A Veteran Technician Explains What Makes a Professional Laser Company Different

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I learned to be a tech in the military and spent 23 years on and off with the Navy. My first enlistments were with Marine Recon because I was a technical specialist taken into hotspots to perform maintenance.

One thing the military teaches you as a tech is that if you don't do your job correctly, people could actually die.

1. My Journey Into the Laser Industry

Hi, I'm Joe Braga from Engraver's Choice. I represent many models within the industry.

I started in 1990 after working on engravers and lasers at USS Missouri. I've been in the industry for about 35 years and have held positions ranging from CTO of a laser company to master distributor for the West Coast for Boss Laser.

We do not have loyalty to manufacturers. Our loyalty is to the customer.

2. Why I Became Frustrated With Many Laser Companies

a. Watching Industry Infrastructure Disappear

After finishing my contract and leaving, I slowly noticed laser company infrastructure fading away. Most Chinese revenue-based laser companies have no real US infrastructure. They claim they do, but they don't.

b. What Made OneLaser Different to Me

OneLaser actually has US technicians, some of whom I originally trained. They also have infrastructure built around US-designed systems.

Frankly, Engraver's Choice does a lot of customer support for that laser company because it really has no customer support.

3. Why Customer Support Matters So Much to Me

a. Building a Business Around Training and Technical Support

Our business mainly focuses on installation, training, and technical support. If I align myself with a unit that doesn't meet our standards, it hurts that side of my business.

That's why we had to move away from that company because of the problems.

b. The Real Cost of Poor-Quality Machines

When we install one of their machines for a client, we charge twice as much because we basically have to rebuild the machine from scratch.

If you're doing real production work, you'll wear that machine out within three months and eventually have to buy another one.

On top of that, without proper customer support, installation, or training, you're going to waste $5,000 to $10,000 in damaged product while trying to get orders out the door.

4. Why I Trust OneLaser Machines

With OneLaser, I don't think I've ever even had to adjust a beam. We perform full quality assurance during installation, but we rarely have to make corrections.

Usually, we can get right to training the client and helping them make money with the product.

5. What Impressed Me Most About the Cobra

a. A Lightweight Head With Serious Build Quality

When I first saw the Cobra, the first thing that stood out was how light the head is. The head is extremely well-constructed and solid. You could probably take it out and hit it against a wall and it would still be fine.

Because it's lightweight, there's very little overtravel when running at 1200 mm per second.

b. Maintaining Speed Without Sacrificing Quality

One problem with some other tubes I've seen is that they can technically run fast, but the machines can't maintain that speed because the power supplies can't keep up.

You run them at full speed and the engraving becomes too light.

With the Cobra, I've seen it maintain both speed and quality at the same time.

6. The Engineering Details That Caught My Attention

a. Secure Components and Better Machine Stability

One of my biggest complaints about many DC glass tube manufacturers is that they provide unsecured grid tables.

With the Cobra and OneLaser systems, the grid table is secured properly.

b. Clean Electronics and Thoughtful Wiring Design

Another thing that stood out was how clean the electronics were. All wiring was tinned, shielded, and locked down to prevent cold joints.

All heat sinks were numbered, so if a wire came loose, it would be obvious where it belonged. Wire 32 goes into hole 32.

All screw terminals on the main board were properly torqued. You could still remove them if needed, but they weren't going to vibrate loose.

The power supply output was also very clean.

c. Expandability That Gives Customers More Options

There's also a board unique to OneLaser that allows future features like turning the blower on and off automatically with the job if desired.

The expandability of the unit was really impressive.

7. Features I Believe Give OneLaser an Advantage

a. Handling Uneven Engraving With Precision

One thing I like to test is the reader control board inside both the Cobra and Hydra systems. It has the ability to handle uneven engraving.

I could laser a part with one-inch focus in one area, one-and-a-quarter-inch focus in another, and two-inch focus in another area, all within the same job.

b. Why In-House Engineering Makes a Difference

One reason I think this works better with OneLaser is the uniqueness of the motion system. If we run into something unique, we don't have to ask the hardware manufacturer to make changes.

We can handle it internally because the machines are designed from scratch in-house.

8. The Biggest Buying Mistakes I See Customers Make

When I'm in customer shops, I often see mistakes people made when buying their machines. I hear a lot of people say, "I wish we had known about you before we bought."

That's because I'm servicing machines from Aeon Laser, Boss Laser, AP Lazer, Thunder Laser, and others.

The biggest issue I see is that buyers don't think about expandability. They buy a machine for specific tasks, then later realize customers want them to do something completely different.

9. Why Fast Support Can Save a Business

If a machine arrives damaged because UPS or FedEx dropped it and cracked the tube, we'll get a replacement tube out within 24 hours.

I've seen competitors take three months to deliver a single replacement tube.

That's like buying a car from a company that doesn't even have replacement tires if you get a flat.

Conclusion

The main reason I chose to sell OneLaser is because the technicians I work with all run successful engraving businesses themselves.

It's like buying a truck from a truck driver. The trust is already there.

If you're looking for the best glass tube laser on the market today, head over to OneLaser and shop Cobra.

Meet Joe Braga at:

• Website: engraverschoice.com
• Facebook: @EngraversChoiceSst
• Youtube: @EngraversChoice