Wazer U.
Poorly Engineered/No Warranty
Desktop: I am a glass artist. I bought a Wazer based on their slick advertising showing a business I admire creating wonderful intricate glass creations. After a rough start, I was finally able to get my desktop version to cut nicely. The original cutter head ($300) had to be replaced after less than 10 hours of cutting. The machine is supposed to filter the used abrasive back into buckets for removal. That system has never worked at all and Wazer knows this. I have to hand scoop virtually all of the used abrasive from the machine which is a back-breaking and tedious task. Also, I had no idea that this was really a water-assisted abrasive cutter-- not a waterjet cutter. The bags of abrasive weigh 50 pounds and pounds of abrasive are used for a single cut. Finding somewhere to dispose of the used abrasive (hundreds of pounds each month) is difficult, not to mention the difficulties of having to drag wet sand up a flight of stairs. What I didn't know buying this machine was that repairs would have to be made to the machine constantly. After days of back and forth between myself and the company, I am always able to get replacement parts mailed out, but the down-time is crazy and the repairs are very time-consuming and require maneuvering a machine that's not on wheels and that weighs hundreds of pounds. I get really tired of being treated like I'm not very intelligent. The condescending explanations are frustrating, but they hold all the power. Wazer is very good at advertising but their engineering is horrible. The advertisements show them effortlessly cutting through all types of materials. Those videos are sped up to probably 20 times the actual speed. The actual cutting times are very long, even on glass. My biggest concern is that there is a very short warranty and no promise of service of any type past that warranty window. People who buy used machines have an even more difficult time. The main unit costs thousands to replace and can fail very quickly. If there was an option for an extended warranty, I would actually purchase it, but there isn't. Getting completed parts that are nice quality is also difficult. In many cases, the machine needs to be slowed down (using more abrasive and water) and even then a high failure rate is to be expected. The cutting beds are a sacrificial part and they don't last more than a few cuts at $33 per side. Bottom line: This is a slick toy great for the wealthy hobbyist who likes to have the latest fun stuff for their studio. If you're a business wanting to profit from owning this machine, the combination of down-time and failed cuts (wasted materials) is going to make this a frustrating endeavor. Wazer Pro: The company I work for bought a Wazer Pro for cutting glass for resale. The Wazer Pro has all of the difficulties of the Desktop plus more. It also has a couple improvements. It uses less abrasive and the abrasive removal system works well. However, this machine is NOT suitable for our intended purpose which is to cut glass. The machine is just too powerful for this task. The glass shatters. The pieces fly off the sheet and into the tank. It cannot cut the intricate parts that the desktop version cut with ease. Although this machine is purchased on a lease to purchase agreement, there is no stipulation for returning the machine and no warranty past the first year. Bottom line: This machine does not work for the intended purpose the company purchased it for. It has more than a 15% part failure rate on even the simplest cuts such as 3" circles. Wazer has suggested buying thick plastic sheets and placing them under the glass during cutting to prevent shattering. We are not inclined to go to the added expense or to put that much plastic waste into the environment. This machine does not perform it's intended task and Wazer simply can't help. Whether or not they knew that before selling this product is unknown. With both machines, you'll need plumbing and a water catchment system (because microscopic and oily) plastic will cling to your pipes causing plumbing issues. For the Wazer Pro, you'll need dedicated 220V wiring. The Wazer Pro weighs hundreds of pounds and takes about 3-4 very strong people to put in place. Why the one star feedback? The machines simply do not perform well. They're poorly engineered and very high maintenance. For that, I would have given a three star rating. The reason for the one star rating is the company itself. They are the only company to produce the product and the only one to warrant the machine. They don't stand behind the product and although the customer service is prompt & mostly polite, you could find yourself without options should they stop helping you or go out of business.