Printed circuit boards, or PCBs, are the driving forces behind virtually everything society uses today, from smartphones and computers to car displays and coffee makers. When a printed circuit board fails, it disrupts both personal and professional lives, making everyday and specific tasks much harder to complete.
The causes of printed circuit board failure can statistically be connected to one of two factors: performance issues resulting from environmental faults or operation problems stemming from the planning and manufacturing stage of production. Environmental damage is usually more substantial than manufactured problems. Extensive damage done to an electronic system, especially the printed circuit board, is almost impossible to diagnose and repair, making the entire model worthless. Because most owners can’t afford this waste, it’s imperative that those working with PCBs strive for the utmost care and treat every electronic with respect.
Sometimes these failures, whether environmental or manufactured faults, happen after many years of use, but typically these problems are accidentally built into the board during its design, setting it up for failure prior to the first use.
Damaged Printed Circuit Boards and Repair
For most circuit boards, it’s best to return the damaged product to the original equipment manufacturer. Because they built and designed the board, they’ll have the deepest level of understanding and often have an identical or similar board to reference during the repair process. This access to replacement and duplicate products means a cost-effective repair solution with an expedited turn around time, saving owners and hobbyists time, money, and their sanity.
Environmental Issues
When exposed to certain environmental issues, circuit boards will suffer serious damage or failure. Things like temperature, humidity, dirt, mold, and accidental impact can damage or destroy a printed circuit board. Humidity can cause condensation and electrical shorts, which are almost impossible to repair. Humidity and water damage also leads to mold and mildew, which is a death sentence for printed circuit boards and electronics. Accidental impact covers dropping, crushing, or static shocks, which will sever connections. Temperature shifts can also cause condensation and warping of the material. Dirt that finds its way inside of an electronic will become impacted against delicate components, degrade the printed circuit board, and corrode the welding, connections, and effectiveness. In extreme cases, power overloads from power surges or lightning strikes can cause serious harm to printed circuit boards.
Manufactured Problems
Human error is the root of all manufacturing problems with printed circuit boards. It’s easy to misread a schematic, connect the wrong points, or produce a board to the wrong specifications. These problems can include:
* Components installed incorrectly
* Components incorrectly placed
* Poor soldering causing cold solder joints
* Incorrect board thickness (this can lead to bending, warping, and breaking)
* Poor insulation of traces causing a voltage arc and short
* Traces and pathways placed too closely
* Poor connectivity between board sub layers causing inefficient performance
Most of these problems can be repaired, which is easier and less expensive than replacing the entire board.
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