Custom Making a 950 Palladium and
22-Karat Granulation Wedding Band
Using Fusion-Welding Technology

This band was designed by Lainie

Mann and rendered using Gemvision

Matrix jewelry design software. The

22-karat granulation beads measure approximately 1.0 millimeter and have

a small space between each one. The 22-karat granulation beads will

be permanently applied by fusion-

welding using the ABI Tack II and

the vacuum pump and ring clamp attachments.

The indentation on the band for the granulation beads is smooth and even. The outer surface has a brush

texture finish and the inside surfaces

are highly polished.

For the fusion welding of the 22

karat beads onto the 950 palladium band, a vacuum attachment is used to pick up the beads in conjunction

with the Tack II. It generates vacuum

pressure that’s pulled through a tube type handpiece. With the pressure, an operator can pick up beads or

solder and fusion or tack weld the

small pieces in a precise location. For picking up beads, a small setting bur is used to make the tip of the tube into a concave shape. For solder, the

tip of the tube should remain flat.

The vacuum pump attachment is

placed on top of the ABI Tack II. The

air hose is attached to the vacuum

pump and the wire lead is attached

to the positive terminal on the Tack II. The ring clamp lead is attached to the negative terminal. The unit is turned on and set at 30 volts on the high energy setting.

The energy was increased to 45 volts. The bottom of the indentation was smooth and even with no roughness. The beads were picked up by the

vacuum attachment and positioned

for welding. During the welding process, the handpiece was held perpendicular to the ring and firm pressure was applied between the

bead and ring.

The ring clamp lead has a piece of

copper on one side with standard leather on the other. The wire lead

that’s attached to the negative terminal is also attached to the copper.

The fusion welding of the

granulation beads is best done

under magnification. Here a bench

microscope is used. The beads should only make contact at their

base with the 950 palladium and not with the sides of the indentation or with an adjacent bead(s).

Photographs – Mark B. Mann