Abstract: This abstract is being provided in accordance with the provisions of Section 1.72 of the Rules of Practice in Patent and Trademark Cases (37 CFR). The applicant intends that this abstract be used only to aid in determining the general nature of the technical disclosure. The applicant does not intend that this abstract be looked to in order to aid or assist in the determination of the scope of any claim. An electronics board (150) is retained by an arrangement of support members (120) or support pins (620) during manufacturing operations conducted on the electronics board (150). The arrangement corresponds to the locations on the electronics board where support members (120) can be placed without interfering with components mounted to the electronics board (150). This information is used to form a transparent template (110, 610) which is placed atop a metallic support plate (100).