Papers by Keyword: Beverage Cans

Abstract: This paper studied sizes and distribution of Fe-containing constituents in 3104 ingots, their breakage during subsequent rolling and the resultant influence on the final gauge sheet performance in ironing beverage cans. It was observed that coarse Fe-containing constituents had retained on the sheet surface from the ingot scalped by 7 mm per rolling face. They broke up during rolling by 7.5 times and mostly in reversing mill, but they still were coarse on the final gauge sheet that caused pitting formation on can side walls during ironing at body makers. The microstructure of the sheet rolled from 20 mm scalped ingot was fine and did not contain constituents over 20 μm in size that resulted in its robust performance at body makers. It was shown that Fe-containing constituents were extremely critical for the sheet microstructure and its subsequent ironing performance at body makers. The ingot scalping depth should be determined based on their sizes and distribution below the rolling faces to avoid coarse constituent remains on the sheet surface.

Abstract: This study provides a chemical process that recycles waste aluminium cans to alum crystals that has plenty applications in industry today. The study was performed with concentrated acidic and alkaline solution containing principal components K⁺ and SO₄^2- ions. It involved the dissolution of aluminium can in KOH solution, neutralization by H₂SO₄ solution and cooling crystallization to produce alum crystals. Emphasis was placed on the percentage yield of alum and recovery of aluminium from waste aluminium can to useful product. The result obtained the highest yield of 80% when 1.5M of KOH solution and 9M of H₂SO₄ solution were used with 5 g of aluminium beverage cans. When the concentration of KOH and H₂SO₄ solution was increased, the yield of alum production was also increased. It was found that the crystallization process was effective in recovering aluminium in the form of alum from waste aluminium beverage cans.

Abstract: Each enterprise that concentrates on boosting its position on a market tries to optimize mechanisms of its activity. It can be realized mainly by development in such directions as extending shares on the market, cost reduction, introducing more effective methods of production and risk management. Increasing the level of customers’ satisfaction is reached by use of FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) as a tool of continuous development of products and processes realized by conducting their cyclic analyses. Their results build a foundation for introducing new solutions as corrective actions that eliminate causes of defects and at the same time lead to process and product improvement.The advantages of FMEA have resulted in its implementation into nearly every branch of a modern industry, both for unitary and mass production. An example of application of FMEA in mass production is a production process of beverage cans. This process is multistage, extraordinarily precise, technologically complicated and burdened by a great amount of factors that hypothetically can cause defects.The application of proper preventive actions aimed at defining both potential and factual causes of defects is an essential element of increasing the effectiveness a of production line with the simultaneous production cost reduction and boosting the level of customer satisfaction.In the article, the use of FMEA in mass production on the basis of a beverage can manufacturing has been analysed. On its basis, the potential causes of defects have been isolated and eliminated.

Abstract: Materials used for the production of aluminum beverage cans must meet strict strength and plastic requirements. Meeting these requirements by manufacturers ensures minimization of defects in optimized production line, trouble-free operation and good efficiency of production. Depending on some factors, such as: chemical composition of the 3104 aluminum alloy, sheet rolling method, lubricant layer and cooling method, the final product may be characterized by different mechanical parameters. In this study properties of six types of sheets from four different suppliers have been measured. Thickness distributions have been analyzed both on the width and length of the supplied coils. Sets of samples have been prepared for the research, cut out from the coil in three directions 0°, 45° and 90° of the rolling direction. On the basis of the uniaxial tension tests, yield strength, tensile strength, elastic modulus and elongation have been determined. The results have been summarized taking into account their variable values depending on sampling directions. Forming limit curves have been defined for the examined sheets. In order to identify the effect of selected data on wall thickness of both final and semi-products, thickness measurements have been conducted for the drawn cups and cans on different forming stages.

Abstract: In industrial practice, where the amount of products produced in a minute is calculated in hundreds of units, the ironing process of thin-walled cylindrical shell products is carried out with very high speed. In the multi-stage forming process it is important to ensure the stability of parameters of the raw material. Properties of input sheets are defined in international standards, but after the rolling process the properties of input tapes may be various while still in the acceptable tolerance. Differentiation of properties of sheets has a significant impact on the progress of the examined process. The multi-stage forming process requires raw material with a high susceptibility to deformation and an adequate level of plasticity margin. In this study tapes of equal thickness and similar chemical composition from various suppliers have been analyzed. Selected aluminum alloys sheet are currently used in Europe in production of beverage packaging. On the basis of uniaxial tension test results, plasticity margin for a selected tape has been determined. Deformation range and plasticity margin have been analyzed in relation to the stability of production process Defining the correlation between identified strength parameters and the stability of production line allowed to examine the impact of plasticity margin for effectiveness and efficiency of the process. In mass production, each break in machine work results in loss of millions of units. The analysis allowed to compare the value of plasticity indicators of the raw tape deformability in the complex process of forming thin-walled cylindrical shell products and influence for increase the efficiency and reduction of defects.

Abstract: In the present study, the fabrication of an Al-based metal matrix composite material obtained directly from the melting of the aluminium used beverage cans in a modified rheocasting process is presented. The analysed operational condition is the shear rate applied to the bath and its influence on the properties of the obtained samples. Additionally, samples were heat treated at two different times. The characterization of the phases obtained in Al-based MMC was made by means of metallography, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy and electron microprobe with wavelength dispersion spectroscopy. The results show that some constituents were formed during the fabrication process of the MMC, mainly Al₆(Fe, Mn), which are partially transformed during the heat treatment. Additionally, samples were evaluated using dynamic mechanical analysis, and the results suggest that the obtained MMC could have very good mechanical properties, similar or superior to the aluminium alloys commonly used for structural applications such as 6XXX family.

Abstract: This paper describes the process of shaping fully formed beer & beverage cans with a rotating high-pressure water jet. In detail the paper discusses situations where forming is restricted to a limited area by using a special mould. This causes the strain to shift to biaxial causing quite different properties. The process is compared to ‘normal’ incremental forming showing many similarities that are discussed in more general terms and can be summarized into four propositions.