In short: Farm machinery makers gain most from laser cutting when it removes setup and secondary work, not from thickness alone.
Published plant reports show mostly 3–16 mm mild steel, heavy tube and many small batches. In those plants, cutting holes and profiles in one operation improved fit-up. Keep plasma for long structural edges that need no accuracy, and test paint adhesion before choosing an assist gas.
What a farm machinery plant actually cuts
Two trade reports give rare detail. They are dated, and one used CO2 lasers, so read them for the logic of the work rather than machine speeds:
| Plant | Products | Material | Why laser |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian seeder maker, 2003 (source 1) | Seeders, sprayers, grain carts | Mild steel from 16 gauge to 2 in. (about 50 mm), mostly 1/8–5/8 in. (about 3–16 mm) | Setup cost, hole accuracy, small batches |
| US grain cart maker, 2015 (source 2) | Grain carts and harvest equipment | Tube up to 20 in. OD with 5/8 in. wall; single sticks up to 2.5 tons | Fewer handling steps, less work in process, part fit |
Figures as published. Your range will differ.
Two facts stand out. These are high-mix plants: one reported making hundreds of parts (source 2), the other about 5,000 different parts that could be laser cut (source 1). And demand swings with the season, which made staffing up and down unworkable for the seeder maker (source 1). So flexibility counts as much as cutting speed.
Setup is the hidden cost
The seeder maker found that setup per part was sometimes well above run cost. It made larger batches to compensate, which added handling, storage and obsolescence (source 1). Parts passed through saws, drills, shears, punching, plasma and oxyfuel in turn.
Its test part shows the effect. Made manually in a batch of 10, setup was 29 % of the part cost. Made singly, the manual part could cost more than four times the laser part, while the laser cost stayed the same at any batch size (source 1). Those are 2003 figures from one shop, so calculate your own with our laser job quoting guide.
Accuracy changes the design
Hole position was a key quality problem for the seeder maker. With separate cutting and drilling, parts sometimes varied more than ±1/16 in. (about 1.6 mm) from hole centre to hole centre. Engineers oversized holes so mating parts would still bolt up (source 1). After moving to laser, most parts held ±0.008 in. (about 0.2 mm) or better (source 1).
That allowed redesign. One running gear weldment went from 29 parts to 22, and from 16 raw materials to 6, with slots that locate the parts so no weld fixture was needed (source 1). The grain cart maker reports the same on tube: tabs and slots replace fixtures, and passing a cross member through a tube wall gives a stronger joint (source 2). If you buy a laser and leave drawings unchanged, you miss much of this gain.
Tube and frames
Tube causes a different problem. At the grain cart maker, the main reason for a tube laser was reducing work in process, and the machine took tube up to 16 in. OD round and 12 in. square, with 5/8 in. wall (source 2). Its loading system was customised to fit an existing building and part flow. Measure your hall, your longest stick and your crane before you choose a machine.
Our HL-T tube lasers and HL-PT plate and tube machines cover different sizes, so send your tube list first. Compare the process with sawing in tube laser vs saw and drill.
Paint, gas and plate condition
Painted parts need an edge that holds the coating. The seeder maker found that oxygen cutting left a thin scale that had to be removed for good paint adhesion. Nitrogen avoided the scale, but raised cost and cut slower on plate (source 1). It also found that rust spots gave poor edges or scrapped parts, so steel could no longer be stored outside (source 1).
A laser maker's product manager says agricultural implement makers focused on powder coat adhesion and output can use lower nitrogen purity, 98 or 99 % (source 3). That is a maker's advice, so run your own coating test. Read more in nitrogen vs oxygen laser cutting.
Wear parts need more care
If you make tillage points, blades or other wear parts from hardened plate, thermal cutting can soften the edge. Research on 10 mm low-alloy martensitic wear steels found that gas torch and plasma cutting clearly reduced hardness in the cut zone, with heat-affected zones of roughly 0.5–1.2 mm. Laser was not tested (source 4).
