A method for manufacturing surgical blades from either a crystalline or poly-crystalline material, preferably in the form of a wafer, is disclosed. In one embodiment, the chip includes an ESD circuit essentially dedicated per each actuator. The device includes a graphics display and a graphics image processor operable to display images representative of at least the first ink data on the graphics display screen in combination with hand drawn images which may have already been created. In other embodiments, parameters or values generated during the course of an incomplete treatment may be evaluated to provide additional instructions or feedback to an operator. A superconducting article can include a composite structure including an outermost layer of magnesium oxide, a buffer layer of strontium titanate or a mixture of strontium titanate and strontium ruthenate and a top-layer of a superconducting material such as YBCO upon the buffer layer. The surface of the foam may be wet, as by spraying water thereon prior to shaping and partial curing, and may also be sprayed thereafter as by spraying water thereon.