Truck, Trailer and Bus Body Laser Cutting

In short: For truck, trailer and bus bodies, start from part length and material mix rather than laser power.

Published cases show steel parts over 5.8 m long at 1–12 mm, heavy structural tube in hitches, and laser-cut aluminium in truck bodies. So bed length, tube capacity and aluminium settings usually matter more than peak kW. We found no detailed public case on bus bodies, so treat that section as a checklist.

What published body shops report

Company type	Machine	Material and size	Reported benefit
UK trailer maker, 2017 (source 1)	4 kW fiber laser, 6.5 × 2 m bed	1–12 mm sheet; parts over 5.8 m	Cutting output doubled; prototypes in days rather than 4–6 weeks
US hitch maker, 2017 (source 2)	4 kW CO2 tube laser	High-strength tube, 10 gauge to 3/8 in. wall; up to 6 in. square	Tow rating raised by design; less outsourcing
US truck body maker, 2014 (source 3)	Bought-in laser-cut blanks	Mainly aluminium	Slots and tabs that index for assembly
US truck body maker, 2017 (source 4)	Fiber laser, plus press brake and turret punch	Aluminium sheet	Precise cutting and trimming

As published. Source 1 was written by a machine maker's managing director; treat its figures as a maker's report.

These are small samples, and some are years old. Even so, they show that body work is not one job. A trailer shop, a hitch maker and an aluminium body shop need different machines.

Long parts set the bed size

The UK trailer maker cut components from over 5.8 m downward, so bed length came first (source 1). Before buying, list your longest side rails, floor members and panels, then decide which should be one piece. A long part from one blank saves a welded joint, but it needs a bed, a loading route and a crane to match.

That maker cut with nitrogen up to 5 mm and oxygen above it, and reported fiber about three times as fast as its old CO2 machine up to 3 mm (source 1). Its new-trailer lead time fell from 6–7 months to under 5 months. That lead time covers more than cutting, so do not credit the laser alone.

Our HL-F series runs to 12 × 2.5 m. For sheet under about 12 mm, ask whether you need the 20–40 kW class at all. If your work is all thin sheet, tell us and we will say so.

Plate and tube

Tube can change the product, not only the cutting method. The hitch maker's engineers needed to span a wide opening with a high tow rating, and used tube to do it. Using more structural tube in one gooseneck hitch raised its rating from 26,000 lb to 32,500 lb (source 2). The tight fit of laser-cut joints was central to that design.

It started by outsourcing tube cutting, then brought it in-house as costs rose, for control of quality and scheduling (source 2). That sequence works well: buy cut tube until the volume justifies a machine. Note that it chose CO2 in 2016 because of thick wall experience, and the article says fiber was improving on thick material (source 2). Test your wall thickness on any machine you consider.

A plate and tube machine suits lower tube volume on one machine. A dedicated tube laser suits long tube runs. The hitch maker also looked at I-beams, channel and angle (source 2); see laser cutting H-beams for what to check on structural sections.

Aluminium bodies

Both truck body makers above work in aluminium. One cites weight, fuel, recycling and corrosion resistance as its reasons (source 3). Laser cutting it has a known issue: a laser maker's product manager says burr and dross often result with nitrogen, and that a gas mixer adding small amounts of oxygen can reduce or remove them (source 5). That is a maker's advice, so check it against your own alloy and thickness.

The same truck body maker uses structural adhesive instead of welding on some products to avoid heat distortion (source 3). If you bond or rivet, ask what your adhesive supplier needs from the cut edge.

Tabs, slots and assembly

The clearest gain in body work may sit after the laser. The truck body maker uses slots and tabs that index themselves, with fixtures holding the blanks during assembly (source 3). A farm equipment maker reports a similar result in plate and tube: fewer parts and fewer fixtures (source 6). Design for this from the start, because a laser can cut a tab but cannot fix a drawing that ignores bending. Match flat blanks to your press brake; our tonnage guide helps with long bends.

