Repair the Board or Buy a New One? A Decision Guide

When a machine stops, the first question is usually: is it faster and cheaper to repair the faulty board, or to buy a new one? The right answer depends on the type of board, the nature of the fault and whether a replacement is available. The criteria below help you decide.

6 criteria to consider

1. 1
   1. Is a replacement available?

   For discontinued boards or those with long lead times, repair is often the only realistic option. For a current board that is in stock, buying new may be faster.

2. 2
   2. What does the downtime cost?

   The cost of every hour the machine stands still usually matters more than the board price. Whichever solution is fastest is usually the right one.

3. 3
   3. Nature of the fault

   Component failures such as capacitors, power semiconductors, regulators or connectors are usually repairable. Fire, heavy corrosion or inner-layer damage on multilayer boards make repair difficult or impossible.

4. 4
   4. Is it a recurring fault?

   If the same board fails often, the root cause may lie in the environment rather than the board: overheating, humidity, supply voltage fluctuations or a problem on the load side. Without fixing the root cause, neither repair nor a new board will last.

5. 5
   5. Software and parameters

   A new board may require matching firmware versions, parameters or configuration. A repaired board returns with its existing settings, which shortens recommissioning.

6. 6
   6. Overall condition of the board

   On a very old board showing ageing in several sections, fixing a single fault may not be enough. In that case consider preventive component renewal along with the repair, or a medium-term modernisation plan.

In short

In the ELKAR laboratory we run a free same-day pre-analysis on your board and tell you whether it can be repaired and the approximate cost. No repair fee is charged for boards that cannot be repaired; repaired boards are load-tested and delivered with a 6-month warranty.