Abstract: An apparatus is provided for forming a profile in an end wall of a drawn or drawn and wall ironed container on a punch. The apparatus includes a shape forming pad for deforming a central portion of the end wall to the desired profile, the shape forming pad being resiliently supported in a housing for limited motion relative to the housing in the direction of travel of the punch. The shape forming pad is preferably fixed to a floor of a hollow inner housing, a side wall of the hollow inner housing having an outwardly directed flange. The housing of the apparatus includes a peripheral flange to permit fixing to a press, and a side wall portion of the housing being closed at one end to contain resilient support means for the shape forming pad. The outwardly directed flange of the hollow inner housing overlaps the peripheral flange of the housing, thereby transmitting impact load on the shape forming pad through the peripheral flange.

Abstract: A die for the toolpack of a wall-ironing apparatus for forming metal cans is laterally displaceable for accommodating misalignment of the wall-ironing punch from its central axis. Restoring force to return the die to its own central position is provided by pneumatically operated biassing elements. For increasing the restoring force available, those biassing elements which are on the upstream side of lateral die movement are rendered ineffective on the die by engagement with stops located at the central die position. Usually, as described, the die is one of a pair of dies coupled for lateral movement together.

Abstract: A press having a frame, a tool support 41 mounted on the frame, a ram 8 movable toward and away from the tool support, and a blank holder 20 surrounding the ram for movement towards and away from the tool support by a crosshead 21 has a crosshead plate 45 guided during motion towards and away from the tool support by pillars 42, 43 operably engaged with the tool support. The blank holder is adjustable to align with the tool support 20 and ram 8.

Abstract: In a press feed of the kind comprising an upright chute 1, a rotatable feed cam 2 adjacent the chute and guide rails 3,4 around the feed cam to guide a workpiece or cup 5 to a cup holding stop member 7 between a punch 10 and die 9, a clamp member 6 engages the cup as it leaves the feed cam to push the cup into the stop member and hold it until the punch 10 and blank holder 8 have entered the cup.

Abstract: Three balance mechanisms for a press machine are described. The first balance mechanism for a press machine comprises a balance weight 91 mounted on a crankshaft 86 of the press machine, a balance weight 92 mounted on a balance mechanism shaft 93, a motor for rotating the shaft 93 and a control system for the motor. The control system ensures that the balance mechanism shaft 93 rotates in the opposite direction to, but at the same speed as, crankshaft 86. The balance weights 91 and 92 balance the primary shaking forces which arise in the press machine along the axis of movement of its ram 83. In the second balance mechanism, balance weights are mounted on two separate shafts rotated by a motor and connected by a gear mechanism. In the third balance mechanism, one balance weight is mounted on the crankshaft, another balance weight is mounted on a shaft rotated by a motor, and a further pair of balance weights are mounted on a pair of shafts rotated by a motor at twice crankshaft speed.

Abstract: Three balance mechanisms for a press machine are described. The first balance mechanism for a press machine comprises a balance weight 91 mounted on a crankshaft 86 of the press machine, a balance weight 92 mounted on a balance mechanism shaft 93, a motor for rotating the shaft 93 and a control system for the motor. The control system ensures that the balance mechanism shaft 93 rotates in the opposite direction to, but at the same speed as, crankshaft 86. The balance weights 91 and 92 balance the primary shaking forces which arise in the press machine along the axis of movement of its ram 83. In the second balance mechanism, balance weights are mounted on two separate shafts rotated by a motor and connected by a gear mechanism. In the third balance mechanism, one balance weight is mounted on the crankshaft, another balance weight is mounted on a shaft rotated by a motor, and a further pair of balance weights are mounted on a pair of shafts rotated by a motor at twice crankshaft speed.

Abstract: A forming die of a kind having a top surface (38) a bottom surface, a peripheral side surface (39) connecting the bottom surface to the top surface (38) and including a receptor area (36) for receiving vibratory force, and an annular work surface (32) defining an aperture extending from said top surface through to said bottom surface has a plurality of localized mass concentrations 43,44,45, arranged symmetrically about an axial plane normal to the plane of the receptor area. The shape of the die is designed to modify resonant frequencies corresponding to unwanted modes of vibration to increase the separation between the frequencies of the unwanted modes and a chosen RO mode of vibration. The die may be adapted for use in the operations of reducing the diameter of a tubular article; deep drawing or like processes.

Abstract: A forming die of a kind having a top surface (38) a bottom surface, a peripheral side surface (39) connecting the bottom surface to the top surface (38) and including a receptor area (36) for receiving vibratory force, and an annular work surface (32) defining an aperture extending from said top surface through to said bottom surface has a plurality of localised mass concentrations 43,44,45, arranged symmetrically about an axial plane normal to the plane of the receptor area. The shape of the die is designed to modify resonant frequencies corresponding to unwanted modes of vibration to increase the separation between the frequencies of the unwanted modes and a chosen R0 mode of vibration. The die may be adapted for use in the operations of reducing the diameter of a tubular article; deep drawing or like processes.

