Coordinate Measuring Machine Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The five leading assignees hold 47.9% of the 910 records in scope, with the leader alone at 172 filings versus 38 for fifth place.
- Core claim territory is G01B. 61.8% of records sit in measuring length and dimensions, versus 19.9% in control systems and 10.5% in additive-manufacturing-adjacent classes.
- Filing has cooled since its 2018 peak. Activity peaked at 82 filings in 2018; 2021 to 2024, the latest complete year, fell 22% from 27 to 21 filings.
Filing growth compares 2021 (27 records) with 2024 (21) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 910 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape covers 910 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine coordinate measuring machine hardware or methods — bridge-type CMMs, articulated arms, CMM probing — with a specific technical control such as probe qualification, scanning speed, thermal compensation, volumetric error, fixture design or measurement uncertainty. The scope is deliberately narrow to the metrology function rather than every mechanical device that happens to use a probe.
Filing activity peaked in 2018 and has since eased, while the assignee field shows a familiar shape for mature instrumentation: one dominant filer, a handful of well-established followers, and a long tail of smaller entrants. Technology composition confirms the core measurement function still carries the bulk of claim volume, with additive manufacturing and control-systems integration forming the clearest secondary fronts.
Filing trends and technology composition
The 910 records in scope span 2015 through the partial 2026 year, with technology composition dominated by core dimensional measurement classes and a secondary cluster tied to additive manufacturing and control systems.
Filing activity, 2017-2026
Filings rose from 60 in 2017 to a peak of 82 in 2018, then eased; 2021 to 2024 (the most recent complete year) fell 22%, from 27 to 21. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in and should not be read as a continued decline.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
G01B (measuring length and dimensions) covers 61.8% of the 910 records, confirming that core dimensional metrology remains the field's center of gravity. G05B (control systems, 19.9%) and the additive-manufacturing-adjacent B33Y and B22F classes (10.5% and 8.4%) mark the field's secondary fronts. Records can carry multiple classes, so these shares sum to more than 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 910 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Coordinate Measuring Machines with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about coordinate measuring machines and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
US7685726B2 — Method for probing a workpiece using a coordinate measuring machine
Probing by scanning a workpiece with a coordinate measuring machine moves the stylus tip along an initialization path before scanning and a finalization path after scanning, with each path's length chosen according to task parameters such as pre-determined scanning speed, stylus stiffness or stylus mass.Assigned to Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik, granted 2010-03-30.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20050166413A1 | CMM arm with exoskeleton | 750 |
| 2 | US6668466B1 | Highly accurate articulated coordinate measuring machine | 360 |
| 3 | US6611617B1 | Scanning apparatus and method | 360 |
| 4 | US6519860B1 | Position feedback control system | 352 |
| 5 | US7395606B2 | CMM arm with exoskeleton | 290 |
| 6 | US5256340A | Method of making a three-dimensional object by stereolithography | 273 |
| 7 | US20080235970A1 | CMM Arm With Exoskeleton | 250 |
| 8 | US7591078B2 | CMM arm with exoskeleton | 198 |
| 9 | US10071422B2 | Skillful three-dimensional printing | 193 |
| 10 | US9962767B2 | Apparatuses for three-dimensional printing | 191 |
Citation counts are drawn from within this searched corpus and favour older, foundational filings; treat them as a measure of influence rather than current relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Beyond who leads, the shape of the dataset points to where claim space is dense, where it is thin, and how much of the recent slowdown is measurement artifact versus real change.
A clear leader, then a long tail
The leading assignee holds 172 of 910 records, nearly 4.5 times the fifth-ranked assignee's 38. Below the top ten, the ranking of 100 companies thins quickly into single- and few-filing entrants, typical of a mature instrumentation field with one dominant supplier and many smaller specialists.
Core metrology still dominates
Measuring length and dimensions (G01B) appears in well over half the dataset, confirming that most claim activity still targets the core measurement function rather than adjacent applications. Control systems (G05B, 19.9%) is the largest secondary class.
A real but bounded slowdown
Filings fell from 27 in 2021 to 21 in 2024, the latest year treated as complete. The apparent drop in 2025-2026 is largely a publication-lag artifact and should not be read as continued decline until later data fills in.
