Signal and power layer planning in PCB Design - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to define the number of signal layers in a 4-layer PCB stackup.

PCB Design

signal_layers = [1]

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

A3

B4

C2

D1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Confusing total layers with signal layers

Assuming all layers are signal layers

In a typical 4-layer PCB, there are 2 signal layers and 2 power/ground layers.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to assign the power layer to the second layer in a 6-layer PCB stackup.

PCB Design

power_layer = [1]

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

A3

B2

C1

D4

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Choosing the top or bottom layer as power layer

Confusing layer numbering starting point

The power layer is often placed on the second layer in a 6-layer PCB stackup for better signal integrity.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to correctly calculate the total number of layers in a PCB stackup.

PCB Design

total_layers = signal_layers + [1]

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

Apower_layers

Bvias

Cground_layers

Dsignal_layers

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Adding signal layers twice

Adding vias which are not layers

The total number of layers is the sum of signal layers and power layers.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to define a dictionary mapping layer names to their types in a 4-layer PCB.

PCB Design

layer_types = { 'Top': [1], 'Bottom': [2] }

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

A'signal'

B'power'

C'ground'

D'mixed'

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Assigning power or ground to top or bottom layers

Using mixed which is not typical for outer layers

In a 4-layer PCB, the top and bottom layers are usually signal layers.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a list of layer order from top to bottom in a 6-layer PCB.

PCB Design

layer_order = [[1], [2], [3]]

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

A'signal'

B'power'

C'ground'

D'silkscreen'

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mixing power and ground order

Including silkscreen which is not a signal or power layer

The typical 6-layer PCB stackup order starts with a signal layer, then ground, then power.