With fully automated machinery now handling the great majority of component assembly; with automated optical inspection or X-ray inspection of completed PCBs; and with automated in-line functional testing of circuits at speeds that pace the assembly machinery, where and how are workstations used in the modern surface-mount assembly process today?

The promise and promotion of the “lights out” factory has yet to be realized in any meaningful way. People can’t see in the dark, and electronics assembly facilities today are filled with skilled workers in support of the surface-mount assembly process.

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