A steel maker gives typical heat-affected widths of 0.2–2 mm for laser, 2–5 mm for plasma and 4–10 mm for oxy-fuel, and warns that small parts collect heat. It suggests laser or plasma over oxy-fuel where thermal cutting is needed, and abrasive waterjet to avoid softening altogether (source 5). It does not recommend preheating for laser cutting, because that hurts edge quality (source 6). Those two pages come from a seller of wear plate, and the widths differ from the research above, so check hardness on your own part. Use the steel maker's data sheet for your grade.
Where plasma still belongs
A machine maker's view from 2014 is still a useful test: much agricultural equipment has exposed structural edges that do little except form the part, so they do not need laser precision (source 7). Its combination machine put a plasma head beside the laser for that reason. Lasers have become much faster on plate since then, and our fiber laser vs plasma guide covers the comparison. The question to ask is the same: which features on this part need accuracy?
| Part type | Direction | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Brackets, hitches and plates with bolt holes | Fiber laser | Hole position and fit-up (source 1) |
| Frames from heavy tube | Tube laser | Less handling, tabs and slots (source 2) |
| Long plain structural plate | Plasma or laser, by cost | Edge may need no accuracy (source 7) |
| Hardened wear parts | Test laser; consider waterjet for small parts | Softening risk (sources 4, 5) |
| Painted visible parts | Test gas on your coating line | Scale and adhesion (sources 1, 3) |
Summary by Halcyon Laser. Starting points, not machine settings.
Before you buy
- List parts by thickness, material and yearly quantity, and note the seasonal peak.
- Count how many operations each part passes through today.
- Pick five parts to redesign with tabs, slots and fewer pieces.
- Check where steel is stored, and keep it dry.
- Test edges on your paint line and hardness on wear parts.
- Match the bed and the loading system to your batch pattern.
- Send drawings through our test cut request.
Frequently asked questions
What plate thickness do farm machinery makers cut?
One seeder maker reported 16 gauge up to 2 in., mostly 1/8–5/8 in. (about 3–16 mm). Your range depends on the product, so list your own parts.
Why move from plasma to laser for farm machinery?
Published reasons are hole accuracy, fewer operations and no setup, which suits small batches. One maker cut holes and profiles in one step, and mating parts stopped needing oversized holes.
Does oxygen laser cutting affect paint on farm equipment?
One maker found oxygen left a thin scale that had to be removed for good paint adhesion. Nitrogen avoids it but costs more and cuts plate slower. Test both on your coating line.
Can you laser cut hardened wear plate?
Yes, but heat can soften the edge, especially on small parts. A steel maker prefers laser or plasma to oxy-fuel, and waterjet where softening must be avoided. Check hardness on your part.
Should I replace all plasma with laser?
Not always. Long plain edges may not need laser accuracy. Decide feature by feature, and run your own thickness and volume through both processes.
Sources
- “Agriculture equipment manufacturer cultivates productivity improvements with laser technology”, The Fabricator, 25 September 2003 — www.thefabricator.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
- Eric Lundin, “Reaping rewards with precision laser cutting”, The Tube and Pipe Journal (The Fabricator), 8 April 2015 — www.thefabricator.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
- Dustin Diehl, “Perfecting the fiber laser cut edge”, The Fabricator, 2 June 2019 (author from Amada, a laser maker) — www.thefabricator.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
- M. Prażmowski, P. Fras, “The Effect of Cutting Techniques on the Structure and Properties of Low-Alloy Martensitic Steels”, Biuletyn Instytutu Spawalnictwa, No. 2/2020 — bulletin.is.gliwice.pl (accessed 2026-11-01)
- SSAB, “How to reduce the risk of softening” (maker’s view: wear plate maker) — www.ssab.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
- SSAB, “Preheating temperature recommendations” (maker’s view: wear plate maker) — www.ssab.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
- Tim Heston, “Plasma cutting or laser cutting? How about both?”, The Fabricator, 22 October 2014 (view of a machine maker’s vice president) — www.thefabricator.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
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