LPBF In-Process Quality Control Patent Snapshot 2026
The LPBF in-process quality control patent space is small and concentrated, with Nikon SLM Solutions AG and Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC jointly dominating the leading positions. Activity peaked in 2021 and annual volume has eased since, leaving a field where a focused entrant can still establish differentiated positions in under-served branches.
A tightly held niche co-led by an industrial OEM and a national laboratory
The LPBF in-process quality control patent space is led by Nikon SLM Solutions AG and Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC, each holding 4 patent records — a shared top position that is unusual and signals different but complementary innovation pathways: one commercial, one government-funded.
The top five filers account for 46% of the combined patent records held by the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating moderate-to-high concentration for a niche field of this size. Below the co-leaders, nearly every other applicant holds a single patent record, pointing to a long, flat tail with minimal challenger depth.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikon SLM Solutions AG | 4 | |
| 2 | Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC | 4 | |
| 3 | K Tamilselvan | 1 | |
| 4 | K Sivaramakrishnan | 1 | |
| 5 | U Sujan | 1 | |
| 6 | V Skandhakumar | 1 | |
| 7 | S Senthil Kumar | 1 | |
| 8 | K Rajasuresh | 1 | |
| 9 | R Elakkiyadasan | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | A Sam Immanuel | 1 | |
| 11 | M Shek Mubarak | 1 | |
| 12 | Siemens AG | 1 | |
| 13 | K Venkatesan | 1 | |
| 14 | DMG Mori Additive GmbH | 1 | |
| 15 | Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc | 1 | |
| 16 | R Saron | 1 | |
| 17 | P Vijaykannan | 1 | |
| 18 | N Sathishkumar | 1 |
The co-leaders’ positions imply that any entrant seeking freedom-to-operate or licensing leverage must contend primarily with two distinct institutional types — a machine builder with process IP and a national lab with federally funded research — each of which may have different licensing postures and enforcement behaviors.
Filings from approximately the last 18–24 months are likely under-represented due to standard patent publication lag and should not be read as evidence of continued decline. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2021 activity peak followed by a quieter filing environment, anchored in powder-metallurgy and additive-manufacturing classes
The annual filing trend reveals a clear spike in 2021 before volume fell back, while the technology composition shows that B22F and B33Y classes are visible in, with a handful of adjacent branches receiving very sparse coverage.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible before 2018, rose to a peak of 5 records in 2021, then dropped sharply. Years 2024–2026 show very low counts that are likely incomplete due to publication lag and should not be interpreted as structural decline beyond the post-2021 easing already evident.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B22F (powder metallurgy) and B33Y (additive manufacturing) are the visible IPC classes, each with 13 patent records, confirming that core process and machine IP anchors this space. B29C, B28B, G06F, B01D, and G01N appear at much lower counts, representing adjacent technical territory that remains comparatively open.
↗ 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.
Real-time control of laser power for laser powder …
An example feedback control system includes a laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) platform including a laser. The L-BPF platform is configured to print a target object with the laser. The feedback control system includes a sensing system configured to measure an operative thermal emission index (TEI) emitted during print of the target object by the L-PBF… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Production system for the simultaneous, rapid manu… | 31 |
| 2 | Method for automatic identification of material de… | 15 |
| 3 | Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing in-… | 13 |
| 4 | Systems and methods | 9 |
| 5 | Systems and Methods | 6 |
| 6 | Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing in-… | 3 |
| 7 | Production system for the simultaneous, rapid manu… | 2 |
| 8 | Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing in-… | 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.
Nikon SLM Solutions AG
Holding 4 patent records, Nikon SLM Solutions AG focuses on B22F powder-metallurgy process classes, B33Y additive-manufacturing monitoring, and G06F digital data processing — a combination that reflects integration of sensor and data-analytics IP directly into machine-level quality control. No recent momentum trend data is available for this applicant beyond their established position.
patent records: 4Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC
Also holding 4 patent records, Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC concentrates exclusively across multiple B33Y additive-manufacturing subclasses — covering process method, apparatus, and data/control dimensions — reflecting a government-lab approach that spans the full system stack rather than focusing on a single layer. No recent momentum trend is listed for this applicant, consistent with their established rather than newly entering status.
patent records: 4Frequently asked questions
The corpus examined contains 12 patent families in scope. This is a small, specialized field; the limited size reflects both the novelty of LPBF in-process monitoring as a distinct IP category and the tendency for quality-control innovations to be embedded within broader additive-manufacturing system patents.
Nikon SLM Solutions AG and Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC are the joint top applicants, each with 4 patent records. Siemens AG and DMG Mori Additive GmbH each hold 1 record among identifiable industrial entities, with the remainder of the corpus comprising individual inventors and Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc.
Annual filings peaked in 2021 at 5 records and have eased since. The lifecycle evidence characterizes the field as in decline from that peak. However, filings from the most recent 18–24 months are likely under-counted due to publication lag, so current activity may be somewhat higher than the raw numbers suggest.
B22F (powder metallurgy) and B33Y (additive manufacturing) are the visible classes, each with 13 patent records. B29C, B28B, G06F, B01D, and G01N appear at much lower counts and represent adjacent territory that remains comparatively open to new filings.
The United States leads with 8 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT filings (3), European Patent Office (2), and India (1). Protection outside the US is limited, which may create freedom-to-operate opportunities in European and Asia-Pacific markets for teams willing to pursue international filing strategies.
No co-applicant or joint-filing activity is detected in this corpus. All identified applicants hold their patents exclusively, suggesting that cross-institutional partnerships have not yet been used as an IP strategy in this specific niche — a potential differentiator for new entrants seeking to combine academic, government, and industrial expertise.
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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.
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