How mail-in repair works
From any plant in the country to our Dallas–Fort Worth bench and back — usually inside a week.
- 1
Start your repair online
Buy a flat-price repair or request a free evaluation. Either way you get an RMA number and shipping instructions instantly.
- 2
Ship us the unit
Pack it well, write the RMA on the box, and ship to our Dallas–Fort Worth lab with any carrier. Packing guides are in your confirmation.
- 3
We diagnose and repair
Bench diagnosis, board-level repair with quality components, aged capacitors replaced as standard, then full functional testing. Quote-track units get a firm quote for your approval before any work.
- 4
Tested, returned, warrantied
Your unit ships back with the return speed you chose — covered by a 24-month warranty, with your program and settings preserved.
✓Fixed — or it's free
Unrepairable units are refunded; evaluations cost $0
✓24-month warranty
Every repair covered, parts and labor
✓3–5 business days bench time
Rush (1–2 day) and emergency service available
✓Program preserved
Your application and settings stay in the unit
Pack it once, pack it right
Anti-static protection on boards, two inches of firm padding, RMA on the box. Ten minutes of packing protects a four-figure unit — the full guide is on the mail-in instructions page.
What happens on the bench
Every unit is photographed and logged at check-in against its RMA. Diagnosis starts with the failure description you gave us — the fault code, what the machine was doing, what you already tried — which is why the intake form asks. Board-level work means we find and replace the failed components (power modules, capacitors, regulators, digitizers, backlights), not just swap boards.
Aged electrolytic capacitors get replaced as standard practice in power-path repairs — they are the wear item of industrial electronics, and leaving old ones next to new parts is how repairs bounce. Then functional testing appropriate to the unit: HMIs boot, calibrate, and communicate; power supplies run at rated load; drives power and verify on the bench with test motors where the platform allows.
Quote-track units stop after diagnosis: you get a firm written quote and nothing happens until you approve it. Approved work continues straight through testing, QC, and return shipment with tracking. If a unit cannot be repaired: flat-price orders are refunded in full (less return shipping) and evaluation-track units cost you nothing.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between flat-price and free-evaluation services?
Flat-price repairs (most HMIs, PLC power supplies) have a bounded failure set, so we publish one price and you buy it online. Drives and boards vary too much for one honest number — those get a free bench evaluation and a firm quote you approve before any work. Either way you never pay for a repair that doesn't happen.
Who pays for shipping?
You ship the unit to us with your carrier of choice at your cost. Return shipping is selected and paid at checkout ($24.95 ground / $59.95 2-day / $109.95 overnight). Units over 50 lb are freight — contact us first and we arrange it.
How should I pack an industrial unit?
Anti-static protection for bare boards, two inches of firm padding on every side, nothing loose in the box, and the RMA number written on the outside. The full guide with photos is on the mail-in instructions page.
What does the warranty cover?
Every completed repair carries a 24-month warranty on the work performed and parts installed. If the same fault returns, we repair it again at no charge. External events — surges, water, mechanical damage, other components failing upstream — are excluded; the warranty page has the plain-language details.
Do you work on equipment still under OEM warranty?
Third-party repair can void an active OEM warranty. If your unit is new enough to have one, use the OEM path first — we'll say exactly this if we spot it at check-in.
Machine down? Let's get it back up.
Start a repair online in two minutes, or send us the part number for a free technician review.
The Fixed-or-Free Guarantee: if we can't repair it, you don't pay for the repair.
Call (817) 799-7332 · 📱 Text us a photo of your unit · Email repairs@controlboardlab.com