Silkscreen placement rules in PCB Design - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Silkscreen placement rules

Goal

Understand key rules for placing silkscreen on a PCB to ensure clear labeling without interfering with components or soldering.

Sample Data: Silkscreen Placement Guidelines

Rule ID	Description	Minimum Distance (mm)	Applies To	Example
1	Keep silkscreen away from pads to avoid soldering issues	0.25	Pads	Text 0.3mm from pad edge
2	Do not print silkscreen on solder mask openings	0	Solder mask openings	Silkscreen outside openings
3	Place reference designators clearly near components	1.0	Component body	Designator 1mm from component edge
4	Avoid silkscreen on component pads or pins	0.25	Component pads/pins	No silkscreen on pins
5	Use clear, legible font size for readability	1.0	Text height	Text height at least 1mm
6	Keep silkscreen within PCB outline	0	PCB edge	Text inside board edge

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Minimum Distance from Pads shows 0.25 mm as critical clearance to avoid solder bridging.
• Bar Chart: Silkscreen Distance Requirements visualizes minimum distances for each rule ID.
• Table: Silkscreen Rules Details lists all rules with descriptions and examples.
• Pie Chart: Rule Application Areas shows percentage distribution of rules by applies to category (Pads, Component body, etc.).

Formulas/Expressions

• KPI Card Value: MINX(FILTER('SilkscreenRules', 'SilkscreenRules'[Applies To] = SELECTEDVALUE('SilkscreenRules'[Applies To])), 'SilkscreenRules'[Minimum Distance (mm)])
• Bar Chart Y-axis: 'SilkscreenRules'[Minimum Distance (mm)], X-axis: 'SilkscreenRules'[Rule ID]
• Pie Chart Values: COUNTROWS(FILTER('SilkscreenRules', 'SilkscreenRules'[Applies To] = EARLIER('SilkscreenRules'[Applies To]))) grouped by 'SilkscreenRules'[Applies To]

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
|      KPI Card        |      Pie Chart       |
|  Min Distance: 0.25  |  Rule Application    |
|                      |      Areas           |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|                      Bar Chart: Silkscreen Distance Requirements                      |
|                                                                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                           Table: Silkscreen Rules Details                          |
|                                                                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

A filter slicer on Applies To allows users to select categories like Pads or Component body. When a category is selected:

• The Pie Chart updates to show only selected categories.
• The Bar Chart filters to show minimum distances for rules in the selected category.
• The Table displays only rules applying to the selected category.
• The KPI Card updates to show the minimum distance among the filtered rules.

Self Check

Try this: Add a filter for Applies To = Pads. Which components update and what changes?

• The Pie Chart will highlight only the 'Pads' category.
• The Bar Chart will show minimum distances only for rules applying to Pads (Rule IDs 1 and 4).
• The Table will list only rules 1 and 4.
• The KPI Card will update to show the minimum distance from these filtered rules, which is 0.25 mm.

Key Result

Dashboard shows silkscreen placement rules with minimum distance requirements, application areas, and detailed descriptions.