Why I chose Aeon Lasers for my laser. In 2017 we joined our local maker space and fell in love with the laser (they had three Thunder lasers) we learned what we liked to make and how to use Adobe Illustrator to design. In 2020 when the pandemic hit, the maker space shut down along with the rest of the world. We had been discussing the possibility of getting a laser and I ordered a Glowforge as the price and size seemed like a good test to see if we actually liked having a laser in our house. In early 2022 we decided it was time to upgrade. We were rapidly outgrowing our Glowforge and knew we needed an upgrade. We ultimately decided on and ordered an Aeon Mira 9. It arrived on October 26, 2022. So what were the factors that led us to choose Aeon? Let's talk about that below.
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Cost- Let's start with cost. My budget was approximately 12K for a new laser and accessories. Aeon had multiple offerings within my price point.
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Speed. Glowforge or as some say slowforge was taking so long to do some of our jobs. The Aeon lasers have more power and better components allowing us to run our jobs faster. One project in particular that used to take me an hour and 6 minutes to run now takes me 43 minutes to run. I could make it faster, but I increased my lines per inch to give me a better-looking product.
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Power. We went with a 90W Aeon Mira 9. The increased power allows us to run jobs faster as well as cut through thicker material giving us more flexibility in our offerings.
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US Customer Support- Okay, so I haven’t had the chance to use the customer support yet, and am hoping that I don’t have to any time soon since my laser is working great, right out of the box. But, I wanted to buy a laser that had US-based customer support. Also, we have talked with quite a few other Aeon laser owners that say the customer support is amazing and they are very quick to respond. I also like that they are able to help me troubleshoot my machine and send me replacement parts should I need them. If I get into something way too crazy they will even fly a tech out to help us get back up and running. How cool is that! I really disliked that if any issue was to arise with my Glowforge there was nothing I could do about it. I would have to pack it back up ship it back to them and hope they could fix my problem. Then have it shipped back. Nothing about that sounds fast at all and is a major issue if you have things to get done on a tight deadline.
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Bed Size- The Mira 9 has a 24” by 36” bed size. This allows us to fit bigger projects and provide a much larger offering of products.
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Weight- I was concerned that if my laser was too heavy I would never be able to get it in my house. I was relieved to see that 3 people would be able to move my Aeon. Maybe not super easy but it is doable.
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Built-in Chiller. When we were comparing other comparable lasers all of them needed a bunch of additional support equipment like an external chiller to keep the laser running optimally. Aeon lasers have the chiller built in which just makes sense. I really like not having to have a bunch of other equipment spread around my already limited working space.
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Community- I joined Facebook user groups for all of the laser brands I was considering. The Aeon community was hands down my favorite. Everyone is so kind and supportive. Also, there are a lot of very knowledgeable folks that are constantly sharing tips and tricks.
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Ability to attach a rotary. A lot of larger lasers have this ability but this was something my Glowforge could not do and something I wanted to be able to do with my next laser. Aeon met this requirement and I really liked their smart rotary tool. It made a lot of sense to me intuitively. I am also very excited to try out their new Multi-roller. Something that no other brand offers!
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Style- The sleek black look of the Mira 9 is very classy. Since this is currently living in my living room looks did play a very small part in my decision.
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Near Disney- This one may sound silly, but the fact that I was able to take a flight and see the laser in action on a family vacation was a huge bonus. It was also nice to get to see where they overhaul the lasers and to meet some of the amazing Aeon employees.
If you would like more information on the Mira 9, visit the Aeon website.