Small Hand Tool Technology Glossary
Excelta Corporation provided the following definitions to help the biomedical manufacturing industry and electronics assembly industry speak more precision technology “geek speak”. Our glossary addresses terminology for custom hand tools like tweezers, scissors, cutters, pliers and more.
| ANTI-NICK | "MW” series of tweezers with radius edges |
| ANTI-SHOCK | The process by which an electronic component lead is cut eliminating most of the vibration caused by cutting. |
| BOLEY | An inexpensive style of tweezers usually supplied in carbon steel-nickel plate. Double lettered numbering system. |
| BOX-JOINT | A method of joining the two parts of pliers or cutters. One half of a tool is slipped through an opening in the other half, and joined with a rivet. |
| CARBOFIB | A composite, plastic type material that is conductive. This material is soft and prevents scratching. |
| COBALTIMA | 5 Star***** our highest quality line of tweezers made from cobalt alloy. A registered trademark of Excelta Corporation. |
| COPOLYMER | An ESD safe thermoplastic, styrene-butadiene, provides excellent mechanical, thermo and elastic properties to compound. |
| -CTC | Conductive Black PTFE Coating. Applied to the first 1-1/2" of the tips to help prevent nicking and scratching of components. Available in 1.5mil / 3.0 mil / 5.0 mil thickness. |
| CTM | Critical Tip Measurement is the X-Y dimension of the very tip on a pair tweezers. |
| -D | Single Cut Serrations. Can be added to the inside jaws of most tweezers and pliers. |
| DELI-TOUCH |
Excelta trademark for extremely precise ergonomic tweezers for use under magnification. |
| -DX | Double Cut Serrations (or Diamond serrations) can be applied to the inside jaws of most tweezers and pliers. Diamond serrations are finer and are desinged for handling smaller parts and wires. |
| ERCON | A tool reconditioning service approved, authorized and controlled by EXCELTA trained specialists. |
| ERGO-TWEEZ -ET | Trademark used for tweezers with foam grips, our ergonomic series of tweezers. Available on many of our 5 Star, 3 Star and 2 Star tweezers. |
| ESD | Electro-Static-Discharge |
| EXCELTA | A registered trademark of Excelta Corporation. |
| FLUSH CUT | Refers to the type of cut on a cutter. The cutting edges are ground even, leaving little or no 'pinch' on the wire being cut. |
| FORCEPS | A pair of pincers used in surgical operations and by dentist and watchmakers. |
| -G | Ergonomic Long Bent Handle. Available on most pliers and wire cutters. |
| KITSETS | Sets of Excelta Corporation's precision tools |
| LAP-JOINT | A method of joining the two parts of pliers or cutters. One part is laid over the other then joined by a rivet or screw. |
| LEAD-CATCH | A wire retainer, available on cutting tools, designed to hold the component lead or wire when cut. |
| -MW | Micro Handling tweezers have radiused edges and polished inside jaws to prevent nicking and scratching when handling delicate parts. |
| NEVERRUST | The Excelta trademark for the type of stainless steel alloy used in the 3, 4 and 5 Star series of tweezers. |
| NONGLARE | A satin finish used on tweezers. |
| PADDLE TIP | Refers to the type of tip on the SMD series of tweezers. |
| PEEK | Polyetheretherketone is a high-temperature thermoplastic crystalline with high resistance to organic solvents. |
| PENVAC | Self contained vacuum pick-up system. |
| PISTOL GRIP -P | An ergonomically designed handle, available cutters and pliers, designed to ergonomically fit in the hand. |
| PRECISTA | The 2 Star quality series of products offered by Excelta. A registered trademark of Excelta Corporation. |
| RADIUS EDGES | The inside edge on tweezers that have been rounded to avoid marring of delicate wires. |
| REVERSE ACTION | A style of tweezers that is closed at rest and must be manipulated to open (Negative type). |
| ROTO-PIC | A vacuum pick-up tool for handling chips and wafers. |
| -S | Ergonomic "S" Long Hooked Handle is available on most pliers and wire cutters. Allows tool to rest in the hand when cutting horizontally. |
| SEMI-FLUSH | Refers to the type of cut on a cutter. The cutting edges are ground on both sides leaving a 'pinch' on the wire begin cut. |
| SHEAR CUT | Refers to the cutting motion when cutting blades pass by one another in a scissor action. |
| SMT | Surface-Mount-Technology is a process of mounting electronic components to a P.C. board, as opposed to through-hole-technology. |
| SOFTOUCH | Trademark of our thinnest body, lightest and strongest tweezers. |
| -TC | PTFE coating. Applied to the first 1-1/2" of the tips to help prevent nicking and scratching of components. Available in 1.5mil / 3.0 mil / 5.0 mil thickness. Acid and heat resistant to 500 degrees F. |
| TEP | Test Evaluation Program offers products to be sent to customers for evaluation. |
| WAF-O-GRIP | Semi-conductor wafer holding tweezers. |
