Feature

Bare Board
ECOs, ECNs
and Design
Modifications
by Bob Wettermann
BEST Inc.

Abstract
While rework has been historically defined
and memorialized by the IPC 7721 board-level repair guidelines as a populated board operation, there are many types of PCB ECOs on
bare, unpopulated boards that require changing
or modifying the physical aspects to the PCB.
These cases are most commonly ones in which
there has been an error in the board layout, a
PCB fabrication error, or a design oversight. The
most common types of physical board rework
includes the adding or cutting of traces and
pads, the select removal of solder mask, and the
modification of board dimensions.
The types of physical rework that are performed most commonly on bare and populated
PCBs, the most common options for reworking
boards, and the methods used for performing
this type of board-level rework will be discussed
here. Case studies will be examined, along with
photos of the board-level changes that were
performed in order to evaluate the different
methods.
One of the options for fixing a layout or design error, or to change the routing due to the
use of other components, is to perform physical
board modifications to populated and unpopulated PCBs. These ECNs or modifications need
to be performed on the bare boards, keeping in
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SMT Magazine November 2014

mind that subsequent board processing including stencil printing, reflow, wash cycle(s) and
wave soldering will be performed on the PCB.
In this case, both the as built board information and the needs to be modified board
design information needs to be sent to the rework or remanufacturing location. Boards will
then be shipped to the initial fabricator or rework services provider with a sample lot being
shipped back as a first-article inspection prior
to the remainder of the lot being modified. In
some cases, boards can be simply respun so that