Contents
1. What Does PCB Repair Entail
With PCB repair, it goes beyond the soldering iron.
Generally, it involves cutting traces and adding jumpers to the damaged or faulty board.
It also entails drilling out vias on the board and adding some glued parts on the board.
Ideally, circuit board repair ensures that a damaged PCB will restore its original function by adding or adjusting certain aspects of the printed board.
As we shall also see, sometimes buying a new component is better than attempting repairs on some of the faulty PCBs.
When it comes to repairing these boards, it is crucial to understand that different boards or damages on the boards will require different repair parameters.
For instance, a circuit board that was burnt by fire will be harder to repair than a machine that was faulty due to electrical short-circuiting.
Depending on the damage caused, some PCBs can be repaired, while others are not.
2. Circuit Board Repair—PCB Damages and Repair
Every PCB damage is not the result of similar conditions. Because the environmental stress that might cause damage varies, it is essential to understand what is causing the problem to find a solution.
It would be necessary to look at the possible causes that might damage a functional PCB.
2.1. Possible causes of damage to PCBs
• Heat and Humidity- Mostly with fire, most PCBs will not be easily repaired, but this will also depend on the extent of the damages caused by fire.
It will be very difficult to restore such damages, and when they are beyond repair, you should opt for a new PCB.
• Static Electricity- This is the imbalance of electric charge within the PCB. So, let’s say during an electrical surge, for example, the traces in a PCB are likely to face damage. Hence, it is essential to switch off your devices during electric surges
• Physical impairments—Some physical damages might occur to a PCB when exposed to stress, such as a break, wear, or tear. When a PCB accidentally falls, this is likely to cause damage to it, and we need to learn how to repair the damaged PCB.
2.2Circuit Board Repair—PCB Repair rules
So when the PCBs are faulty or damaged, how do you know which you can repair and which boards are beyond repair? Let’s look into some of the necessary repair rules.
• PCBs with simple or slight damages can be easily repaired.
• Depending on the PCB functionality issues, does repairing the PCB solve the problem or not? For instance, short-circuiting or open circuit.
• Some electronics’ PCBs are restricted for repair.
• Lastly, not all base materials of PCBs are suitable for repair.
When you understand these basic rules of circuit board repair, you are ready to replace your PCB.
3. How to Diagnose a Faulty PCB
How to assess a faulty PCB depends basically on the causative agent of the damage. As discussed above, let’s discuss how you will diagnose a PCB and rule out a specific error.
Physical damage- When parts of the PCB break, maybe by falling on the ground and shattering, but the component partially works, repair on this PCB is possible, mostly through remanufacturing.
Component failure- Using voltage tools to measure the conductivity within the circuit board, you can tell whether electricity is being conducted on the board or whether the board has completely failed.
Trace damages- You can assess the damage by scanning its pathway, provided that the trace is visible enough.
Their composition of bright materials, usually copper or silver, makes them highly visible. Though some are thin, and it might be challenging to assess them.
Poor PCB design—It doesn’t take a genius to tell. A shoddy PCB will consistently fail no matter how well you repair it.
Ideally, you should buy a new PCB instead of seeking repairs; it will save you time and energy spent improving the poor PCB design.
Power failure—Though similar to the component failure I noted above, you should check for current on the board using the voltage tools.
Then, you can quickly tell what is repairable and what is not.
4. Circuit Board Repair—How to Repair a Broken PCB
As we have seen above, whether a PCB is repairable depends entirely on the basic rules of PCB repair and the causes of the damage. Let us then dive into how to repair a faulty or broken PCB.
It is understandable how PCBs have revolutionized the electronic world compared to the old days when wires were used instead of printed circuits.
With the cables, repairs that resulted from physical damage were a bit easy; with PCBs, the repair process can be somewhat frustrating if you are a beginner. So, here are some of the steps that you need to follow.
4.1 Steps to follow while in circuit board repair of broken PCB
1– Identify the damaged component and purchase a suitable replacement. Most electronics use a voltage regulator to maintain a constant voltage level.
However, active components with specific functionality should use the same part to replace the faulty one.
2—Place the board on a flat surface and fasten it to prevent movement during the repair.
3– Turn the Hot air gun on, and hoover it approximately 6 inches over the damaged component.
4– Using tweezers, carefully pull out the component that needs repair from your circuit board.
5– Turn on the soldering iron and let it heat up to 450◦ Celsius.
6—Place a copper braid on the pad from which the component was taken and heat it using the soldering iron’s tip.
Using an alcohol swab, clean the pad and its surrounding areas.
Line up the pads on the board to match the new component. Then, ensure that it has the correct orientation before joining them.
Finally, join all the leads and pads with a soldering iron, and you are good to go.
You should note that this type of repair works perfectly for almost all sorts of damages on the PCB. You should also not attempt to repair PCBs that manufacturers have given a warning against repairs of its components.
4.2 Circuit Board Repair—Tools to have when during PCB Repair
The following is a list of equipment you should have when attempting any PCB repair.
- Hot air gun
- Solder
- Alcohol Swab
- Soldering iron
- Copper Braid
- Tweezers
Conclusion
As we have seen above, it is crucial to ascertain the cause of damage to the circuit board before attempting any repair.
Every PCB has parameters that you should check to rule out the specific problem you will attend to.
So, if you come across a faulty PCB, I believe you will readily participate in it, as discussed above. All the best in your future circuit board repairs!
