Vise jaw plates and matching work piece holders cooperate to reliably secure an odd-shaped object in a preferred orientation between the plates. The characteristic may be detected either during the dialog or at a later time based on stored data representing the dialog. The cart further includes a hands-free mechanism that is coupled to the container and engaged with the cover to move the cover between the open position and the closed position. The waveguide may be axially compressed which causes the length of the waveguide to decrease without buckling. A method for forming thin profile cochlear implant is also provided. The present invention is also directed to a substrate, such as an aluminum substrate, that has been coated using the aforementioned method.