PCB Reverse Engineering in Ireland — Complete Remote Service
PCB reverse engineering in Ireland works through a straightforward remote workflow: you ship your physical board from Dublin, Cork, Galway, or any Irish address, and our engineers return a complete file package — Gerber data, layered schematics, and a verified bill of materials. Typical turnaround for a 2–6 layer board is 5–8 working days. No local lab visit required; the entire process runs under mutual NDA with tracked international shipping both ways.
Why Irish Companies Need Board-Level Reverse Engineering
Ireland hosts a dense cluster of medtech, industrial automation, and telecom OEMs. Many of these companies maintain legacy products with boards designed 10–20 years ago, where the original Gerber files were never archived or the design house no longer exists. When a production line depends on a board that cannot be reordered, reverse engineering is the fastest path back to manufacturing capability.
Common scenarios we handle for Irish clients:
- End-of-life component replacement — the board needs a respin because a key IC went obsolete, but no source files exist.
- Legacy equipment support — keeping industrial or medical devices running when the original manufacturer has closed.
- Second-source qualification — verifying a competitor’s board against your own design to confirm IP boundaries.
- Prototype recovery — recreating files from a hand-built prototype that was never formally documented.
What You Receive: Deliverable File Package
| Deliverable | Format | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Gerber files | RS-274X / Gerber X2 | All copper layers, solder mask, silkscreen, drill file, board outline |
| Schematic | PDF + editable (Altium / KiCad / OrCAD on request) | Net-verified against physical board; hierarchical sheets for designs >200 nets |
| Bill of Materials | Excel / CSV | Manufacturer P/N, package, value, designator, current-stock cross-references |
| Centroid / Pick-and-Place | CSV | X-Y coordinates, rotation, side — ready for SMT assembly |
| Stackup report | Measured dielectric thickness, copper weight, impedance estimates (boards ≥4 layers) |
Every file set is cross-checked with a DRC pass before delivery. For boards with controlled-impedance traces (common in RF and high-speed digital designs), we include a stackup reconstruction with measured dielectric values accurate to ±0.05 mm.
How the Remote Workflow Operates from Ireland
Step 1 — Ship the Board
Pack the PCB in an antistatic bag inside a rigid box. Use any tracked international courier — DHL Express from Dublin typically delivers in 2–3 business days. Declare the item as “electronic circuit board sample, no commercial value” to simplify customs. Irish shipments enter our facility without duty under standard sample-import provisions.
Step 2 — Assessment & Quote
Within 24 hours of receipt we photograph the board, count layers (X-ray verification for ≥4 layers), and return a fixed-price quote. No reverse engineering work begins until you approve. Assessment is free; if you decline, we return the board at our cost.
Step 3 — Engineering
Our process combines high-resolution optical scanning (2400 DPI minimum), micro-sectioning for buried/blind via verification, and manual net-tracing against component datasheets. A 4-layer board with roughly 300 components typically takes 5–8 working days. Boards with 8+ layers or BGA-heavy layouts may need 10–15 days — we confirm the timeline in the quote.
Step 4 — Delivery & Review
Files are delivered via encrypted file transfer. You get a 14-day review window: if any net or footprint doesn’t match the physical board, we correct it at no extra charge. The original board ships back to your Irish address by tracked courier.
Typical Pricing Ranges for Irish Projects
Exact cost depends on layer count, component density, and board size. The table below gives realistic starting points based on boards we’ve processed from European clients in the past 12 months.
| Board Complexity | Layers | Component Count | Starting Price (USD) | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple consumer / IoT | 1–2 | <80 | $350 | 3–5 days |
| Mid-range industrial | 4 | 100–350 | $800 | 5–8 days |
| Complex telecom / medtech | 6–8 | 350–800 | $1,800 | 8–12 days |
| High-density HDI / 10+ layers | 10–16 | 800+ | $3,500+ | 12–18 days |
Shipping from Ireland to our lab and back adds roughly $45–$70 total via DHL Express. We invoice in USD; payment by wire transfer or PayPal.
