Layer transition strategy in PCB Design - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a PCB design engineer working on a multilayer printed circuit board.

📋 Request: Your manager wants you to analyze and optimize the layer transition strategy to improve signal integrity and reduce manufacturing costs.

📊 Data: You have data on layer transitions including via types, layer pairs, signal types, and associated costs and signal quality scores.

🎯 Deliverable: Produce a report with visualizations showing the current layer transition usage, costs, and signal integrity scores, and recommend an optimized strategy.

Sample Data

Transition_ID	From_Layer	To_Layer	Via_Type	Signal_Type	Cost	Signal_Integrity_Score
1	Top	Inner1	Through	High-Speed	5	85
2	Inner1	Inner2	Blind	Power	3	90
3	Inner2	Bottom	Bury	High-Speed	4	80
4	Top	Inner2	Through	Control	5	75
5	Inner1	Bottom	Blind	Power	3	88
6	Top	Bottom	Through	High-Speed	6	70
7	Inner2	Inner3	Bury	Control	4	85
8	Inner3	Bottom	Blind	High-Speed	3	90

1

Step 1: Create a pivot table to summarize total cost by Via_Type.

Rows=Via_Type, Values=SUM of Cost

Expected Result

Through: 16, Blind: 9, Bury: 8

2

Step 2: Create a pivot table to find average Signal_Integrity_Score by Signal_Type.

Rows=Signal_Type, Values=AVERAGE of Signal_Integrity_Score

Expected Result

High-Speed: 81.25, Power: 89, Control: 80

3

Step 3: Create a bar chart showing total cost per Via_Type from step 1.

X-axis=Via_Type, Y-axis=SUM of Cost

Expected Result

Bar chart with Through highest cost, Blind medium, Bury lowest

4

Step 4: Create a line chart showing average Signal_Integrity_Score by Signal_Type from step 2.

X-axis=Signal_Type, Y-axis=AVERAGE Signal_Integrity_Score

Expected Result

Line chart showing Power highest score, then High-Speed, then Control

5

Step 5: Calculate a new measure 'Cost per Integrity Point' as Cost divided by Signal_Integrity_Score for each transition.

Add column: Cost_per_Integrity = Cost / Signal_Integrity_Score

Expected Result

Values range from approx 0.033 to 0.086

6

Step 6: Create a scatter plot with Via_Type on X-axis, Cost_per_Integrity on Y-axis, and color by Signal_Type.

X=Via_Type, Y=Cost_per_Integrity, Color=Signal_Type

Expected Result

Scatter plot showing which via types have better cost-efficiency by signal type

7

Step 7: Identify the Via_Type with lowest average Cost_per_Integrity for High-Speed signals.

Filter Signal_Type='High-Speed', group by Via_Type, average Cost_per_Integrity

Expected Result

Blind vias have lowest average Cost_per_Integrity for High-Speed

8

Step 8: Prepare a summary report recommending to use Blind vias for High-Speed signals to optimize cost and signal integrity.

Text summary with supporting charts and data

Expected Result

Report with clear recommendation and visual evidence

Final Result

Through

↓

Blind

↓

Bury

✓Through vias have the highest total cost.

✓Power signals have the highest average signal integrity score.

✓Blind vias offer the best cost efficiency for High-Speed signals.

✓Optimizing via selection can reduce manufacturing cost without sacrificing signal quality.

Bonus Challenge

Create a DAX measure to calculate weighted average Signal_Integrity_Score by Via_Type, weighting by Cost.

Show Hint

Use SUMX to multiply Signal_Integrity_Score by Cost, then divide by total Cost per Via_Type.