DED Post-Processing Patent Snapshot 2026
The DED post-processing patent corpus is small and moderately concentrated, with Siemens AG holding the largest single position and Chinese institutions collectively dominating filings. Activity has eased from its 2019 peak, indicating a field that remains early-stage but has not yet attracted broad industrial investment.
Siemens leads a fragmented, China-weighted field
Siemens AG is the clear leader with 3 patent families, placing it ahead of eleven other filers that each hold a single family. The top five filers account for half of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, pointing to moderate concentration at the very top against a long tail of single-entry participants.
The tier gap between Siemens and all other applicants is stark: no challenger has accumulated more than one family. This means the leader’s position rests on a thin absolute base, and the gap could close quickly if any challenger accelerates its filing program.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Siemens AG | 3 | |
| 2 | Nanjing Tech University | 1 | |
| 3 | Xi’an Wusha Mechanical Equipment Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 4 | Harbin Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 5 | NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS OF SAN… | 1 | |
| 6 | Beijing Aerospace Technology Institute | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Shanghai University of Engineering Science | 1 | |
| 8 | Northwestern Polytechnical University | 1 | |
| 9 | Teraworks Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 10 | North University of China | 1 | |
| 11 | Samkee Automotive Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 12 | Dalian University of Technology | 1 |
Siemens’s focus on powder metallurgy subclasses suggests its post-processing work is tightly integrated with its broader additive manufacturing portfolio, giving it a process-level depth that academic filers have not yet matched.
The most recent filing windows are subject to publication lag and likely underrepresent current activity; any apparent slowdown in 2023–2025 should be treated with caution. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Sporadic annual filings anchored in powder metallurgy and additive manufacturing
The annual trend reveals an irregular, low-volume filing pattern since 2019, while the technology composition chart shows that powder metallurgy and additive manufacturing classes are visible in, with secondary representation in alloys and welding.
Annual filing trend
Filings first appeared in 2019, spiked briefly, then became intermittent through 2024. The 2025 bar appears elevated, but that window falls within the publication-lag period and should not be read as confirmed activity. The overall pattern reflects a field that has not yet reached sustained industrial filing momentum.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B22F (Powder metallurgy) and B33Y (Additive manufacturing) together account for the visible share of classified records, confirming that DED post-processing is framed primarily as an AM process-control problem. C22C (Alloys) ranks third, reflecting material-property optimization as a core sub-theme. Welding, metal working, and turbine classes each appear at lower counts, marking them as adjacent rather than central.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
High silicon electrical steel alloys using directe…
Additive manufacturing enables near-net-shape fabrication of high silicon electrical steel alloys. The wide array of process conditions provides additive manufacturing with increased flexibility, enabling control over the microstructure and mechanical properties, compared to conventional rolling and sheet fabrication. As an example of the invention… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 镍基高温合金构件增材制造方法 | 4 |
| 2 | Manufacturing method of mold comprising conformal … | 1 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Siemens AG
Siemens AG holds 3 patent families, making it the only filer with a multi-family position. Its technology focus is concentrated in powder metallurgy subclasses (B22F 1, B22F 10, B22F 12), indicating that its post-processing IP is built around material and process control in AM workflows. No momentum trend data is provided for Siemens in the recent-window comparison, but its existing depth gives it a structural lead over all other participants.
families: 3Northwestern Polytechnical University
Northwestern Polytechnical University holds 1 patent family and is flagged as a new entrant in the most recent filing period. Its technology focus spans powder metallurgy (B22F 10, B22F 9) and additive manufacturing process classes (B33Y 10), consistent with academic process-optimization research. As a new entrant, its trajectory from a small base warrants monitoring; Chinese aerospace-linked universities have historically scaled from exploratory to applied IP quickly.
families: 1Frequently asked questions
The corpus in scope contains 12 patent families. This is a small corpus, reflecting the early and specialized nature of the field rather than a mature, heavily filed technology area.
Siemens AG is the leading filer with 3 patent families, the only applicant holding more than one family. All other filers — including Nanjing Tech University, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Sandia National Laboratories (NTESS) — each hold a single family.
China leads with 7 jurisdictional filings, followed by EPO and the United States with 2 each, and South Korea with 1. The China weighting reflects the high proportion of Chinese academic institutions among the filers.
B22F (Powder metallurgy) appears in 12 patent records and B33Y (Additive manufacturing) in 11, making them the visible classes. C22C (Alloys) ranks third with 8 records, followed by C22F (Non-ferrous metal treatment), B23K (Welding), and B23P (Metal working).
The field is assessed as being in a Decline stage, meaning annual filing volume has eased back from its 2019 peak. The overall corpus remains small, and the pattern reflects a field that has not yet attracted sustained broad industrial filing activity.
Two co-applicant pairs are recorded: Teraworks with Samkee Automotive (South Korea, 1 joint family) and Dalian University of Technology with Beijing Aerospace Technology Institute (China, 1 joint family). Both represent early-stage cross-institution linkages rather than established consortium programs.
Map your own DED post-processing Patent Snapshot
Join 18,000+ innovators using PatSnap Eureka to map any technology landscape: search 2B+ patents and papers, surface key assignees, and generate a report like this in minutes.
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.