Mounting hole placement in PCB Design - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

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

📋 Request: Your manager wants a report showing the optimal mounting hole placements for a new PCB design to ensure mechanical stability and compatibility with the enclosure.

📊 Data: You have a dataset containing PCB dimensions, enclosure mounting points coordinates, and recommended hole sizes.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a dashboard that visualizes the PCB outline, enclosure mounting points, and suggested mounting hole positions with their sizes.

Sample Data

PCB_Length_mm	PCB_Width_mm	Enclosure_Point_X_mm	Enclosure_Point_Y_mm	Recommended_Hole_Diameter_mm
100	80	5	5	3
100	80	95	5	3
100	80	95	75	3
100	80	5	75	3

1

Step 1: Load the PCB dimensions and enclosure mounting points data into your BI tool.

Import the sample_data table with columns: PCB_Length_mm, PCB_Width_mm, Enclosure_Point_X_mm, Enclosure_Point_Y_mm, Recommended_Hole_Diameter_mm.

Expected Result

Data table with 4 rows and 5 columns loaded correctly.

2

Step 2: Create a scatter plot to visualize enclosure mounting points on the PCB outline.

X-axis: Enclosure_Point_X_mm, Y-axis: Enclosure_Point_Y_mm, add point size based on Recommended_Hole_Diameter_mm.

Expected Result

Scatter plot showing 4 mounting points positioned near the PCB corners with circle sizes representing hole diameters.

3

Step 3: Add a rectangle shape representing the PCB outline using PCB_Length_mm and PCB_Width_mm.

Draw rectangle from (0,0) to (PCB_Length_mm, PCB_Width_mm) behind the scatter plot points.

Expected Result

PCB outline visible as a rectangle with mounting points inside near corners.

4

Step 4: Create calculated measures to confirm hole placements are within PCB boundaries.

Measure: Is_X_Valid = IF(Enclosure_Point_X_mm >= 0 && Enclosure_Point_X_mm <= PCB_Length_mm, "Yes", "No") Measure: Is_Y_Valid = IF(Enclosure_Point_Y_mm >= 0 && Enclosure_Point_Y_mm <= PCB_Width_mm, "Yes", "No")

Expected Result

All mounting points have Is_X_Valid and Is_Y_Valid as "Yes".

5

Step 5: Add tooltips to the scatter plot points showing hole diameter and coordinates.

Tooltip fields: Enclosure_Point_X_mm, Enclosure_Point_Y_mm, Recommended_Hole_Diameter_mm.

Expected Result

Hovering over points displays mounting hole details.

6

Step 6: Create a summary card showing total number of mounting holes and average hole diameter.

Total Holes = COUNTROWS(sample_data) Average Diameter = AVERAGE(Recommended_Hole_Diameter_mm)

Expected Result

Summary card shows Total Holes = 4 and Average Diameter = 3 mm.

Final Result

PCB Outline (100mm x 80mm)
+------------------------------------+
| o                                o |
|                                    |
|                                    |
|                                    |
|                                    |
| o                                o |
+------------------------------------+
'o' = Mounting holes sized 3mm diameter

Summary:
Total Mounting Holes: 4
Average Hole Diameter: 3 mm

✓All mounting holes are placed near the PCB corners within the PCB boundaries.

✓Hole diameters are consistent at 3 mm as recommended.

✓The placement ensures mechanical stability and fits the enclosure mounting points.

Bonus Challenge

Add a filter to the dashboard to allow selecting different PCB sizes and dynamically update mounting hole placements.

Show Hint

Use slicers or dropdown filters connected to PCB_Length_mm and PCB_Width_mm fields to update visuals.