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World IP Day 2026 — Recognized Innovator

Ken Susnjara

  • Chairman & CEO
  • Thermwood Corporation

Recognized for over five decades of founder-led innovation in CNC machining and large-scale additive manufacturing.

Ken Susnjara built Thermwood from a manufacturing business into one of America’s longest-running CNC router companies, now focused on large-scale 3D printing for industrial tooling, molds, and composite parts.

Certificate of Recognition

Top IP Innovator — CNC Machining & Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing · 2026

Thermwood Patents (last 5 years)
0 +
First Filing
1970
USPTO Art Unit Focus
1742 / 1743 / 1715
Role
Chairman & CEO
Presented by InspireIP

World IP Day Recognition Series · 2026

Thermwood patents, last 5 years
0 +
Filed in 2025 alone
0 +
Recognition category
0 Chemical & Materials
The Recognition

From plastic furniture parts to 20-foot helicopter blade molds

On World IP Day 2026, InspireIP recognizes Ken Susnjara, founder, chairman, and CEO of Thermwood Corporation, for his long-running contribution to CNC machining and large-scale additive manufacturing.

The recognition is based on Thermwood’s patent activity. With 92 filings in the last five years, the portfolio reflects the company’s work across CNC systems, reinforced thermoplastic composites, and LSAM, Thermwood’s proprietary Large Scale Additive Manufacturing platform.

Ken founded Thermwood in 1969 after graduating from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. The company began in plastic molding before moving into CNC routers and machine tool controls.

In 2016, Thermwood introduced LSAM, a system that combines large-format 3D printing with 5-axis CNC trimming. This approach originated from a collaboration with Purdue University and an aerospace partner. That shift expanded the company’s work into aerospace, marine, automotive, foundry, and industrial tooling applications.

Large Scale Additive Manufacturing
CNC Routers (3 & 5 Axis)
Thermoplastic Composites
Industrial Tooling & Molds
Vertical Layer Printing
Aerospace & Marine Manufacturing
Patent Footprint

A portfolio built across five decades of manufacturing innovation

1969–2016

Ken Susnjara founds Thermwood in Dale, Indiana. The company develops thermoforming technology for the furniture industry, then pivots into CNC routers and becomes the oldest CNC router manufacturer in the United States. Over the following decades, Thermwood builds an extensive line of 3- and 5-axis routers and accumulates patents across machine tool control, motion systems, and material processing.

2016–2020

34 filings across 2020 and prior years, with 18 in 2021 and 16 in 2020. Thermwood introduces the LSAM system, combining large-format 3D printing with 5-axis CNC trimming on the same machine. The company 3D-prints a 20-foot helicopter blade mold for Bell, demonstrates Vertical Layer Printing technology, and begins serving aerospace, automotive, marine, and foundry customers with additive tooling.

2021–2023

They file 38 patents across three years. Thermwood expands its LSAM product line, introduces the CutLayer system for producing tooling from stacked sheet materials, and continues to push the envelope on print volume and material capability.

2024–2025

38 more filings, peaking at 24 in 2025, which is the company's most active filing year. Thermwood continues to develop additive manufacturing processes for reinforced thermoplastic composites, expanding applications across defense, aerospace, and industrial tooling.

CNC Machining & Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing

A small-entity company filing like a platform leader

Thermwood Corporation is classified by the USPTO as a Small Entity, yet its five-year filing volume of 92 patents sits well above what is typical for machine tool manufacturers of its size. Much of that activity is concentrated in the chemical and materials art units that protect additive manufacturing processes, thermoplastic composite formulations, and large-format print and trim systems.

Patents, last 5 years
+
Peak year (2025)
+ Filings
USPTO entity status
Small Entity
Art unit focus
1742 / 1743 / 1715
"Leading an innovation program is harder than inventing on your own. It means choosing what to file, who to credit, and where to invest, over and over, for years. The leaders we recognize on World IP Day have done that consistently, and built something that compounds."

Sam Zellner

Founder, InspireIP · Inventor · Innovation Leader

About Thermwood Corporation

Built in Indiana, manufacturing innovation for over 55 years

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Dale, Indiana, Thermwood Corporation is the oldest CNC router manufacturer in the United States and a leading developer of large-scale additive manufacturing systems.

The company’s product lines include 3-axis and 5-axis CNC routers for wood, plastics, composites, and non-ferrous metals. The company also develops LSAM systems for 3D printing reinforced thermoplastic composite parts at industrial scale. 

LSAM combines a print gantry and a 5-axis trim gantry on the same machine, with build envelopes up to 10 feet wide, 5 feet high, and up to 100 feet long. Its systems are used for large tooling, molds, and composite manufacturing applications across aerospace, automotive, marine, foundry, and furniture industries, with customers like Boeing, MasterBrand, and Kimball International.

IP Day 2027

Know an IP innovator who deserves recognition?

Each year we recognize the inventors and IP leaders behind the portfolios that protect what their companies create. That includes founder-inventors whose contributions often go unmarked. Nominate someone for next year’s list.

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