Signal and power layer planning in PCB Design - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This table shows a simple 4-layer PCB stackup plan with signal and power layers, their types, purposes, and thicknesses.

Cell	Value
A1	Layer
B1	Type
C1	Purpose
D1	Thickness (mil)
A2	Layer 1
B2	Signal
C2	High-speed signals
D2	1.4
A3	Layer 2
B3	Power
C3	Power distribution
D3	1.0
A4	Layer 3
B4	Ground
C4	Ground plane
D4	1.0
A5	Layer 4
B5	Signal
C5	Low-speed signals
D5	1.4

Formula Trace

Total Thickness = SUM(D2:D5)

Step 1: SUM(D2:D5)

Step 2: 1.4 + 1.0 + 1.0 + 1.4

Cell Reference Map

    A       B         C                 D
1 |Layer |Type    |Purpose          |Thickness
2 |Layer1|Signal  |High-speed signals|1.4
3 |Layer2|Power   |Power distribution|1.0
4 |Layer3|Ground  |Ground plane     |1.0
5 |Layer4|Signal  |Low-speed signals|1.4

Formula references cells D2, D3, D4, D5 for thickness values.

The formula sums the thickness values in cells D2 through D5 to find total PCB thickness.

Result

    A       B         C                 D
1 |Layer |Type    |Purpose          |Thickness
2 |Layer1|Signal  |High-speed signals|1.4
3 |Layer2|Power   |Power distribution|1.0
4 |Layer3|Ground  |Ground plane     |1.0
5 |Layer4|Signal  |Low-speed signals|1.4
6 |      |        |Total Thickness  |4.8

The total thickness of all layers is calculated as 4.8 mil and displayed in cell D6.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

Which cells are added to calculate the total thickness?

A B2, B3, B4, B5

B A2, A3, A4, A5

C D2, D3, D4, D5

D C2, C3, C4, C5

Key Result

SUM(range) adds all numeric values in the specified cell range.