The inventive subject matter is directed toward a pyrolytic waste treatment system comprising a pyrolysis chamber having a chamber wall with a hole through which a shaft passes. The invention also relates to a polishing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a polishing pad. An ignition system ignites the explosive material in the explosion chamber to create a blast wave. The target function and the basis function are fitted to produce ablation depths for discrete scanning spots which are used to calculate the number of pulses at each reference position along the two-dimensional section. The range of working distances in which the indicia are read is varied, either automatically or manually.