Can end manufacturing system and press therefor

Abstract

Ends for cans are made in a single press, eliminating the need for separate shell and conversion presses, balancers, track work, and other equipment, as compared to existing can end manufacturing systems, while reducing floor space and capital investment requirements for installation of a new can end line. A sheet of end material or stock is introduced into the press and fed to a series of work stations. The sheet is maintained in a substantially continuous and void free state as the work stations perform forming operations on the sheet of material to form one or more ends therein. After the forming operation is complete, the end is ejected from the press. The maintenance of the sheet of material in a substantially continuous and void free state permits precise movement of the sheet through the press, and registration of the sheet relative to the tooling in the press. This precise movement and maintenance of registration results in a single press capable of operation at high speeds to produce large volumes of ends, while doing so in a reliable and cost-effective manner. In a preferred embodiment, the typical shell conversion operations are performed first on the sheet of end material, while maintaining the sheet in a substantially planar and void free state, followed by a shell forming operation in which the panel and countersink features are formed and the completed end blanked in a single stroke at the very end of the forming operations.