Machining & Tooling Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The top 5 assignees hold 50.0% of all 124 records in scope, and the top 10 hold 68.5% — a narrow group has shaped most of the enforceable claim space.
- Control systems and additive manufacturing dominate the IPC mix. G05B (control & regulating systems) and B33Y (additive manufacturing) each cover close to a third of records, with B29C plastics shaping close behind.
- Filing has pulled back sharply from its 2019 peak. Filings ran from 13 in 2021 down to 1 in 2024 (the last complete year), a -92% swing that mirrors the leader's own recent-year momentum going to zero.
Filing growth compares 2021 (13 records) with 2024 (1) — 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 124 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape draws on 124 published records filed against process control, tool geometry, material feed and dimensional-tolerance claims across machining and tooling. The search string pairs manufacturing and tooling terms with process-parameter language, so the scope leans toward controlled, parameterised production — additive manufacturing, powder metallurgy and closed-loop process control feature heavily alongside conventional shaping and welding classes.
Coverage runs from 2015 through the 2026-08-31 cut-off, with publication lag meaning the most recent one to two years are still filling in. Filing activity peaked in 2019 and has fallen off since, concentrated among a small set of assignees who account for most of the top-ranked activity.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 124 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how the IPC subclasses stack up against the record total.
Filing trend: a sharp pullback from the 2019 peak
Filings rose to a peak of 20 in 2019, then declined; the 2021-to-2024 span alone dropped from 13 to 1, a -92% change over that three-year window. 2024 is the last year that can be read as complete — 2025 and 2026 figures will rise as publications catch up, so this decline should be read as of 2024, not as an ongoing trend into the present.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
G05B (control & regulating systems) leads at 29.0% of the 124 records, followed closely by B33Y (additive manufacturing) at 27.4% and B29C (plastics shaping) at 25.8%. G06N (AI-based computing) appears in 21.0% of records, showing that machine-learning claims are now a mainstream part of process-control filings rather than a fringe addition. Because records can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares sum to well over 100% of the record total — they describe overlap, not a partition.
Shares are the percentage of the 124 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Machining & Tooling Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about machining & tooling patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited records
Tooling inserts for ceramic matrix composites (US20190185381A1)
The disclosure describes a system that includes a controller configured to receive a representation of a three-dimensional geometry of a preform, determine a set of dimensions of the preform from the representation of the preform, and determine dimensions of at least one insert for a fixed tooling based on a dimensional tolerance of the preform, the set of dimensions of the preform, and dimensions of the fixed tooling.Filed by Rolls-Royce Corporation, published 2019-06-20 — ties dimensional-tolerance measurement directly to fixed-tooling insert design for ceramic matrix composite preforms.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20180341248A1 | Real-time adaptive control of additive manufacturing processes using machine learning | 336 |
| 2 | US8775133B2 | Personalized fit and functional designed medical prostheses and surgical instruments and methods for making | 288 |
| 3 | US20200166909A1 | Real-time adaptive control of manufacturing processes using machine learning | 240 |
| 4 | US9715563B1 | Personalized fit and functional designed medical prostheses and surgical instruments and methods for making | 166 |
| 5 | US4945488A | Integrated aircraft manufacturing system | 150 |
| 6 | WO2018217903A1 | Real-time adaptive control of additive manufacturing processes using machine learning | 143 |
| 7 | US20130245801A1 | Personalized Fit and Functional Designed Medical Prostheses and Surgical Instruments and Methods for Making | 141 |
| 8 | US5023800A | Assembly data model system | 125 |
| 9 | US20100021580A1 | Pantograph assembly for digital manufacturing system | 119 |
| 10 | US20170323037A1 | Personalized Fit and Functional Designed Medical Prostheses and Surgical Instruments and Methods for Making | 63 |
Citation counts favour older filings that have had more time to accumulate citations within the searched corpus; treat them as a signal of influence, not of current technical importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three readings of the dataset that matter more for strategy than the raw counts alone.
Half the field sits with five assignees
The top 5 assignees combined hold 50.0% of all 124 records in scope, and the top 10 extend that to 68.5%. A new entrant is filing into a space where a small group already anchors most of the enforceable claim territory, particularly around control and additive-manufacturing classes.
Control systems, not just materials, carry the claims
G05B (control & regulating systems) is the single largest IPC subclass at 29.0% of records, ahead of B33Y additive manufacturing at 27.4%. Process-parameter and closed-loop control claims are as central to this landscape as the physical tooling or material claims themselves.
