Dismantling a printed circuit board or PCB requires special tools as well as skills. The need to dismantle a whole PCB or remove some components may arise due to malfunctioning of the whole board or some of its components. Dismantling is the first step in repairing the board and must be done very carefully such that the board does not get damaged. The pads and traces on a PCB board can get damaged easily and special care should be exercised in removing components from it.
Instructions
1 Place the PCB on a flat surface with components that need to be removed facing up.
2 Turn the heat gun on and place it above the component to be removed at a distance of about 6 inches.
3 Hold the component with the tweezer as soon as the solder flux starts melting and take it out of the board immediately. The component should come out effortlessly. If it does not, wait a few seconds more before pulling it out.
4 Repeat this process for all the components that need to be removed.
5 Turn the heat gun off.
6 Turn the soldering iron on and set it at a temperature of 450 degrees Celsius.
7 Place the copper braid on the pads of the components that have been removed and touch it with the tip of the soldering iron. The solder flux will be absorbed by the braid.
8 Cut the front portion of the copper braid that has absorbed the solder before moving on to the next pad.
9 Use alcohol swabs to clean all the pads.
