Selective Can Bottom Doming With Progressive Clamp Bead Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for forming metal containers, such as beverage and food cans, face challenges in reducing material usage while preventing wrinkling and maintaining strength, particularly during the doming process, which requires significant material thickness and high forming forces.
Innovation Solution
The development of tooling with a clamp bead or progressive clamp bead assembly that clamps the material to resist movement and applies reduced forces, allowing for the selective thinning of the container's bottom portion without excessive uneven thinning, using a hybrid bias generating assembly to concentrate forces and reduce counter loads on the press.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If material thickness is reduced to decrease weight and material usage, then weight and material consumption are improved, but the container becomes prone to wrinkling and buckling during forming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a thinned bottom profile in specific areas of the container bottom while maintaining normal thickness in other areas. The bottom profile includes a thinned portion that extends radially outward from the center, with the material thickness gradually varying from the center toward the periphery. This localized thinning reduces overall material usage and weight while preserving structural integrity in critical areas.
2Strength
If material thickness is increased to prevent wrinkling and maintain strength, then reliability and strength are improved, but material usage and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a thinned bottom profile in specific areas of the container bottom while maintaining normal thickness in other areas. The bottom profile includes a thinned portion that extends radially outward from the center, with the material thickness gradually varying from the center toward the periphery. This localized thinning reduces overall material usage and weight while preserving structural integrity in critical areas.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional doming tooling is used to form the container bottom, then forming capability is achieved, but excessive uneven thinning and high forming forces occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by using a progressive clamp bead assembly that can be adjusted during the forming process. The clamp bead is positioned to progressively engage the material as doming proceeds, allowing dynamic control of material flow and thickness distribution. This progressive clamping mechanism enables real-time adjustment to maintain uniform thickness while achieving the desired domed shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies feedback through the progressive clamp bead assembly that responds to material thickness and flow during forming. The clamp bead position and clamping force are adjusted based on the forming progress, providing continuous feedback control to prevent excessive thinning in any particular area and ensure uniform material distribution throughout the domed bottom.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional doming tooling is used to form the container bottom, then forming capability is achieved, but excessive high forming forces are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by using a progressive clamp bead assembly that can be adjusted during the forming process. The clamp bead is positioned to progressively engage the material as doming proceeds, allowing dynamic control of material flow and thickness distribution. This progressive clamping mechanism enables real-time adjustment to maintain uniform thickness while achieving the desired domed shape.
Data Source
AI summary
A container, such as a beverage or food can is provided, which includes a first sidewall, a second sidewall and a bottom portion extending between the first and second sidewalls. The material of the bottom portion is stretched relative to the first sidewall and the second sidewall to form a thinned preselected profile, such as a dome. The material of the container at or about the dome has a substantially uniform thickness. The container is formed from a blank of material, which has a base gauge prior to being formed. After being formed, the blank of material of the container at or about the dome has a thickness less than the base gauge. Tooling having a clamp bead, or a progressive clamp bead, for selectively forming a blank of material into a container, as well as an associated method are also disclosed.