Manufacturing file review in PCB Design - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Manufacturing file review

Goal

Understand the quality and readiness of manufacturing files for PCB production by reviewing key metrics like file completeness, error counts, and approval status.

Sample Data

File Name	File Type	Completeness (%)	Error Count	Approval Status	Review Date
Board_A_Gerber	Gerber	100	0	Approved	2024-06-01
Board_A_Drill	Drill	95	2	Pending	2024-06-01
Board_B_Gerber	Gerber	98	1	Approved	2024-06-02
Board_B_Drill	Drill	90	3	Rejected	2024-06-02
Board_C_Gerber	Gerber	100	0	Approved	2024-06-03
Board_C_Drill	Drill	100	0	Approved	2024-06-03

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Average Completeness
  Formula: Average of Completeness (%) across all files.
  Result: (100 + 95 + 98 + 90 + 100 + 100) / 6 = 97.17%
• KPI Card: Total Errors
  Formula: Sum of Error Count.
  Result: 0 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 0 + 0 = 6
• Bar Chart: Error Count by File Type
  Data: Sum of errors grouped by File Type.
  Gerber: 0 + 1 + 0 = 1
  Drill: 2 + 3 + 0 = 5
• Table: File Details
  Shows all columns from sample data for detailed review.
• Pie Chart: Approval Status Distribution
  Counts of files by Approval Status.
  Approved: 4
  Pending: 1
  Rejected: 1

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
| Average Completeness | Total Errors         |
|      (KPI Card)      |      (KPI Card)      |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|      Error Count by File Type (Bar Chart)      |
+-----------------------------------------------+
| File Details (Table)                           |
+-----------------------------------------------+
| Approval Status Distribution (Pie Chart)      |
+-----------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

Filter by Approval Status: Selecting a status (e.g., Approved) updates the table, KPI cards, and charts to show only files with that status.

Filter by File Type: Selecting Gerber or Drill updates error counts and file details accordingly.

Self Check

If you add a filter for Approval Status = 'Approved', which components update?

• KPI Cards: Average Completeness and Total Errors recalculate for approved files only.
• Bar Chart: Error Count by File Type shows errors only for approved files.
• Table: File Details shows only approved files.
• Pie Chart: Approval Status Distribution updates to show only the selected status slice.

Key Result

Dashboard shows manufacturing file completeness, errors, and approval status for PCB production files.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of a manufacturing file review in PCB design?

easy

A. To prevent costly errors during PCB production

B. To design new PCB layouts

C. To write software for PCB testing

D. To order components for assembly

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the role of manufacturing file review

   Manufacturing file review checks files like Gerber and drill files before production.

2. Step 2: Identify the main goal

   The goal is to catch errors early to avoid costly mistakes in production.

3. Final Answer:

   To prevent costly errors during PCB production -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Manufacturing file review = prevent errors [OK]

Hint: Focus on error prevention in production files [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing design with review process
• Thinking review is for ordering parts
• Mixing software testing with file review

2. Which file type is NOT typically checked during a PCB manufacturing file review?

easy

A. Source code files

B. Drill files

C. Component placement files

D. Gerber files

Solution

1. Step 1: List common files reviewed

   Gerber, drill, and component placement files are standard in manufacturing review.

2. Step 2: Identify the odd file out

   Source code files relate to software, not PCB manufacturing files.

3. Final Answer:

   Source code files -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Manufacturing review excludes software files [OK]

Hint: Remember manufacturing files are physical layout files [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including software files in manufacturing review
• Confusing component files with source code
• Assuming all project files are reviewed

3. Given a BI dashboard showing counts of errors found in Gerber, drill, and component files, which visualization best helps identify the file type with most errors?

medium

A. Table listing file names only

B. Line chart showing error counts over time

C. Scatter plot of file sizes vs error counts

D. Pie chart showing error counts by file type

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the goal of visualization

   The goal is to identify which file type has the most errors.

2. Step 2: Choose visualization type

   A pie chart clearly shows proportions of errors by file type, making comparison easy.

3. Final Answer:

   Pie chart showing error counts by file type -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Pie chart = compare parts of whole [OK]

Hint: Use pie charts to compare parts of a whole quickly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using line charts for categorical comparison
• Choosing tables without summary
• Scatter plots confuse error focus

4. A BI report shows zero errors in drill files, but the drill file was not uploaded. What is the likely issue?

medium

A. The report is correctly showing zero errors

B. The drill file was missing, causing no data to check

C. The drill file has no errors by default

D. The BI tool automatically fixes missing files

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the zero error count

   Zero errors can mean no errors or no data to check.

2. Step 2: Consider missing file impact

   If the drill file was not uploaded, the BI tool has no data to analyze, so it shows zero errors incorrectly.

3. Final Answer:

   The drill file was missing, causing no data to check -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Missing file = no data, not zero errors [OK]

Hint: Check if files are uploaded before trusting zero errors [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming zero means no errors
• Believing BI tools fix missing data automatically
• Ignoring file upload status

5. You want to create a BI report that highlights PCB manufacturing errors by file type and severity. Which approach best combines these two aspects for clear decision-making?

hard

A. Display a line chart of errors over time without file type distinction

B. List all errors in a long table sorted by file name

C. Use a stacked bar chart with file types on X-axis and error counts stacked by severity

D. Show a pie chart of total errors without severity details

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify key data dimensions

   We need to show errors by file type and severity together.

2. Step 2: Select visualization that combines categories and subcategories

   A stacked bar chart groups errors by file type and stacks severity levels, making it easy to compare both.

3. Final Answer:

   Use a stacked bar chart with file types on X-axis and error counts stacked by severity -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Stacked bar = compare categories + subcategories [OK]

Hint: Stacked bars show parts of categories clearly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using tables that are hard to scan
• Ignoring severity in summary charts
• Choosing charts that miss key comparisons