Before Wazer came along, “waterjet cutting” and “affordable” didn’t belong in the same sentence. That changed in 2016, when the company launched the world’s first water jet tabletop cuttersold $1.3 million worth of pieces.
Fast forward to today, and Wazer says it has over 3,000 cutters in the field in 60 countries, used by everyone from small lab owners to large companies like SpaceX and Tesla. The company announced today that it is launching the Wazer Pro, representing an upgrade over its predecessor.
The company’s journey began in 2012 as a research project at Penn Engineering, when co-founders Nisan Lerea and Matt Nowicki were determined to create a low-cost, compact water jet for the university’s machine shop. The goal was to give students a tool capable of cutting precise parts in a variety of materials. This idea quickly gained traction, and by 2016, Wazer had launched the world’s first desktop water jet on Kickstarter, raising over $1.3 million.
The biggest complaint about the original Wazer was that maintenance could be a bit of a pain – removing the pulp from the bottom of the cutter, for example, had some room for improvement. Hence the Pro model. According to Lerea, this new model is primarily designed to address feedback from the existing customer base. Customers wanted more power, more productivity and the ability to cut thicker materials. So that’s what the company delivered, offering over twice the cutting power of the original Wazer machine. This translates to a 2x to 4x improvement in cutting speed and the ability to handle thicker materials such as aluminum, glass, plastic, tile and steel up to ⅜ inch thick.
Lerea likens the Wazer Pro to a 21st century version of the band saw, a staple in workshops for over a century.
“We’re reinventing the band saw. It’s a tool that’s been around for 100 years, unchanged. You’re still manually feeding in sheets of material,” says Lerea. “A water jet, because it can cut any material, is really the right technology for a 21st century universal band saw.”
As someone who uses industrial-scale water jets on a regular basis as part of prototyping and light manufacturing, I agree: Water jets are better in many use cases, but traditionally reserved for extremely well-equipped workshops. High precision cutting accessible to more users and applications is really exciting.
More productivity, more power
“This machine has the least amount of maintenance required of any waterjet, which really increases productivity,” Lerea said. The Wazer Pro also features an advanced abrasive collection system, which collects all abrasive material during the cutting process. This means users can simply discard the collected material and continue working without major interruptions.
For existing Wazer Desktop users, the company says the transition to Wazer Pro will be seamless. The new machine uses the same software, making it easy for users to adapt. In addition, Wazer offers a trade-in program, enabling current customers to receive a significant discount on Wazer Pro by trading in their old machines.
“We want our existing customers to benefit from the productivity improvements without spending an additional $19,000,” Lerea explained, before reiterating that the upgrade program benefits customers, but the side effect is that it allows Wazer to refurbish and resell the traded units. .
Priced at $18,999, the Wazer Pro remains significantly more affordable than traditional waterjet cutters costing over $100,000. Of course, a $100,000 unit will have features that the Wazer doesn’t—a much larger cutting bed being the most obvious—but it turns out that a lot of people just don’t need a huge water cutter.
Wazer’s growth has been impressive, with the company now employing around 40 people split between its R&D facilities in New York and its manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China. Since its last funding round in 2019, Wazer has been profitable, funding its operations and growth through cash flow. This financial independence has enabled them to innovate and grow without the constant pressure of seeking outside investment.
Looking ahead, Lerea sees many opportunities for further innovation in the water jet space, suggesting that Wazer envisions a comprehensive line of water jet products tailored to various applications and user needs.
A surprising segment of the market that has embraced Wazer’s technology is the world of art and design. Lerea shared his story Alison Edena glass artist in Brooklyn who uses the Wazer to cut intricate pieces of glass in her studio.
“Each piece was cut by hand, but with the Wazer, it can produce four times more,” Lerea said. Eden, by the way, is the perfect example of the kind of user who wouldn’t need an industrial-sized water jet, but who can increase their performance with a desktop-sized device.
With the launch of Wazer Pro, Wazer continues to make life interesting for established water cutter manufacturers.
