Company patents

NIKON SLM SOLUTIONS AG

NIKON SLM SOLUTIONS AG's patent strategy is heavily concentrated, with Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) and Powder Metallurgy dominating 98.0% and 86.3% of its portfolio, respectively, both showing significant growth in 2025 (YoY +50.0% and +53.3%). Surprisingly, despite its core focus, the company is also rapidly expanding its patenting in Plastics Shaping & Molding, which saw a remarkable 200.0% YoY growth in 2025, indicating an emerging focus beyond traditional metal-based additive manufacturing, though patenting activity across most categories has seen a decline so far in 2026.

Patent Trend by Technology Area

Yearly patent publications since 2023

Product themes

Product-level themes inferred from filings since 2023, with category chips showing where each theme appears. Select a theme to filter the patents below.

51 US filings (since 2023) · 9 categories · 8 themes

Metal Additive Manufacturing Processes

Techniques for building three-dimensional metal objects layer-by-layer using metal powders, including powder bed fusion, binder jetting, and directed energy deposition. This theme encompasses process mechanics, equipment design, and operational control for AM systems.

Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)Powder MetallurgyPlastics Shaping & Molding
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51since 2023
+56.2%YoY
AM Process Monitoring & Control

Systems and methods for real-time sensing, modeling, and closed-loop control of additive manufacturing parameters to ensure part quality, consistency, and process efficiency. This includes thermal management, atmospheric regulation, and precise material deposition.

Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)Powder MetallurgyIndustrial Control Systems
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27since 2023
+50.0%YoY
Hybrid Additive-Subtractive Manufacturing

Integration of additive manufacturing with subtractive manufacturing (e.g., machining, cutting) or other traditional processes within a single system or workflow to create parts with improved features, surface finish, or material properties, or to enable new manufacturing paradigms.

Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)
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12since 2023
+200.0%YoY
Advanced Magnetic Powder Materials

Development and processing of metal powders with specific magnetic properties, including soft magnetic alloys, permanent magnet materials, and insulated powders for electronic components, often involving precise control of particle size, morphology, and composition.

Powder Metallurgy
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3since 2023
+100.0%YoY
Multi-material Product Integration & Finishing

Techniques for combining multiple materials or layers, often with specialized surface treatments, coatings, or assembly methods, to create functional or aesthetically enhanced plastic articles, including consumer goods and encapsulated electronics.

Plastics Shaping & Molding
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3since 2023
+100.0%YoY
Functionally Graded Materials & Coatings

Production of materials where properties vary continuously or discontinuously through the volume, often achieved by combining different powders or applying specialized coatings like thermal sprays to enhance surface hardness, wear resistance, or thermal properties.

Powder Metallurgy
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2since 2023
0.0%YoY
Laser Material Processing

Techniques and systems utilizing laser beams for precise material modification, including cutting, cladding, ablation, and surface treatment, often for joining, shaping, or removing material.

Welding & Soldering
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1since 2023
new
Welding Process Controlfiltered

Systems and methods for precisely controlling welding parameters such as power, speed, oscillation, and material feed to optimize weld quality, consistency, and efficiency, often involving automated or semi-automated processes.

Welding & Soldering
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1since 2023
n/a

Patents

Showing 1-1 of 1

Welding Process Control
Page 1 of 1
US 12145215 B2GRANTED
B23K26/342

Control method, control device and production apparatus

Filed:2020-03-02Pub:2024-11-19
Applicant:Nikon SLM Solutions AG

The invention relates to a control method for controlling a multi-beam apparatus having one or more beam sources for producing a plurality of beams of a system for manufacturing a three-dimensional workpiece by means of an additive layer construction method, in which method a material that can be solidified in order to manufacture the three-dimensional workpiece is applied in layers to a surface of a carrier and the material that can be solidified is solidified by the plurality of beams in a respective layer at points of incidence of the plurality of beams on the material that can be solidified, wherein the points of incidence of the beams for solidifying selective regions of the layers of the material that can be solidified in order to manufacture the three-dimensional workpiece are each controlled substantially against a gas flow direction of a gas flow over the surface of the carrier; wherein the control method comprises (a) dividing the material to be solidified in the respective layer into at least two sections, wherein two of the at least two sections extend in the gas flow direction of the gas flow prevailing over the two of the at least two sections in succession at least in part, (b) dividing at least one of the two of the at least two sections into at least two surface pieces, (c) assigning each of the surface pieces to exactly one specific beam, which solidifies the material to be solidified in the assigned surface piece, (d) controlling the points of incidence of the beams such that, at at least one point in time during an exposure of the material to be solidified, the material to be solidified is solidified in at least two surface pieces, and a network consisting of straight lines extending between each center point of the points of incidence to every other center point of the points of incidence, at no point in time during the exposure, in which all center points of the points of incidence are located outside of a predetermined distance from each other, has a straight line parallel to the gas flow direction of the gas flow prevailing over the two of the at least two sections.