All the right tools
Image: Hyperion
CanTech International examines the crucial components for success in the tooling sector, as demand for more versatile options increases
With the plethora of can shapes and sizes now available, and beverage brands demanding increased production speeds, choosing the right tooling is paramount for any can maker.
Tailored options are increasingly popular, with tool materials available in varying densities, toughness and resistance to adhesion, abrasion and corrosion. The durability of steel and ceramic are widely recognised, as too is cemented carbide, with many suppliers – such as Ceratizit and Hyperion – specialising in its manufacture. Cemented carbide offers longer tool life, increased machine efficiency and optimised production results.
In 2023, Hyperion increased the footprint of its existing carbide sintering plant and research and development centre in Marorelles, Barcelona. The site’s size expanded from 11,650 square metres to 16,900 square metres, and increased the production capacity of cemented carbide base materials and components by 60 per cent to more than 500 tons annually. This expansion also means more space for Hyperion’s manufacturing of can tooling systems, wire drawing dies and wear components. The company’s chief executive officer, Ron Voigt, stated that this represented “a critical point in Hyperion’s commitment to protecting customers’ supply chains and optimising our ability to meet our customers’ needs throughout Europe and the world.”
Research and development and training go hand in hand. With a laboratory on-site, Italy-headquartered seaming specialist, Imeta – which supplies tools such as spin-flanging rollers, beading tools and complete end making dies – offers training courses for specialised technicians worldwide, stating it believes “providing excellent technical support is critical.”
Also crucial, particularly when it comes to innovation, are partnerships. As echoed previously in contributions to CanTech International, and with many of its recent announcements, Germany’s Wallram Group emphasises that industry “cooperation is the key to further improvements” in the can tooling space, as in any other.
In October 2023, at the Asia CanTech conference, the company kickstarted its string of announcements regarding agents representing Wallram’s can tooling business globally, which have included Tolag in Oceania and Southeast Asia, and 7Ogun in South America.
Lightweight tools have become increasingly more in demand as can makers, as well as beverage and food brands, desire to boost sustainability during production. For example, Stolle Machinery Company has announced the introduction of a lightweight beverage tab – the X3 – which has been developed to better fit a smaller diameter 200 beverage end with a smaller panel area.
Image: Stolle
The Stolle X3 tab utilises the same advanced metal forming technologies as the popular Stolle X1 tab, including the “long leg – short leg” tongue tooling, and the coin precurl that controls wrinkling and results in a stronger tab.
According to the company, the shorter length of the X3 tab provides improved finger access for easier opening. which enhances consumer appeal and provides significantly improved tab metal economics. The tab also greatly improves metal economics due to its shorter progression, which results in an approximate 25 per cent increase in tabs per pound of material. In addition, the X3 tab can be formed from downgauged tab stock as thin as 0.0092 inches, which also reduces material cost, according to Stolle. “The combination of using a 200-diameter end and the improved economy of the X3 tab results in significant metal savings for end producers, and end makers who use a licensed reduced-cutedge end, such as CDL, will see even higher metal savings,” a spokesperson for the company stated.
The Stolle tab is promo-compatible, which allows logos and designs to be pierced in metal left in the finger hole area. X3 tab die tooling is available as a retrofit for existing Stolle Tetrad and System H conversion systems, as well as on new Stolle EO6 6-out systems. Stolle is currently working with a customer to install X3 in the near future.
This feature article is restricted to logged-in paid subscribers.
Login or subscribe now to view this exclusive content.