Abstract: Apparatus for reforming an end wall of a container comprises a pair of cooperating pads 10, 11 cooperable to clamp the wall firmly on a central axis of the pads and wall, and a cluster of work rolls 12 arranged around the pads so that when a clamped wall is entered into the profiled rolls 12 relative rotation as between the rolls 12 and protruding edge of the wall 1 brings about progressive deformation of the periphery of the wall.The apparatus may be modified to form a peripheral curl on a can end or tighten the folds of a can bottom integral with a drawn side wall.

Abstract: When a blank is cut from metal sheet which suffers from crystallographic anisotropy, there is a tendency for ears to be formed during subsequent forming operations, such as drawing or pressing. In order to compensate for this tendency, there may be used a metal blank which is not completely round, but has lobes at positions to cancel at least some of the valleys between the ears. There is described a punch and die which may be used to form such a lobed blank. The punch has four circumferentially extending lobe-forming sections. Each lobe-forming section is constructed by forming a stepped recess in the cutting edge of the punch. In each lobe-forming section, the depth of the recess varies from a maximum at the middle of the section to zero at the ends. The die is conventional.

Abstract: A method of making a container by laminating a metal substrate layer and a polymeric material layer together by bonding over the whole of at least one side of the metal substrate layer thereby forming a laminate container component, providing another container component, forming one of the container components into a tubular container body component having an opening set off by a peripheral edge portion, forming the other of the container components into a container closure component having a peripheral edge portion, assembling the container body component and the container closure component with the polymeric material layer in sandwiched relationship between the peripheral edge portions and in the complete absence of adding any additional sealing material between the peripheral edge portions other than the polymeric material layer of the first step and mechanically deforming the peripheral edge portions into a mechanical joint with sufficient force to compress the polymeric material layer and form an an air/

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reducing the cross-section of a terminal portion of a tubular body said apparatus comprising an external die which defines a convergent work surface therein of like shape to the exterior of the reduced cross-section to be produced; a plug having a work surface thereon of like shape to the interior of the reduced cross-section to be produced; means to hold the plug in axial alignment with the die during relative motion as between the plug and die to center the plug within the die to define a pass gap of shape and gap width substantially equal to that shape and thickness of the reduced cross-section; means to enter the terminal portion of the tubular body into the pass gap between the plug and die; and means to cause the die to vibrate in a radial mode at an ultrasonic frequency while the terminal portion is progressively reduced to the shape of the pass gap.

Abstract: In a can opener having a traction wheel (18) for driving the end seam (26) of a can past the opener, and a cutter wheel (16) for severing the outer seaming wall of the seam, the axes (36,38) of the wheels being mutually perpendicular, the working parts are carried in a common cartridge (58) of metal, mounted removably in the housing (10) of the opener, the cutter wheel and its spindle (74) being integral with each other and mounted in a separate bearing cup (66) fixed in the body (60) of the cartridge and having a thrust bearing (68) remote from the cutter wheel. The housing carries a projecting abutment (54) having a forwardly curved seam-engaging surface which enables a variety of shapes and sizes of cans to be opened.

Abstract: In a metal can at least one component having an edge portion forming part of a seam is made from pre-laminated plate comprising a metal substrate with a polymeric film bonded over the whole of one or both of its sides. An aerosol valve cup is made from such plate with its underside having such a polymeric layer, and is secured to the can body in a seam by conventional mechanical deformation, such as swaging, so as to compress the polymeric layer in the seam. This provides a satisfactory seal without the need for any additional sealing material within the seam.

Abstract: A metering/dispensing head (10) and system for dispensing small doses of liquid nitrogen into individual filled cans (16) proceeding from a filling station to a closing station. The head includes a nozzle member (32) to which a source of liquid nitrogen under pressure is connected via pipe (12). The lower plane surface (72) of that member cooperates in close sliding relationship with the upper plane surface (70) of a rotary valve disc (40) around which are spaced triangular apertures (68). A small clearance separates those cooperating surfaces, but is of such a size as to effectively prevent loss of liquid nitrogen when the valve disc closes off a downwardly-pointing outlet nozzle (80) which opens into the lower surface of the nozzle member. A jet of liquid nitrogen exiting from said nozzle when uncovered by a said aperture in the valve disc injects a filled can moving beneath the nozzle member with a metered quantity of liquid nitrogen.

Abstract: In manufacture of a can body by drawing a cup from a blank and subsequently redrawing the cup, one or more redrawing steps are performed by pulling the sidewall of the cup (2) by means of a punch (12) through an S-shaped path (30,24,31), whereby the wall is bent first in one direction and then in the other, to reduce its diameter, which is then reduced further in a convergent portion (20) of the die (10). The bending induces back tensions which stretch the metal and reduce its wall thickness.