Silkscreen placement rules in PCB Design - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This table shows components with their pad sizes and silkscreen placement rules including clearance and line width.

Cell	Value
A1	Component
B1	Pad Size (mm)
C1	Silkscreen Clearance (mm)
D1	Silkscreen Width (mm)
A2	R1
B2	1.5
C2	0.15
D2	0.12
A3	C1
B3	2.0
C3	0.15
D3	0.12
A4	U1
B4	0.8
C4	0.15
D4	0.12

Formula Trace

Silkscreen Edge Position = Pad Size / 2 + Silkscreen Clearance

Step 1: Pad Size / 2

Step 2: 0.75 + Silkscreen Clearance

Step 3: Silkscreen Edge Position = 0.9 mm

Cell Reference Map

    A       B       C       D
1 Component PadSize Clearance Width
2 R1        1.5     0.15    0.12
3 C1        2.0     0.15    0.12
4 U1        0.8     0.15    0.12

Formula uses B2 (Pad Size) and C2 (Clearance) for R1 calculation.

The formula references Pad Size and Silkscreen Clearance columns for the component row.

Result

    A       B       C       D       E
1 Component PadSize Clearance Width   Silkscreen Edge Pos
2 R1        1.5     0.15    0.12    0.9
3 C1        2.0     0.15    0.12    1.15
4 U1        0.8     0.15    0.12    0.55

The Silkscreen Edge Position column shows the calculated distance from pad center to silkscreen edge for each component.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What is the first step in calculating the silkscreen edge position?

A Divide the pad size by 2

B Add silkscreen clearance to pad size

C Multiply pad size by silkscreen width

D Subtract silkscreen clearance from pad size

Key Result

Silkscreen edge position is calculated by adding silkscreen clearance to half the pad size.