How do you remove epoxy encapsulation from elcetronic control module?

Answer 1

Some epoxy encapsulation materials can be made to crumble into dust with the following method:

slowly heat the material in an oven or with a heat gun until it emits an odor. You do not need to burn it but only cause it to out-gas and decompose slowly. If a vacuum oven is used the process will require less time. After several minutes to several hours (depending on the size), the decomposed resin can be removed by gentle scraping, brushing or even with a blast of compressed air. Bear in mind that the applied heat may very possibly damage the internal circuitry. A vacuum oven is best because not as much heat is required.

If you have electronics design abilities and access to an x-ray system equipped with a microfocus x-ray tube, you can look inside and copy the internal circuit. I have done this and it actually allows you to draw a schematic diagram of the encapsulated unit. That lets you gain a good understanding of the original so you can make a functional copy. If however, there is a lot of complexity, you might save a lot of money to purchase a new unit. After all, they encapsulated it to protect intellectual property because they want to be paid for their work.