Recent-year activity has thinned sharply
Filings fell from 13 in 2021 to 1 in 2024, a -92% change across the last complete filing years, and the leading assignees show zero filings in the most recent tracked year. This does not necessarily mean the technology is exhausted — publication lag means 2025-26 figures are still incomplete — but it does mean the active filing pool has shrunk to fewer players.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to machining & tooling patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the ground is still open
The ranked leader sits well ahead of the field at 26 records, with fifth place at 8 and tenth place at 3 — a steep drop-off that leaves a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants below the top 10.
A clear leader, then a steep drop
The leading assignee holds 26 records against a fifth-place figure of 8 and a tenth-place figure of 3, indicating one dominant filer rather than a tightly bunched group at the top.
Most of the ranked field files thinly
Beyond the top 10, the ranking thins quickly into companies and individual inventors with only a handful of records each, consistent with a field where a few large filers set the pace and everyone else files opportunistically.
Co-filing is limited and inventor-anchored
Only 3 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, all linking the same corporate assignee to individual named inventors rather than joint corporate filings — collaboration between companies is not a visible feature of this landscape.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Relativity Space Inc | 0 | -100% |
| MELD Manufacturing Corp | 0 | -100% |
| Ethicon Inc | 0 | — |
| The Boeing Co | 0 | — |
| SCHROEDER JAMES | 0 | — |
| Magna International Inc | 0 | — |
| Sandvik Intellectual Property AB | 0 | — |
| Palo Alto Research Center Inc (PARC) | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with concentrated leadership and thinning recent filings — the next steps depend on whether you are clearing space to file or watching for competitive moves.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leader's portfolio
With one assignee holding 26 records and the top 5 covering half the field, any new filing in control-systems or additive-manufacturing claims should be checked against that concentration before drafting.
Explore assignee portfolios in EurekaWatch the under-claimed branches
Sub-areas like powder-bed material feed calibration and ceramic matrix composite tooling sit outside the densest IPC classes and may offer more room to file a defensible first claim.
Run a white-space search in EurekaTrack whether 2025-26 filings reverse the pullback
The -92% drop from 2021 to 2024 is real but publication lag means the most recent years are incomplete; revisit the trend once 2025 filings finish publishing.
Set a filing alert in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
The dataset ranks 55 assignees, with a single leader holding 26 of the 124 records in scope. The top 5 assignees combined account for 50.0% of all records, and the top 10 account for 68.5%, showing a steep concentration at the top rather than an even spread. Below the top 10 the ranking thins into a long tail of companies and individual inventors filing only a handful of records each, so a full freedom-to-operate check should focus first on the leader and the next four ranked assignees.
Filings peaked at 20 in 2019 and have declined since, with the last complete comparison years showing a drop from 13 filings in 2021 to 1 in 2024 — a -92% change. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures in any chart are still incomplete and should not yet be read as confirming a continued decline. Treat 2024 as the most recent reliable data point when assessing momentum.
Control and regulating systems (IPC class G05B) lead at 29.0% of the 124 records, closely followed by additive manufacturing (B33Y) at 27.4% and plastics shaping (B29C) at 25.8%. AI-based computing methods (G06N) appear in 21.0% of records, indicating that machine-learning-driven process control is now a mainstream claim element rather than a niche addition. These shares overlap because a single record can carry several IPC classes, so they should be read as areas of density, not as a breakdown of the whole field.
US20190185381A1, filed by Rolls-Royce Corporation and published 2019-06-20, covers a controller that determines fixed-tooling insert dimensions from a preform's three-dimensional geometry and dimensional tolerance. It is narrowly tied to ceramic matrix composite preforms and fixed-tooling inserts, so it constrains filings that combine those specific elements rather than dimensional-tolerance control generally. Anyone working on tooling-insert sizing for other material systems, or using a different tolerance-determination method, likely has room to design around it — but any claim touching preform-geometry-driven insert dimensioning for CMCs should be checked against it directly.
The IPC composition shows heavy density in control systems, additive manufacturing and plastics shaping, but lighter coverage in areas like welding and brazing process-parameter control (7.3% of records) and surgical-instrument dimensional tolerancing relative to the top classes. These lighter-filed branches sit adjacent to the dense core claim space rather than being disconnected from it, which typically means less prior art to design around but also less certainty about what will hold up if challenged. A first claim there should combine a specific process-parameter measurement with a named application, rather than a broad control-loop claim that would collide with the dense G05B filings.
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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.