What Can Go Wrong — Honest Limitations
Not every board can be perfectly reconstructed. Here’s where difficulties arise:
- Burned or delaminated boards — if copper traces are physically destroyed over more than 15 % of the board area, gaps in the netlist are inevitable. We document every uncertain connection and flag it in the schematic.
- Potted or conformal-coated assemblies — removing potting compound without damaging fine-pitch components (0201, 01005 passives) sometimes causes collateral losses. We advise on risk before proceeding.
- Custom or unmarked ICs — house-marked chips with no datasheet require functional testing or decapping to determine pinout. This adds time and cost; we quote it separately.
- Firmware-dependent behaviour — reverse engineering recovers the bare PCB design. If the board’s function depends on MCU firmware, that’s a separate board-copy service scope that includes IC readout (authorization and proof of ownership required).
Ireland-Specific Shipping and Customs Notes
Ireland is in the EU customs zone, which simplifies returns — boards shipped back to you clear customs as returned goods with no additional duty. For outbound shipments, mark the customs declaration accurately: HS code 8534.00 (printed circuits) is correct for bare or assembled PCBs. DHL and FedEx both offer door-to-door pickup from any Irish address with next-day collection booking.
Our typical response window aligns well with Irish business hours. Quotes and status updates arrive by email during GMT/IST morning, and we accommodate video calls between 09:00 and 12:00 Irish time for complex project kick-offs.
How Does PCB Reverse Engineering Compare Across Europe?
The remote model means Irish engineers get the same service, pricing, and turnaround as clients in any other European market. The only variable is shipping transit time — Ireland sits at 2–3 days outbound, identical to most Western European origins. Engineers in Denmark, Norway, and Finland use the same workflow with comparable lead times. Clients in Southern and Eastern Europe — for example, teams working from Portugal or Hungary — report similar 2–4 day shipping windows.
Confidentiality and IP Protection
Every project is covered by a mutual NDA signed before your board ships. We do not retain copies of your design files after the 14-day review window unless you request archival. All working files are stored on air-gapped workstations during the project. Board photographs used internally for engineering are deleted upon project close.
For IC readout or firmware extraction, we require written proof of design ownership or authorized maintenance rights before any work begins. This protects both parties and ensures compliance with Irish and international IP law.
Can I get PCB reverse engineering done locally in Ireland?
Ireland has limited domestic PCB reverse engineering capacity. Most local EMS providers focus on assembly, not design recovery. A remote service gives you access to a dedicated RE lab with X-ray, micro-sectioning, and high-resolution scanning equipment that would be uneconomical to maintain for occasional local demand. Turnaround is often faster than sourcing a local contractor.
How many layers can you reverse engineer from a board shipped from Ireland?
We handle boards from 1 to 20+ layers. For boards with 4 or more layers, we use X-ray imaging and controlled micro-sectioning to map internal copper and via structures. Blind and buried vias are individually catalogued. The practical upper limit is around 24 layers; beyond that, accuracy depends on board condition and via density.
Is it legal to reverse engineer a PCB in Ireland?
Under Irish and EU law, reverse engineering for interoperability, maintenance, or recovery of your own designs is generally permitted. We require proof of ownership or authorisation before starting work, and every project runs under NDA. If you’re uncertain about a specific board’s IP status, consult legal counsel before shipping — we’re happy to wait for clearance.
What if my board is damaged — can you still extract the design?
Yes, in most cases. Boards with cracked substrates, corroded traces, or missing components can still yield a usable netlist if at least 80–85 % of the copper is intact. We flag uncertain connections in the schematic and provide a confidence rating for each recovered net. Severely burned boards may require destructive layer separation, which we discuss with you before proceeding.
Do you offer ongoing production support after reverse engineering?
We can connect you with vetted PCB fabrication and assembly partners who accept our Gerber and BOM packages directly. Many Irish clients use us to recover files and then place volume orders with a board copy service in the UK or a local Irish assembler. We ensure the file package is production-ready for any IPC Class 2 or Class 3 manufacturer.
Check feasibility for your project
Send the chip marking or board details and tell us what you need to recover. Add clear photos if available.
Request a feasibility reviewWorking on a board like this?
Send the chip marking or two photos. You get feasibility, lead time and price within 24 hours, and the check costs nothing.
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