Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1469343
66 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2022 "ere were a couple of magazines in the breakroom called Chip Scale Review. I actually browsed through one or two," Andy said. "OK, here is the last one," Sue said. 10. A process has 10 steps; the yield at each step is 99%. What is the end of the process yield? a) 90.4% b) 89.1% c) 90% d) None of the above Sue took her smartphone, opened the calcu- lator, and then flipped the phone on its side. "e answer is (a) 90.4%," Sue said. Andy seemed deflated. He was shocked that she could determine the answer so quickly. He really did need to up his game, he thought. "How did you do that?" Andy asked. "Isn't it obvious that the answer is 0.99 10 = 0.904 or 90.4%?" Sue said. "It wasn't obvious to me," Andy said deject- edly. Sue proceeded to show Andy how to make this calculation. She then felt it was time to dis- cuss the results. "Well, nine out of 10 seems pretty good to me," she said. "I agree," Andy said. "Hey, how do you feel about the pre-calcu- lus class we are taking that starts next week?" Sue asked. "I'm so nervous, I'm shaking," said Andy. "I got a Schaum's Outline of Elementary Algebra and I have to admit that it now seems easy to me. When I was in high school, I saw no pur- pose for algebra and now I do. Solving some of the problems was kind of fun." "Pre-calc seems a little scarier though, I agree," Sue said. "Hey, isn't it great that Chuck has developed a class to help us prepare for SMTA Certification?" "And it's on overtime pay!" Andy exclaimed. Sue got up, gave Andy a quick kiss, and grabbed his hand. As Andy stood up, his knees just about buckled. "It's still early and the weather's great. ere is a waxing gibbous moon tonight. Let's go for a walk and check it out," Sue said coyly. Andy had no idea what a waxing gibbous moon was, but the thought of a moonlight stroll with Sue was enticing. In the following weeks, the staff at Ivy Ben- son was almost a little annoyed at Sue and Andy as they kept asking all sorts of questions about electronics assembly. SMT007 Note: To my knowledge, there is not a source of material to help a technician or engineer new to electronics assembly to learn the basics. In this series, as we watch Sue and Andy learn the basics, I plan for this to be the source. —Cheers, Dr. Ron Ronald C. Lasky is an instruc- tional professor of engineering for the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, and senior technolo- gist at Indium Corporation. To read past columns, or contact Lasky, click here.