Shape optimal design of an excavator boom to minimize weight can be formulated as a nonlinear programming problem with an automesh refinement carried out by using the finite element method. The design variables are the radii and the coordinates of the circle to describe the excavator boundary shape. In addition to the displacement and stress constraints, geometric constraints are imposed such that the nodes cannot cross the certain range. The optimum design is obtained by using the PLBA nonlinear programming code. The sensitivity derivatives are calculated using the semi-analytical scheme. Numerical results of an excavator boom show potential for weight reduction of 4.4%(65.6 kgf) when considering the displacement, stress and geometric constraints.