Selective Can Bottom Doming With Uniform Thinning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for forming metal containers, such as beverage and food cans, often result in material wastage and wrinkling due to the need to maintain thickness in the dome and bottom profiles, limiting the reduction of material gauge and increasing production costs.
Innovation Solution
A method and tooling system that selectively forms a cup or bottom portion of a container by stretching the material to create a thinned preselected profile, such as a dome, with a uniform thickness, using an upper and lower tooling assembly to clamp and stretch the material, reducing the material thickness by up to 0.0254 mm without requiring significant changes to existing equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If material thickness is maintained in the dome and bottom profile, then strength and resistance to wrinkling are improved, but material usage and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a thinned profile in specific areas (dome and bottom profile) while maintaining or increasing thickness in other critical areas. The selective thinning process removes material only where it is not needed for structural integrity, thereby reducing overall material usage while preserving strength in load-bearing regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by varying the material thickness parameter throughout the container body. Instead of using uniform thickness, the process creates a gradient where thickness is reduced in the dome and bottom profile areas through controlled stretching and thinning operations, optimizing the balance between strength and material efficiency.
2Quantity of substance
If material gauge is reduced to decrease weight and material usage, then material efficiency improves, but wrinkling and structural integrity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a thinned profile in specific areas (dome and bottom profile) while maintaining or increasing thickness in other critical areas. The selective thinning process removes material only where it is not needed for structural integrity, thereby reducing overall material usage while preserving strength in load-bearing regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing controlled stretching and thinning operations before final forming processes. The material is pre-thinned in specific areas through stretching operations, and then subsequent forming processes shape the material into the final container configuration, ensuring that thinning occurs in controlled locations rather than during final forming which could cause wrinkling.
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional doming methods with light clamping are used, then material flow and thickness maintenance are improved, but material reduction and weight savings are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies inversion by reversing the conventional approach. Instead of lightly clamping material to maintain thickness during doming, the process uses controlled stretching and thinning operations to deliberately reduce thickness in specific areas. The clamping and forming operations are inverted to achieve thinning rather than thickness maintenance, fundamentally changing the objective of the doming process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by varying the material thickness parameter throughout the container body. Instead of using uniform thickness, the process creates a gradient where thickness is reduced in the dome and bottom profile areas through controlled stretching and thinning operations, optimizing the balance between strength and material efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach achieves significant weight reduction and cost savings by using less material while maintaining the structural integrity of the container, allowing for a smaller blank size and reduced shipping costs, and enabling the use of conventional base gauge material without increased processing costs.
Implementation Method 1
The material of the bottom portion is stretched relative to the first sidewall and the second sidewall to form a thinned preselected profile
Data Source
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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 material of the container at or about the dome has a thickness less than the base gauge. Tooling and a method for selectively forming a blank of material into a container, are also disclosed.