?  

The formula in column D compares size in column B with max allowed size in column C for each component.

Result

    A       B       C       D
1 |Component|Size(mm)|MaxSize |Status
2 |Resistor |  3.2   |  3.5   |  OK 
3 |Capacitor|  4.0   |  3.8   |Too Large
4 |IC Chip  | 10.0   | 10.0   |  OK 
5 |Connector| 12.5   | 12.0   |Too Large

The Status column shows "OK" if the component size is within manufacturing limits, otherwise "Too Large".

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the formula check for each component?

A If the component size is less than or equal to the max allowed size

B If the component size is greater than the max allowed size

C If the component size equals zero

D If the max allowed size is less than the component size

Key Result

IF(actual_size <= max_allowed_size, "OK", "Too Large")