It makes sense to build the LED and driver on one board like that from a production viewpoint.
There are ways to remove and replace the LEDs but the process isn't perfect. Basically:
- The entire board is heated to just below solder melt temperature (which we have to guess at)
- You apply a desolder flux to the area where the solder is to be removed
- A very fine tip heat gun is applied right at the part to be removed, melting the solder locally so that the part is removable.
Under the best of conditions, the process has a yield less than 100%, and a 50% failure rate is common even if you are doing the same project regularly.
The big challenges are:
- The board is a very good heat spreader, so it is hard to make a localized temperature differential
- The LED is soldered down, not just the electrical contacts, but also the back is soldered to the board - so difficult to access.
I only have some of the tools needed to do that kind of work (and lack the eye - hand coordination) but I would think that if someone were willing to take on the project, you would need to supply them with at least 4 - 5 of the boards in hope of getting one good one back.
The kind of place that would have the tools to do that work are a printed circuit board repair business, or individual doing printed circuit repair at the component level.
There is a forum member who did a great deal of testing and posting of LEDs who has those kinds of skills and tools. I need to think about what his name is. He posted a lot in the LED section years ago and was really into bike riding.
You might also look at resumes in cragslist, or try posting a gig adv.
