If you are referring to the wall mounted glass/plexi/cardboard cutter, it is a staple piece of equipment for most fulltime professional frame shops. The newer ones, Fletcher for example, can cut up to 1/2" material which is handy for the thicker foamboards and Gaterfoam in thicknesses over 1/4" or so.
I have used a Fletcher 3000 in my shop since I started back in the late '80's and wouldn't trade it for any other type of cutter. It has performed flawlessly for me since it was new. If you maintain your equipment properly, any large tool you buy for the shop should last quite a few years. As the complexity of the equipment increases, so does the potential for breakdown though. Case in point, the older Seal vacuum presses with the dial controls vs. the newer digital vacuum presses. If a single control breaks on the older models, you simply replace the control, if something goes flooey on the digital boards of the newer ones, many times you must replace the entire control board which can cost a few sheckels.
But most of the wall mounted cutters should last indefinitely if properly cared for and will do a number of jobs that require separate tools to accomplish.
Framerguy