Rules that shape the parts

Vehicle rules vary by country, so check yours. Two US examples show why body builders should read them before cutting:

Rear impact guards: 49 CFR 393.86 requires trailers and semitrailers of 10,000 lb GVWR or more, built on or after 26 January 1998, to carry a guard meeting FMVSS No. 223, subject to listed exceptions. It sets limits on guard width, height and position (source 7). The cut and welded guard is therefore a regulated part.
Bus structures: FMVSS No. 227 sets rollover requirements for over-the-road buses and other buses above 26,000 lb GVWR, with exclusions such as school and transit buses. It requires a survival space in a rollover test (sources 8, 9). NHTSA based the test on UN ECE Regulation 66 (source 8).

Those rules do not say how to cut. But a change in cutting process on a regulated part, such as a new joint or a redesigned tube node, should go back through your own engineering and test approval. The buyer stays responsible for compliance, and we do not certify vehicles or parts.

Bus bodies: what to check

We found no independent case with bus body part data, so here is a checklist rather than claims:

List each tube size and wall, and the longest section.
Count joint types, and which can use tabs and slots.
Check coating or corrosion treatment on cut edges.
Ask your engineers which nodes are safety critical before redesigning them.

Choosing by shop type

Shop type	Main work	Direction
Steel trailer maker	Long sheet and plate parts	Long-bed fiber laser, loading system, press brake
Aluminium truck body shop	Sheet panels, extrusions	Fiber laser with aluminium test cuts; check extrusion cutting separately
Hitch and chassis parts	Thick-wall tube	Tube laser; test wall thickness
Bus or coach builder with tube frames	Tube and sheet parts	Plate and tube machine or separate machines, by volume

Summary by Halcyon Laser, based on sources 1–5.

Before you buy

List your ten longest parts and your full tube list.
Split the work by steel, stainless and aluminium, with tonnes per month.
Decide what stays outsourced for now.
Mark regulated and safety-critical parts on the drawings.
Plan the route of long parts through your building.
Send samples through our test cut request.

Frequently asked questions

What bed size does a trailer maker need?

Start from your longest part. One UK trailer maker used a 6.5 × 2 m bed for components over 5.8 m long. List your side rails and panels, and check loading space too.

Can one laser cut plate and tube for trailers?

A plate and tube machine can do both at moderate volume. Long tube runs usually suit a dedicated tube laser. One hitch maker outsourced tube first, and brought it in-house as costs rose.

Can a fiber laser cut aluminium truck body panels?

Yes, and US truck body makers report doing it. Burr and dross can occur with nitrogen. A laser maker says adding small amounts of oxygen helps. Test your alloy and thickness.

What rules affect laser-cut trailer parts?

In the US, 49 CFR 393.86 requires rear impact guards on most trailers of 10,000 lb GVWR or more, meeting FMVSS No. 223. Check the rules in your own market.

Does laser cutting suit bus body frames?

If your frame is tube, start with a tube or plate and tube machine. We found no independent bus case. Check safety-critical joints with your engineers before redesigning them.

Next step

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Sources

David Larcombe, “Fiber laser doubles trailer manufacturer’s cutting productivity”, Laser Focus World, 7 July 2017 (maker’s view: author from Bystronic UK) — www.laserfocusworld.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
Dan Davis, “Redefining the hitch business”, The Fabricator, 30 March 2017 — www.thefabricator.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
Bruce Sauer, “TruckCraft carves out niche with specialty truck bodies”, Trailer/Body Builders, 1 January 2014 — www.trailer-bodybuilders.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
“Future Line opens new truck body facility”, Trailer/Body Builders, 21 July 2017 — www.trailer-bodybuilders.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)
“Agriculture equipment manufacturer cultivates productivity improvements with laser technology”, The Fabricator, 25 September 2003 — www.thefabricator.com (accessed 2026-11-01)
49 CFR § 393.86, Rear impact guards and rear end protection (US regulation, Cornell Legal Information Institute copy) — www.law.cornell.edu (accessed 2026-11-01)
NHTSA, final rule establishing FMVSS No. 227, Bus Rollover Structural Integrity, 86 FR 74270, 29 December 2021 — www.govinfo.gov (accessed 2026-11-01)
49 CFR § 571.227, Standard No. 227; Bus rollover structural integrity (US regulation, Cornell Legal Information Institute copy): application and exclusions — www.law.cornell.edu (accessed 2026-11-01)

Truck, trailer and bus body fabrication with fiber lasers