PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B33

B33Y - Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3-d] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3-d printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering. 19,922 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

19,922
US patents granted
B33
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+228%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Additive Manufacturing ranks #103 of 670 CPC technology areas - 19,922 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 228% over five years.

#103
of 670 CPC technology areas
19,922
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Hewlett-packard Devel…
leading assignee (860)
+228%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p. (860 patents)

CPC subclass B33Y - ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING - covers 19,922 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B33 (ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B33Y is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p. leads with 860 patents, followed by General Electric Company at 840 grants and Stratasys Ltd. at 430.

Filing activity in B33Y is up 228% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B33Y innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B33Y, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 228% versus 2015–2019.

01,0002,0003,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,904

Who leads B33Y?

The 12 most active assignees in ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Hewlett-packard Devel… is the most active filer in B33Y, holding 860 of the 19,922 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 B33Y
Rank Company Patents in B33Y
#1 Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p. 860
#2 General Electric Company 840
#3 Stratasys Ltd. 430
#4 Xerox Corporation 410
#5 Align Technology, Inc. 227
#6 Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation (hsc) 215
#7 3D Systems, Inc. 199
#8 Carbon, Inc. 197
#9 Kinpo Electronics, Inc. 166
#10 Xyzprinting, Inc. 164
#11 Concept Laser, Gmbh 164
#12 Lawrence Livermore National Security, Llc 155
#13 Ricoh Company, Ltd. 154
#14 NIKE, Inc. 151
#15 Continuous Composites Inc. 139
#16 United Technologies Corporation 138
#17 Raytheon Technologies Corporation 134
#18 Thermwood Corporation 109
#19 EOS Gmbh Electro Optical Systems 109
#20 Arcam AB 104

About This Class

CPC subclass B33Y belongs to class B33.

19,922 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 B33Y 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 B33Y assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B33Y. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B33Y assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B33Y. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 02004006008001000 Patents in B33Y Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Hewlett-packard Devel…General ElectricStratasysXeroxAlign TechnologyHamilton Sundstrand (…3d SystemsCarbonKinpoXyzprintingConcept LaserLawrence Livermore Na…RicohNike
Top 14 B33Y assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B33Y. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B33Y?
CPC subclass B33Y covers ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING. It belongs to CPC class B33 (ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY), with 19,922 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B33Y?
19,922 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B33Y between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B33Y?
Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p. leads B33Y with 860 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B33Y 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., B33) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B33Y 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.