Lasers were being used in numbers for a few industrial applications, primarily for parts identification. The incumbent products were technology-centric, difficult to program, requiring engineers for implementation and support with significant capital expense to integrate into manufacturing lines.

Beam steering modules were used to manipulate the laser output to make a mark on a product. Increased demand for lasers would increase demand for beam steering modules. The beam steering company bundled several concepts into a "proof-of-principal" module that it hoped would be adopted as a laser marking "kit" that could be sold directly to integrators.

Laser performance was matched with beam steering performance to provide a 10x increase in material processing throughput. Laser control was implemented on a PC platform instead of proprietary I/O cards, reducing the cost to develop and integrate. The industry's first GUI was developed to improve ease of use for a broader set of prospective users who would prefer not to be laser experts.

The combination of a 10x increase in throughput, 40% lower cost of capital, equipment and the industry's first GUI for revolutionary ease of use created an opportunity to transform the industry and the business. The product line was a major factor in transitioning a small OEM components company into successful laser systems business and an eventual IPO.