What Is Board-Level Repair?

Equipment can be repaired at several levels. At the unit level, the whole product is swapped. At the board level, the failed board inside it is repaired and refitted. At the component level, the individual part on that board is identified and replaced. Board-level repair is the outcome; component-level work is the technique used to get there.

The board is diagnosed on the bench, the failed section is isolated, failed components are replaced, damaged pads, traces and connectors are repaired, and the board is tested before it goes back. It keeps its identity, firmware and configuration where those are held on the board.

It makes sense where a replacement board is costly, imported or discontinued, where the fault is confined to part of the board, and where a short outage matters. It is less attractive for cheap, widely available boards.

Boards with unobtainable parts, extensive damage or damaged programmed devices that cannot be restored may not be repairable. Sinsal does not carry out BGA rework, and an assessment says early if a board is outside what can be repaired.