PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B21

B21D - Working OR Processing OF Sheet Metal OR Metal Tubes

Working or processing of sheet metal or metal tubes, rods or profiles without essentially removing material; punching metal. 7,309 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

7,309
US patents granted
B21
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+17%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Working OR Processing OF Sheet Metal OR Metal Tubes ranks #203 of 670 CPC technology areas - 7,309 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 17% over five years.

#203
of 670 CPC technology areas
7,309
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nippon Steel
leading assignee (195)
+17%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation (195 patents)

CPC subclass B21D - WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL - covers 7,309 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B21 (MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B21D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Nippon Steel Corporation leads with 195 patents, followed by JFE Steel Corporation at 123 grants and Stolle Machinery Company, Llc at 112.

Filing activity in B21D is up 17% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B21D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B21D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 17% versus 2015–2019.

300400500600700800900 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 388

Who leads B21D?

The 12 most active assignees in WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Nippon Steel is the most active filer in B21D, holding 195 of the 7,309 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass B21D
Rank Company Patents in B21D
#1 Nippon Steel Corporation 195
#2 JFE Steel Corporation 123
#3 Stolle Machinery Company, Llc 112
#4 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation 86
#5 KOBE Steel Ltd. 67
#6 Amada Co., Ltd. 67
#7 Trumpf Werkzeugmaschinen Gmbh + Co. KG 58
#8 Trumpf Maschinen Austria Gmbh & Co. KG 58
#9 Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe Ag 57
#10 AIDA Engineering, Ltd. 49
#11 Benteler Automobiltechnik Gmbh 48
#12 Standard Lifters, Inc. 47
#13 BALL Corporation 42
#14 Crown Packaging Technology, Inc. 40
#15 Magna International Inc. 38
#16 Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. 37
#17 Toyota Boshoku Kabushiki Kaisha 34
#18 Citic Dicastal Co., Ltd. 34
#19 Arcelormittal 34
#20 Thyssenkrupp Ag 33

About This Class

CPC subclass B21D belongs to class B21.

7,309 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B21D assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 B21D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B21D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 050100150200250 Patents in B21D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Nippon SteelJfe SteelStolle MachineryNippon Steel & Sumito…Kobe SteelAmadaTrumpf Werkzeugmaschi…Trumpf Maschinen Aust…Thyssenkrupp Steel Eu…Aida EngineeringBenteler Automobiltec…Standard LiftersBallCrown Packaging Techn…
Top 14 B21D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B21D?
CPC subclass B21D covers WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL. It belongs to CPC class B21 (MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL), with 7,309 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B21D?
7,309 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B21D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B21D?
Nippon Steel Corporation leads B21D with 195 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B21D collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., B21) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B21D provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.