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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/semi-solid-and-thixoforming-processes-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Metal Forming & Special ProcessesSemi-Solid and Thixoforming Process Patents: Who Holds the Core Claims
- Filing rebuilt after a 2022 gap. annual filings dropped to zero at the 2022 midpoint before picking back up, a pattern that looks like accelerating renewed interest rather than steady growth.
- One filer dominates the ranked field. the leading assignee holds 12 records against a fifth-place and tenth-place count of just 2 each, leaving a long tail of single- and double-filing entrants.
- Alloys and casting classes overlap heavily. C22C (alloys) appears on 92.3% of the 39 records and B22D (metal casting) on 61.5%, showing that nearly every filing straddles both classes rather than sitting in one.
39
Published Records
+100%
3-Yr Growth (lag-adjusted)
EP
Leading Jurisdiction
22
Active Filers Ranked
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What this patent set covers
Semi-solid metal processing sits between casting and forging: a metal slurry with a controlled solid fraction and globular microstructure is formed into near-net shapes, reducing porosity compared with conventional die casting. This landscape covers 39 published records filed between 2015 and 2026 that combine rheocasting, thixoforming or semi-solid metal processing terms with claim language on slurry preparation, die filling or porosity reduction, restricted to the core IPC classes for casting and alloy composition.
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the 2025-2026 counts in the trend chart are necessarily incomplete and should be read as a floor, not a ceiling, on current activity.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Semi-Solid and Thixoforming Processes covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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The Data
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 39-record set: how filing activity has moved year on year, and how those records distribute across IPC subclasses.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings opened this window at 3 in 2017, peaked at 8 in 2018, fell to zero at the 2022 midpoint, and stood at 2 in the partial 2026 year. The zero midpoint followed by renewed filing reads as a restart rather than a smooth decline.
IPC subclass composition
C22C (alloys) covers 92.3% of the 39 records and B22D (metal casting) 61.5%, confirming the field is defined by alloy-and-casting overlap. Smaller shares in C22F (25.6%), F16D (10.3%) and F27D (7.7%) mark adjacent claim territory in heat treatment, brake components and furnace equipment that fewer filers have entered.
Shares are the percentage of the 39 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Semi-Solid and Thixoforming Processes covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
Go deeper on Semi-Solid and Thixoforming Processes with Eureka
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Most-cited records and a representative claim
Representative Filing
US20040055734A1 — Metallic materials for rheocasting or thixoforming and method for manufacturing the same
HONG, CHUN PYO
The method applies an electromagnetic field to a vessel holding molten metal, then cools that metal rapidly and uniformly from the vessel wall toward the center, avoiding the latent heat spike that solidification layers cause at early-stage cooling. The molten metal is brought below its liquidus temperature within 1-10 seconds of loading, producing the globular microstructure that semi-solid processing depends on.Filed by Hong, Chun Pyo; published 2004-03-25.
Most-cited records in this set
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20040055726A1 | Die casting method and apparatus for rheocasting | 55 |
| 2 | US6311759B1 | Semi-solid metal processing | 42 |
| 3 | CN102358922A | 一种轻合金半固态浆料制备装置 | 12 |
| 4 | US20030205351A1 | Method of making precision castings using thixotropic materials | 12 |
| 5 | EP2574411A2 | Rheocasting method and apparatus | 10 |
| 6 | US20040055734A1 | Metallic materials for rheocasting or thixoforming and method for manufacturing the same | 10 |
| 7 | CN114381640A | 一种流变铸造用高强铝合金材料及其应用方法 | 7 |
| 8 | CN108262455A | 一种制造高品质半固态轻合金铸件的一体化流变成形方法 | 7 |
| 9 | US6962189B2 | Method of making precision castings using thixotropic materials | 6 |
| 10 | EP1405684A2 | Metallic materials for rheocasting or thixoforming and method for manufacturing the same | 6 |
Citation counts favour older filings that have had more time to accumulate references; treat them as a signal of influence within this corpus, not of current commercial relevance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Semi-Solid and Thixoforming Processes covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three patterns stand out once the trend, the class composition and the assignee ranking are read together.
Filing Pattern
0 filings at 2022 midpoint
then renewed activity through 2026
A restart, not a steady climb
The trend does not show gradual decline into obsolescence; it shows a full stop at the midpoint followed by fresh filings. That pattern is more consistent with a technology re-entering commercial interest than one winding down, though the partial 2025-2026 counts understate the true current rate.
Read alongside the 2018 peak of 8 filings.
Class Overlap
92.3% carry C22C
of 39 records in scope
Alloy claims are the common denominator
Almost every record in this set touches C22C alloy composition, and most of those also carry B22D casting claims. A filing that stays purely in casting mechanics without an alloy composition angle is the exception here, not the rule.
61.5% of records also carry B22D.
