When the printed circuit board experiences physical damage—typically in the form of scratched traces or masks, broken corners, raised pads, or damaged plated through holes—it must be physically repaired.These repairs need the right PCB repair tools and methods if the customer wants or allows them.The methods must be carried out by experts with prior experience in such repairs.PCB repair tools that are made to make the jobs of repair technicians easier and faster.

For the repair of printed circuit boards, there are a number of methods, many of which were developed by the military.These procedures have now been collected and are being overseen by the worldwide exchange association the IPC.In IPC-7721, "The repair of printed wiring boards," the IPC's repair procedures are detailed.This technical "how-to" manual goes into great detail about the repair procedure, the tools that are needed, and the level of skill that is required for each of the repair procedures—good, better, and best.The methods for repairing PCBs in this document range from replacing gold fingers to replacing solder masks and repairing laminate damage.If a physical repair as described in the repair manual is required, the specifications require customer involvement. printed circuit boards assembly

This specification divides the repair methods into beginner, advanced, and expert PCB repair technician levels.The IPC-7721 outlines up to four approved repair methods that can restore the board to a fully functional PCB in some instances.

The IPC-7721 "The Repair of Printed Wiring Boards" manual contains "how to" instructions as well as a list of the tools needed to carry out the suggested repair.The PCB repair tools and techniques manual provides information about each repair process, as well as the PCB repair tools, to the user.Most of the time, they are just basic tools that can be bought from a lot of different places.In some instances, the "how to" section of the standard includes a generic sketch of the tool in use. However, the photographs in the standard supporting the documentation of the specification may include a specific tool vendor.In some procedures, very specific tools from very specific manufacturers are shown or referred to.

For instance, the PCB pad replacement method is one of the procedures described in "Repair of Printed Wiring Boards" of IPC-7721, which describes PCB repairs tools and techniques.Both the IPC 7721 4.5.1 Land Repair, Epoxy Method and the IPC 7721 4.5.2 Land Repair, Dry Film Method accomplish the same thing: replacing land that has been removed, typically as a result of an improper rework process or handling damage.The following materials are mentioned in both approaches:Tweezers, a microscope, a cleaner, a soldering iron, and wipesThen, in the details of each method, specific materials that are specific to that method—adhesive, circuit frames, and adhesive film—are listed.So that both the PCB repair process steps and the materials can be used to finish the repair, each process step is listed in detail.