An apparatus for thermal mechanical machining of composite materials includes a head, a drive, and a shaft. An electromagnetic receiver is positioned at the focus point to receive the reflected electromagnetic signals. The separator mechanism is configured to apply a pulling force to the first blank. The bladder contains air at slightly above ambient pressure and can be formed by thermoforming or by welding two sheets of resilient, flexible material together. The valve member is slidably received in a bore of the movable core. A power unit is electrically connected between the electrodes.