Assignee Spread
12 vs 2
leader vs fifth-place record count
One filer, then a long tail
The ranked field of 22 companies drops sharply after the leader: fifth place and tenth place both sit at 2 records. Most of the ranking is made up of assignees with one or two filings, which is where freedom-to-operate searches need the most manual review rather than ranking-driven shortcuts.
22 companies make up the entire ranked list.
Eureka AI Agent
Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to semi-solid and thixoforming processes, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Semi-Solid and Thixoforming Processes covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The assignee ranking is short and top-heavy; the geography and class data point to where less-contested claim space remains.
Leading Filer
12 records
leader in the ranked field
A single filer well ahead of the field
The leading assignee's 12 records outpace the rest of the ranked field, and the strongest co-assignee pairing in the dataset involves this same entity working jointly with a university partner, at 12 shared records.
Ranked field covers 22 companies in total.
Recent Momentum
0 in latest year
across tracked assignees
No ranked assignee filed in the most recent year
Every assignee tracked for recent-year momentum shows zero filings in the latest year, including one with a -100% year-on-year drop. Given the 18-month publication lag, this likely understates real activity rather than confirming a stop.
Interpret alongside the partial 2026 filing count.
Geography
EPO 13, US 10, China 7
of the tracked receiving offices
Filing splits across three main offices
Europe leads receiving-office counts, followed closely by the United States and China, with Singapore, WIPO/PCT and Austria each holding smaller counts. No single office dominates the way the leading assignee dominates the ranking.
SG, WIPO and AT each hold 1-2 filings.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| The Boeing Company | 0 | — |
| State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) | 0 | — |
| Spartan Light Metal Products | 0 | -100% |
| HONG CHUNPYO | 0 | — |
| Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) | 0 | — |
| University of Science and Technology Beijing | 0 | — |
| T.C.S. Molding Systems | 0 | — |
| SINGAPORE INST OF MFG TECH | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Semi-Solid and Thixoforming Processes covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's Next
Where to take this next
The dataset points to specific follow-up work rather than a single conclusion.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leader's family
With one assignee holding 12 of the ranked records and a strong co-assignee link to a university partner, any filing near the core alloy-and-casting claims should start with a family-level review of that assignee's portfolio.
Run a claims search in EurekaWatch the under-claimed IPC branches
F27D, F16D, B01F and B22C each carry a small fraction of the 39 records. A first claim written specifically into slurry-holding furnace equipment or brake-component forming faces less occupied claim space than a general rheocasting claim.
Explore white space in EurekaRe-check the trend once 2025-2026 data settles
The zero-to-renewed filing pattern around 2022 is unusual enough to warrant a second look once publication catches up on the partial final years, since the current picture likely understates real filing activity.
Track filing trends in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Semi-Solid and Thixoforming Processes covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about this landscape
Rheocasting forms a metal slurry directly from the liquid state and casts it while it still contains a controlled solid fraction, whereas thixoforming reheats a pre-cast billet with a globular microstructure back into the semi-solid range before forming it. Both aim for the same reduced-porosity, near-net-shape outcome, and patent claims in this dataset frequently cover both routes in a single filing. The choice between them in practice usually comes down to whether the alloy supplier wants to control microstructure at the melt stage or at the reheat stage.
The ranked field in this dataset covers 22 companies, with the leading assignee holding 12 records, well ahead of the fifth- and tenth-place assignees, who each hold 2. Most of the remaining ranked entities hold only one or two filings, so due diligence beyond the top of the ranking requires reviewing individual records rather than relying on ranking position alone. The dataset also shows a strong co-assignee pairing between the leading company and a university research partner.
Filing activity peaked at 8 records in 2018, then fell to zero by the 2022 midpoint before picking back up through 2026. That pattern looks more like a restart of interest than a steady decline, though the 2025-2026 counts are partial because publication typically lags filing by about 18 months. Anyone tracking this space should expect the true recent-year count to be higher than currently published.
C22C, covering alloy composition, appears on 92.3% of the 39 records in this dataset, and B22D, covering metal casting methods, appears on 61.5%. Most filings combine claims from both classes rather than sitting in only one, so a new filing that addresses only casting mechanics without an alloy composition angle sits outside the pattern most competitors follow. Smaller classes such as C22F, F16D and F27D mark adjacent, less-crowded claim territory.
The smaller IPC shares in this dataset point to under-claimed territory: F27D furnace and slurry-holding equipment sits at 7.7% of records, F16D clutch and brake component forming at 10.3%, and B01F mixing and stirring equipment and B22C foundry moulding each at 5.1%. These branches carry far fewer filings than the core C22C alloy and B22D casting claims, which suggests less occupied claim space for a first filer working specifically in equipment design rather than alloy or casting method claims.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Semi-Solid and Thixoforming Processes covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.