The history of aluminum cans

Metal beer and beverage packaging cans have a history of more than 70 years. In the early 1930s, the United States began to produce beer metal cans. This three-piece can is made of tinplate. The upper part of the tank body is cone-shaped, and the upper part is crown-shaped can lid. Its general appearance is not too different from that of glass bottles, so the glass bottle filling line was used for filling at the beginning. It was not until the 1950s that a dedicated filling line was available. The can lid evolved into a flat shape in the mid-1950s and was improved into an aluminum ring lid in the 1960s.

aluminum beverage cans appeared earlier in the late 1950s, and two-piece DWI cans officially came out in the early 1960s. The development of aluminum cans is very rapid. By the end of this century, the annual consumption has reached more than 180 billion, which is the largest category in the world's total metal cans (about 400 billion). The consumption of aluminum used to manufacture aluminum cans is also growing rapidly. In 1963, it was close to zero. In 1997, it reached 3.6 million tons, which is equivalent to 15% of the total consumption of various aluminum materials in the world.

The manufacturing technology of aluminum cans have been continuously improved.

For decades, the manufacturing technology of aluminum cans has been continuously improved. The weight of aluminum cans has been greatly reduced. In the early 1960s, the weight of each thousand aluminum cans (including the can body and the lid) reached 55 pounds (approximately 25 kilograms), and in the mid-1970s it fell to 44.8 pounds (25 kg). Kilograms), it was reduced to 33 pounds (15 kilograms) in the late 1990s, and it has now been reduced to less than 30 pounds, which is nearly half of that 40 years ago. In the 20 years from 1975 to 1995, the number of aluminum cans (12 ounces in capacity) made of 1 pound of aluminum increased by 35%. In addition, according to the statistics of the American ALCOA company, the aluminum material required for every thousand aluminum cans was reduced from 25.8 pounds in 1988 to 22.5 pounds in 1998 and then reduced to 22.3 pounds in 2000. American can-making companies have continuously made breakthroughs in sealing machinery and other technologies, so the thickness of aluminum cans in the United States has decreased significantly, from 0.343 mm in 1984 to 0.285 mm in 1992 and 0.259 mm in 1998.

Lightweight progress in aluminum can lids is also obvious. The thickness of aluminum can lids dropped from 039 mm in the early 1960s to 0.36 mm in the 1970s, from 0.28 mm to 0.30 mm in 1980, and to 0.24 mm in the mid-1980s. The diameter of the can lid has also been reduced. The weight of can lids has continued to decrease. In 1974, the weight of a thousand aluminum cans was 13 pounds, in 1980 it was reduced to 12 pounds, in 1984 it was reduced to 11 pounds, in 1986 it was reduced to 10 pounds, and in 1990 and 1992 it was reduced to 9 pounds and 9 pounds respectively. 8 pounds, reduced to 6.6 pounds in 2002. The can-making speed has been greatly improved, from 650-1000cpm (only per minute) in the 1970s to 1000-1750cpm in the 1980s and more than 2000cpm now.


Post time: Dec-28-2021