Additively Manufactured Heat Exchangers Patents: Who Leads 2026
Additively Manufactured Heat Exchangers: Patents Mapped Through 2024
One assignee dominates. Hamilton Sundstrand holds 34 of the records in the ranking, against a field where fifth place holds just 1 — a steep drop-off rather than a spread of comparable filers. Filings ran to zero in 2017, built toward a peak of 13 in 2020, then fell — 12 in 2021 down to 2 in 2024, an 83% drop over that three-year window. Treat 2025 and 2026 as incomplete rather than as evidence of a continued decline, since publication typically lags filing by around 18 months.
- 1哈米尔顿森德斯特兰德公司34
- 2THE RES FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIV OF NEW YORK6
- 3SPECIAL AEROSPACE SERVICES LLC6
- 4东北大学（美国）1
- 5US ARMY RES LAB1
See the full additively manufactured heat exchangers analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about this landscape
Who holds the most patents on additively manufactured heat exchangers?
Within this 47-record dataset, Hamilton Sundstrand is the clear leader with 34 of the ranked records, well ahead of the next four named assignees, one of which holds only a single filing. This is a concentrated field rather than one with several comparable competitors. Anyone developing similar hardware — particularly header, fin or branching-flow-path structures — should review that portfolio specifically before finalizing a design.
Is patent filing activity for 3D-printed heat exchangers growing or shrinking?
Filings peaked at 13 in 2020, then declined to 2 by 2024, an 83% drop over that three-year window. That decline is measured through 2024, the most recent year with reasonably complete data; 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in because publication typically lags actual filing by about 18 months. It would be premature to call the technology declining based on the newest two years alone.
What patent classes cover additively manufactured heat exchanger technology?
The two largest classes are F28F (heat-exchanger details), covering 57.4% of the 47 records, and B33Y (additive manufacturing processes), covering 51.1%. F28D (heat-exchange apparatus), B29C (plastics shaping) and B22F (powder metallurgy) follow, reflecting both the structural and materials/process sides of these filings. Because a record can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the record total.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Additively Manufactured Heat Exchangers covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.