CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Three-piece can bodies are made from flat sheets cut from coils of tin-plated steel with a protective coating depending on the end use. Decorations on 3-piece cans may be printed on the can body or on paper labels that are then glued onto the can, to manufacture printed cans or plain cans.

The sheets are transported to the first step of the fabrication process- the slitter, which cuts the sheet into body blanks. The body blanks enter the body maker where each blank is rolled into a cylinder and the seam is welded, then sprayed with acoating called a "side seam stripe" to protect exposed metal along the seam. The coating may be applied to the inside of the can, the outside, or both sides depending on customers' concerns/ product's end use. The side seam stripe is cured in an electric oven.

The cylinders are flanged in preparation for the attachment of ends, and are sometimes necked in. Next, one end is applied to each can in the double seamer, where the edges of the can body and end are folded together, then folded again to form a seal. The finished cans are checked and stacked on pallets for storage.