Influence sits with older arm architecture
The most-cited record, an exoskeleton CMM arm patent, carries 750 citations, far ahead of the next tier at 360. High citation counts here reflect age and foundational architecture, not current filing priority.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to coordinate measuring machines, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the field is still open
The ranking spans 100 assignees, but the practical picture is a leader with a substantial lead, a handful of established followers, and a wide field of smaller and single-filing entrants below that.
A clear volume leader
The top-ranked assignee holds 172 of the 910 records in scope, more than four and a half times the fifth-place total of 38. That gap suggests a sustained, deliberate filing program rather than opportunistic patenting.
Concentration flattens after the top tier
The top ten assignees combined hold 63.6% of records, but the gap between fifth (38) and tenth (20) place is far narrower than the gap between first and fifth — most of the concentration sits in the first handful of names.
A wide field below the leaders
Beyond the top ten, the ranking extends to 100 assignees, most holding only a handful of records. This is typical of an instrumentation field where core suppliers set the pace and specialist or adjacent players file narrowly around specific applications.
Recent-year activity is thin across the board
Recent-year momentum figures are low across the leading assignees, with most showing no filings in the latest year and the most active leader at just one. This is consistent with the general 18-month publication lag rather than a sign that leaders have stopped filing.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Renishaw plc | 1 | — |
| Mitutoyo Corporation | 0 | — |
| VELO3D, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Hexagon Technology Center GmbH | 0 | — |
| Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbH | 0 | — |
| SA08700334 | 0 | — |
| Delphi Technologies Inc. | 0 | — |
| 3D Systems, Inc. | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The figures here establish the shape of the field; deeper claim-level work depends on what decision you're making.
Check freedom-to-operate before filing an adaptive scanning claim
If your work touches path-length adaptation during probing or scanning, review the claim scope of the leading exoskeleton-arm and scanning-path families before drafting.
Run a claim chart in EurekaTrack the leading assignee's recent filings
With 172 of 910 records, the top assignee's filing choices signal where the core claim space is still moving even as overall volume cools.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaExplore the under-claimed adjacent branches
B28B, B23K and B22F show filing activity well below the core G01B density, suggesting room for a first claim tied to non-standard workpiece materials.
Explore white space in EurekaFrequently asked questions
Filing in this dataset is concentrated at the top: the five leading assignees together account for 436 of the 910 records in scope, or 47.9%, and the top ten account for 63.6%. The leader alone holds 172 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked assignee at 38 and the tenth at 20. That said, the ranking covers 100 companies total, and beyond the leading names there is a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants, so the field is not a two-player market even though it has a clear leader.
Filings peaked in 2018 at 82 in this dataset and have since eased; comparing 2021 (27) to 2024 (21), the most recent year that can be treated as complete, filings fell 22%. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are not comparable yet because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so recent-looking dips are partly an artifact of the data cut-off rather than a confirmed trend. Anyone using this to judge current activity should anchor on 2024 as the latest reliable data point.
Core dimensional measurement, classified under G01B, appears in 61.8% of the 910 records in scope, making it by far the densest claim territory. Control and regulating systems (G05B) follow at 19.9%, and additive-manufacturing-related classes such as B33Y and powder metallurgy (B22F) show meaningful but smaller footprints at 10.5% and 8.4% respectively. Because a single record can carry several IPC classes, these percentages do not sum to 100% and should be read as independent overlaps, not a pie chart.
US7685726B2, assigned to Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik and granted in 2010, claims a method of adjusting the length of the initialization or finalization path around a scanning pass based on task-specific parameters such as scanning speed, stylus stiffness or stylus mass. It does not cover scanning methods that use a fixed-length approach path regardless of those parameters, nor systems that trigger path changes on a different variable entirely. Teams building adaptive scanning logic for a CMM should check this claim specifically, since it is a process claim tied narrowly to that adaptation behaviour rather than to the underlying hardware.
The least-claimed adjacent branches in this dataset are B28B (shaping of clay and cement products, 5.2% of 910 records), B23K (welding, soldering and brazing, 6.6%), and B22F (powder metallurgy, 8.4%) — all present but nowhere near the density of the core G01B or G05B classes. These are areas where CMM probing or scanning methods intersect with non-standard workpiece materials or in-process manufacturing feedback, and the lower filing density suggests fewer entrenched claims to design around. A first claim combining in-process probing feedback with one of these workpiece classes has more room to stand than another filing inside the crowded core.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.