- Nicole White
One of the most popular questions we’ve been asked at recent shows is, “Where do you get your laser source?”.
Many are surprised to learn that our laser source is built right across the street at our sister company! In 2012, Kern Technologies, was formed as an off-shoot of our R&D department. While upholding the original vision, Kern Technologies is on a mission to build and better meet the demands of the CO2 laser production while providing consistent research, development, and production of CO2 lasers.
Fit with clean-rooms, ultrasonic cleaners, cryogenic vacuum stations, laser beam profiling equipment and alignment tables, every effort is being made to make the best lasers possible. With three core principles in mind, the two companies work together to provide an exceptional product.
Advance Replacement
Like every piece of machinery or equipment in a shop, a laser needs to be serviced at some point in its lifespan. Ultimately, a failed laser means lost production time and lost revenue. During the purchasing process of a laser, the question of “what is the laser replacement or repair policy?” should be asked.
Here at KERN, we’ve developed the most effective advance replacement program, guaranteeing your business only 1-2 days of downtime, compared to 6-8 weeks of downtime with other laser vendors. Instead of making repairs to the laser onsite or requiring the defective laser to be returned for repair,
Kern sends a replacement laser source directly to the customer. The customer swaps the new laser
for the defective laser, using the same box, and returns it to Kern. With the 100-200 watt lasers being
small enough to ship next day with UPS, customers are often up and running with a replacement within
1-2 days. A next-level customer service that customers expect, and that Kern strives to achieve.
Click, drag, and zoom for a 360 view of the KT200 Laser Source.
Continuous Improvement
With technicians on standby ready to jump into action should the customer need guidance, an average Advanced Replacement laser swap should take about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, our work has just begun on completing the failure analysis of the laser source that has been returned. Understanding the root of the failure is documented and is crucial in our research for improvement. Periodically, failure reviews are performed to determine if a product or process improvement can be implemented with the goal of being able to eliminate problems and decrease the failure rate of each laser model. With the continued assessments, it’s proven to be successful with the failure rates of the lasers we manufacture to becoming less likely to fail, creating a more reliable laser source. Upon the completion of the failure analysis, Kern’s technicians determine if the laser is to be disposed of (older laser revs or badly damaged lasers) or refurbished. Refurbishing a laser simply means recleaning and rebuilding the laser, replacing critical parts such as optics and electronics, re-gassing, software updates, and putting the laser through the testing and calibration process that all new and advanced replacement lasers must pass. Once they pass the test, they are ready for the next customer that needs a quick Advance Replacement laser. Refurbished lasers are never placed on new machinery.
Superior Warranty
The icing on the cake is Kern’s industry leading 3-year advance replacement warranty that is placed on all new laser tubes. This is generally 1-2 years longer than most laser manufacturers place on their products. Additional years of warranty can be purchased at the time of sale or at any time an advance replacement laser is shipped.
We hope that this blog provides some insight into “why” Kern started laser manufacturing and while also highlighting some of the benefits it provides for our customers. If you have questions about our CO2 laser sources, please do not hesitate to contact us.
