Glossary

The process of heating metal that has become compact and brittle. The heating makes the metal soft and malleable so it can be worked.

A heavy iron block with a smooth face, frequently made of steel, on which metals, usually heated until soft, are hammered into desired shapes.

The capacity of a wax to be carved or filed without clogging your tools. Harder waxes are best for carving.

The act of forming metal into desired shapes using cold fabrication methods such as intermittent blows with a hammer.

the process of removing ions from water using ion exchange.

To extract gas, vapors or impurities from a liquid.

Hammer with a polished rounded head for peening, hardening or adding texture to metals.

The capacity for doing work. Energy units are commonly used to characterize the output from pulsed lasers, and are generally expressed in joules (J).

Small tools and supplies used by an jewelry artists (e.g. jump rings, beads, etc.).

A tube with a tungsten filament, filled with krypton or xenon gas, used to
produce stimulated emission in a solid-state laser.

The degree to which a wax can be flexed without breaking.

The ability of a wax to fill cavities and accurately reproduce detail. The higher the flow properties, the more detail will be reproduced in the wax. The flow properties of a wax are determined by the flow temperature and the air pressure required to push the wax into the mold. As a general rule, the lower the flow temperature and injection pressure, the longer you must hold the mold onto the injection nozzle and the lower the shrinkage will be.

The temperature at which a wax is liquid enough to flow into your mold. Usually the flow temperature can vary slightly depending on the injection pressure being used.

The distance between the lens and the focal point. Also known as working distance.

The horizontal plane through the focal point and perpendicular to the axis of the lens.

The point at which light rays refracted by a lens converge or from which radiation diverges. The focal point of a focused laser beam is the point of highest energy concentration.

The process of shaping metal by heating it, then forming it
with hand tools or in a die-press.

If the inert gas option is being used, this parameter on the PulsePoint™ 150 shows the time (in seconds) that the inert shielding gas remains on after a shot.

A hand tool used to cut metal to shape it. Usually made of hardened steel with chisel-cut teeth covering its surface.

Cycles per second, used to express the repletion rate of a laser pulse.

This parameter shows the frequency of the laser pulse in shots per second. (Settings on the PulsePoint™ 150 range from 0.5 to 20 shots per second.)

The recommended air pressure applied to the molten wax to force it into your mold. Pressure can affect the amount of shrinkage.

(J) A measurement of output energy per pulse in pulsed lasers. Maximum joule output is a product of total watts and pulse-length (seconds); commonly
defined as one watt-second. Also known as “work” or “energy” (Q).

(kW) This parameter represents the power of the laser pulse. (Settings
on the PulsePoint™ 150 are given in kW and range from 0.5 to 5kW.)

A device that produces an intense, coherent, directional beam of light by stimulated electronic or molecular transitions to lower energy levels.

The solid material into which a lasing medium is embedded for the lasing process in a solid-state laser—generally a crystalline material.

The ability of the wax to deform and then return to its original shape. Wax patterns can be deformed somewhat when being pulled from the mold.

This parameter shows the diameter of the laser beam in millimeters (mm).
(Settings on the PulsePoint™ 150 range from 0.3 to 2.0mm.)

This parameter shows the duration time of the laser pulse in milliseconds (mS).
(Settings available on the PulsePoint™ 150 range from 0.5 to 15mS.)

A solid-state laser that uses a crystal of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) doped with neodymium.

The measurement of the energy per unit time produced by the laser, measured in watts (joules per second).

Parameters are the settings that control the laser pulse: the power of the beam, the diameter of beam, the duration of the shot, the frequency of shots, and the pulse shape.

A jewelry-making tool featuring formed jaws to grasp objects and bend or cut wire.

A single burst of energy from a laser.

Also known as a pulse width, this is the time or duration of the laser pulse, usually measured in milliseconds.

A special ingredient in some waxes that helps it come away cleanly from the mold. This agent is usually not necessary unless a wax has a high degree of detail or extremely deep relief that might make it difficult to remove from the mold. Spray-on mold release can to coat the mold before injection.

The shape of the laser pulse in terms of the relative energy released throughout its duration. The PulsePoint™ 150 offers five pulse shapes: square, ascending slope, descending slope, trapezoid and pulse train.

The length of time a wax can be stored without deteriorating.

The relative amount of volume lost when the wax changes from molten to solid form. Shrinkage is minimized in a wax with a short melting range; that is, a small difference between the completely solid temperature and the completely liquid temperature. The greater the difference between these two temperatures, the more likely it is that shrinkage will occur.

The art of raising or shaping sheet metal into forms using hammering, anvils and other tools.

Using various fusible alloys to join metallic parts. Commonly used in jewelry construction and repair.

Process of thinning and/or widening metal by hammering with a cross-peen hammer, using blows angled in the direction of the desired spread, to about 1/3 the original thickness.

A device used in hot glass bead-making and in soldering and welding operations that mixes specific fuels (usually oxygen, propane or natural gas) to produce the flame required to melt and work the material.

A unit of input power factored when calculating joule output energy.