Why Getting the Best PCB Rework Services is Vital for Equipment Manufacturers?

by Kristen White Blogger

The high demand for PCB-powered electronic devices coupled with the miniaturization trend has made printed circuit boards more complex than ever. Electronics manufacturers want their devices to be smaller than ever, so modern-day soldering is a lot like performing surgeries. Soldering professionals need expert-level attention levels while assembling PCBs. Plus, the stringent safety and quality-assurance regulations make the job harder.

Even though PCB manufacturers take extreme precautions to ensure their PCBs perform properly, the sensitive nature of the work inevitably leads to some defects in manufacturing. That’s when the providers of the best PCB rework services step in to save the day. These experts help PCB assemblers meet industry demands, and their high-quality PCB repair and rework services lower production costs, reduce the amount of wasted materials, and prevent unnecessary delays in time to market.

Understanding Why Printed Circuit Boards Fail

Many reasons cause PCBs to require repair and rework. Recent industry statistics state that 74% of all PCB manufacturing or assembly defects are caused by solder bridging, component shifts, and incorrect openings in the boards. Some other reasons why PCBs fail include -

· Physical damage due to repetitive use.

· Poor component quality.

· Dislodging.

· Poor PCB designs.

· Burnt or defective components.

· Environmental issues like heat, humidity, water exposure, etc.

· Soldering issues (human error).

· Ionic contamination.

A recent report states that 15% of all PCB failures occur happen due to ionic contamination. Irrespective of the reasons behind PCB failures, these defects always lead to power failures, components overheating, fire hazards, and other serious problems. Here’s how PCB rework experts resolve these issues.

How PCB Rework Experts Fix these Issues

Cleaning: When PCBs contain surface contaminants, risks like Ionic contamination are ever-present. Reworking experts use advanced cleaning agents and automated cleaning processes to prevent these contaminants from harshly affecting the PCB’s electrical characteristics. These cleaning processes also secure the efficiencies of the boards’ physical components (coating, bonding, etc.)

Removing Conformal Coating: This basic task of PCB rework processes is highly important. Since these protective chemical coatings prevent electronic circuits from being exposed to harsh chemical contaminants, they’re very tightly applied to PCBs. These coatings hide the components underneath. If there are contaminants inside the coatings, there could be serious failures. So, PCB rework experts first assess the type of conformal coating on the boards and pick an appropriate removal process. Then, they assess the boards to detect defects, signs of damage, etc.

BGA Reballing – This process of changing all the soldered balls on-grid array circuits is extremely time-consuming yet very important. BGA reballing is necessary when PCBs are overused or if the solder joints in-between the chips and the PCBs become too loose. To drastically reduce BGA Reballing Cost and the time it takes to complete these processes, PCB reworks specialists use advanced equipment and techniques. These advanced techniques involve the use of special adhesives that ensure the balls are inflexibly held in place to prevent problems like missing solder balls.

Some other repair tasks PCB rework experts specialize in include - coating replacement, baking, preheating, hole repairs, etc. Once design flaws are discovered, top PCB rework specialists immediately get to work and prevent production schedules or budgets from going overboard.