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58 SMT Magazine • November 2017 the confines of normal distribution it is because a "non-natural" assignable cause has pushed or pulled it. If we require perfection, first know we will never achieve it. Second, we need to ask: At what cost? Does the cost justify the bene- fit? And, if we end up demanding perfection we need to make sure someone is designated to turn off the lights and close the door when our production business goes out of business. At least that's what I think. Hey, what do YOU say? I'd like to hear your thoughts, reac- tions and opinions. And, please, if you have knowledge and/or experiences concerning the material pricing disparity between products as- sembled in low and high labor rate regions of the world please contact me. SMT References 1. T. Borkes, "Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking and Analyzing the Cost of Material in Today's Global Economy, Part 1," SMT Maga- zine, June 2017. 2. T. Borkes, "Analyzing the Cost of Material in Today's Global Economy, Part 2," SMT Maga- zine, July 2017. 3. T. Borkes, "Analyzing the Cost of Material in Today's Global Economy, Part 3," SMT Maga- zine, August 2017. 4. T. Borkes, "Electronic Product Assembly in the Global Marketplace: The Material Piece of the Competitive Puzzle," SMTA International Conference Proceedings, Orlando, Florida, Oc- tober 2010. 5. T. Borkes, "Analyzing the Cost of Material in Today's Global Economy—Hit the Pause But- ton," SMT Magazine, October 2017. 6. A. Patel, M. Siebenhuhner, G. Dutt, R. Pandher, M. Holtzer, and T.W. Mok, "Process Design and Material Factors for Voiding Con- trol for Thermally Demanding Applications" SMTA International, Chicago, Illinois, Septem- ber 20, 2017. 7. T. Lentz. "Fill the Void III," SMTA Inter- national, Chicago, Illinois, September 20, 2017. 8. V. Rawinski, "Void Reduction by Sweep Stimulation of PCB Substrate Influence of Ei- genmodes," SMTA International, Chicago, Illi- nois, September 20, 2017. 9. D. Hillman, D. Adams, T. Pearson, B. Wil- liams, B. Petrick, R. Wilcoxon, Dr. D. Bernard, J. Travis, Dr. E. Krastev, V. Bastin, "The Last Will and Testament of the BGA Void," SMTA Inter- national, October 16, 2011. 10. D. Banks, et. al., "The Effects of Solder Joint Voiding on Plastic Ball Grid Array Reliabil- ity," Surface Mount International Conference, September 10, 1996. Tom Borkes is the founder of the Jefferson Project and the forthcom- ing Jefferson Institute of Technol- ogy. To read past columns or to contact Borkes, click here. THE PROPER POSITION TO TAKE ON VOIDS IN SOLDER JOINTS, PART 1 During SMTAI International 2017, Leo Lambert, vice president and technical direc- tor of EPTAC, discusses with I-Connect007 Managing Editor Andy Shaughnessy, his company's recent expansion and the trends he's seeing in manufacturing training. Watch the interview here. EPTAC Discusses Manufacturing Training Trends