Power plane design in PCB Design - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to define a power plane layer in the PCB stackup.

PCB Design

power_plane_layer = '[1]'

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

ASolderMask

BSilkscreen

CDrill

DCopper

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Choosing non-conductive layers like Silkscreen or SolderMask.

Confusing drill layers with power planes.

The power plane layer is made of copper to conduct electricity efficiently.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to set the power plane thickness to 1 oz copper.

PCB Design

power_plane_thickness = '[1]'

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A1 oz

B5 oz

C2 oz

D0.5 oz

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Choosing too thin or too thick copper which may not be standard.

Confusing copper weight units.

1 oz copper thickness is a common standard for power planes to balance current capacity and cost.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to correctly assign the power plane net name.

PCB Design

power_plane_net = '[1]'

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AGND

BPower

CSilkscreen

DSignal

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Assigning signal or silkscreen as net names.

Using generic names like 'Power' without specification.

The power plane net is usually connected to ground (GND) to provide a stable reference.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to define a power plane polygon with correct net and layer.

PCB Design

power_plane_polygon = Polygon(net='[1]', layer='[2]')

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AGND

BSignal

CPower

DInternal1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using signal net or external layers for power planes.

Confusing layer names.

The polygon should be assigned to the GND net on an internal copper layer like Internal1 for power planes.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a power plane with correct net, layer, and clearance.

PCB Design

power_plane = PowerPlane(net='[1]', layer='[2]', clearance=[3])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AGND

BInternal2

C0.2mm

DSignal

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using signal net or external layers.

Setting clearance too small or too large.

The power plane should be on the GND net, placed on an internal copper layer like Internal2, with a clearance of 0.2mm to avoid shorts.