LPBF Powder Handling Safety Patent Snapshot 2026
The LPBF powder handling safety patent space is small but accelerating, with 26 patent families on record and a recent-window growth rate of 100%. Activity is fragmented across many single-family filers, with no applicant holding more than two patent families, pointing to an early-stage field without an entrenched leader.
A nascent, fragmented field with no dominant assignee
AMPRO INNOVATIONS PTY LTD, Materion Corporation, City University of Hong Kong, and Xian Space Engine Co., Ltd. each hold two patent families, placing them jointly at the top of the ranking — an unusually flat leaderboard that signals no single organization has staked out commanding coverage.
The top five filers together account for 33% of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, a low concentration figure consistent with an emerging discipline where entry barriers remain low and many actors are exploring independently.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMPRO INNOVATIONS PTY LTD | 2 | |
| 2 | Materion Corporation | 2 | |
| 3 | City University of Hong Kong | 2 | |
| 4 | Xian Space Engine Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 5 | Saveer MatrixNano Pte Ltd | 1 | |
| 6 | NASA (U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration) | 1 | |
| 7 | AECC Hunan Aviation Powerplant Research Institute | 1 | |
| 8 | Lanzhou University of Technology | 1 | |
| 9 | Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation | 1 | |
| 10 | RFNC-VNIIEF (All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics) | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | China Academy of Machinery Science and Technology Wuhan Research Institute of Materials Protection | 1 | |
| 12 | Kumaraguru College of Technology | 1 | |
| 13 | MICHELIN & CO (CIE GEN DES ESTAB MICHELIN) | 1 | |
| 14 | Yanshan University | 1 | |
| 15 | Andhra University | 1 | |
| 16 | Air Force Engineering University, PLA | 1 | |
| 17 | Shaanxi Sirui Copper Alloy Innovation Center Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 18 | Wuhan Research Institute of Materials Protection | 1 | |
| 19 | Nanchang Hangkong University | 1 | |
| 20 | China United Gas Turbine Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 |
The shared leadership among an Australian start-up, a U. S. advanced materials company, a Hong Kong university, and a Chinese aerospace engine maker illustrates the cross-sectoral nature of the safety challenge: process equipment designers, material suppliers, academic institutions, and aerospace OEMs are all filing, with no single route showing visible activity in.
Filing activity in the most recent 18–24 months is likely under-counted due to standard patent publication lag; the evidence snapshot should be re-evaluated as those records become public. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing activity accelerated sharply from 2021 onward, anchored in powder metallurgy and additive manufacturing classes
The annual trend and IPC composition together reveal a field that transitioned from sporadic single-filings (2017–2022) to a sustained burst of activity peaking visibly in 2024, while the technology mix confirms that core powder-bed fusion process classes are visible in and several adjacent branches remain lightly covered.
Annual filing trend
Filings were sparse and irregular from 2017 through 2022, with a notable acceleration beginning in 2021 and a visible peak in 2024 at nine families. The 2025 and 2026 tallies are understated by publication lag and should not be read as a slowdown.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B22F (powder metallurgy) and B33Y (additive manufacturing) are visible in the IPC mix, reflecting core LPBF process coverage. C22C (alloys) is a secondary cluster tied to feedstock development. Branches such as A61L (sterilising and disinfecting), B25J (manipulators and robots), and B29C (shaping of plastics) each hold only two records, indicating adjacent safety-relevant applications that remain sparsely covered.
↗ 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.
Ultrafast laser shock forging assisted laser powde…
Provided is an ultrafast laser shock forging assisted laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) method capable of inhibiting formation of thermal cracks in a high-strength aluminum alloy. Technical points of the present disclosure: During a LPBF process of an aluminum alloy, a molten layer is subjected to shock forging with a mechanical effect of ultra-high-pressure… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A processing machine for an additive manufacturing… | 9 |
| 2 | Large-Scale Efficient Selective Laser Melting Form… | 9 |
| 3 | 一种薄壁悬臂骨架类结构及激光选区熔化成形方法 | 7 |
| 4 | 一种冷却身部的高精度激光选区熔化成形方法 | 6 |
| 5 | In situ alloying of Cu—Cr—Nb alloys using selectiv… | 5 |
| 6 | 一种粉状钛基钎料及其制备方法 | 3 |
| 7 | METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING Bimetallic material using… | 2 |
| 8 | Ultrafast laser shock forging assisted laser powde… | 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.
AMPRO INNOVATIONS PTY LTD
Holds two patent families with a distinct focus on powder metallurgy process steps (B22F 10, B22F 12) combined with manipulators and robots (B25J 21) — the only applicant in the corpus explicitly addressing automated robotic handling as a safety control measure. Momentum data does not flag AMPRO as a new entrant, suggesting an established presence relative to the other co-leaders.
families: 2Materion Corporation
Holds two patent families with concentration across powder metallurgy subcategories B22F 1, B22F 3, and B22F 10, reflecting a material-science-led approach to powder safety centered on feedstock characterization and handling properties. Materion is flagged as a new entrant in recent momentum data, indicating its LPBF safety IP activity is a fresh strategic move from an established advanced materials supplier.
families: 2Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 26 patent families. This is a small corpus consistent with an emerging discipline; the field is classified as Growth stage with a 100% recent-window growth rate.
AMPRO INNOVATIONS PTY LTD, Materion Corporation, City University of Hong Kong, and Xian Space Engine Co., Ltd. each hold two patent families, jointly occupying the top rank. No single applicant holds more than two families.
China leads with the highest number of patent records, followed by the United States and India. WIPO PCT and EPO filings are present but limited, indicating most filers have not yet pursued broad international protection.
B22F (powder metallurgy) covers all 26 families in the corpus, and B33Y (additive manufacturing) covers 22. C22C (alloys) is a secondary cluster with 14 records, reflecting feedstock-focused work. These three classes account for the bulk of classified activity.
One co-applicant relationship is documented: a joint filing between the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics and Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation. No commercial cross-industry co-filing between equipment makers, powder suppliers, and end-users has been identified in the evidence.
The sparsest adjacent branches are B25J (manipulators and robots), A61L (sterilising and disinfecting), B29C (shaping of plastics), C22F (non-ferrous metal treatment), and B22D (metal casting), each holding only one or two records. Robotic handling and medical-grade decontamination are the two branches with clearest technical rationale for further IP development.
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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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