environmental footprint. The agency has awarded SprayPET the “approved by Climatop” label. More on lightweighting aluminum & steel Schuler, of Göppingen, Germany, offers presses, automation, dies and services for the metal forming industry. An aluminum aerosol can produced by Schuler’s new ICON V-Drive vertical drawing and ironing equipment weighs approximately 20% less than conventional containers, according to the company, and the less an aluminum aerosol can weighs, the lower the material and transportation costs will be. Following a proof-of-concept project recently completed, the prototype is now undergoing in-depth tests by a well-known manufacturer in the consumer goods industry. “We have proven that the new technology works and offers considerable advantages over conventional processes,” stated Markus Röver of Schuler’s Highspeed Technology Division. He believes that the process developed by Schuler will have a major impact on the manufacturing of aerosol cans and will radically change the current production process. Aerosol cans are mainly produced on impact extrusion presses that only process pure aluminum. By contrast, the ICON V-Drive enables the use of up to 100% recycled aluminum— automatically fed into the press in the form of disc blanks—the production of which releases less carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. The cans have thinner walls than aluminum aerosol cans produced by the impact extrusion process, as the alloy elements give the aluminum greater stability, allowing for material savings of up to 40%. It also opens up new possibilities with regard to design, such as reflective surfaces. Due to its compact dimensions, the machine can be installed in plants with limited space; since it combines the functions of both a cupping and ironing press, its footprint is smaller. The vertical drawing and ironing process of the ICON V-Drive helps prevent the negative influence of gravity on the slide movement. “This will allow us to reach production speeds of up to 250 cans per minute in the future,” added Röver. “The precise set-up and consistent alignment of cradle, tooling and domer ensure a stable production process.” This helps cut maintenance needs, increases die service lives and reduces downtime. “The prototype of the ICON V-Drive will remain at our Göppingen facility for test and demonstration purposes, but will also be used for production there,” explained Röver. “The aluminum cans will then be transported to our project partner Tubex in Rangendingen, Germany for finishing.” This includes giving the cans their final shape and decoration. “At the same time, we are already working hard on the next generation of machines and taking the next step in the industrialization of the process,” concluded Röver. “All the experience and findings we are now gathering from the production of cans will go into its development.” However, Schuler is not limited to aluminum technology. In an alliance with Schuler and aerosol canmaking specialist Lanico, the steel packaging producer ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein has launched a newly designed tinplate aerosol can. The “SteeloCare” features a monobloc look with enhanced printing quality and surface feel, with a seamless printed impression and without a visible bottom fold. Thanks to reduced wall thickness, the new can reaches an empty weight close to that of an aluminum can. “The monobloc design aerosol can developed by Rasselstein makes aerosol cans made of packaging steel very attractive,” said Dr. Reiner Sauer, Research Director at ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein. “In addition, they are very economical, since they have very thin and pressure-stable can walls and the use of tools and machines is minimized. Since the steel is coated on both sides with plastic (PET), this monobloc can has great corrosion stability combined with an appealing feel.” ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, is making optimized HF steel available especially for this application. Its outstanding feature is its increased elongation (forming capacity) combined with a fineness otherwise found only in hard steels; this produces an extremely even surface. The initial 0.19mm thickness of the tinplate is reduced by about half, to between 0.10mm and 0.09mm. The thinner wall thickness makes the empty can weight comparable with similar models made of aluminum. Currently there are sample cans with body diameters of 45mm and 58mm. Narrow tolerances during end-forming reduce reworking and material loss, and the specially treated surface requires only an extremely thin coating application, which allows mono-material recycling at the end of the cycle. The cans are coated with a similarly optimized PET film, which is laminated to the steel (glue-free) using special heat technology. The varnishing and drying steps of the conventional process are eliminated, as well as machine and energy costs. There is more room on the package to expand color and print and the plastic lamination is BPA-free for use with personal care and food products. Schuler is celebrating its 175th year in business in 2014. Louis Schuler founded the company in 1839 as a metalworking shop in Göppingen and it has grown to become a global corporation with annual sales of almost €1.2 billion ($1.5 billion). Progressive plants… New containers are exciting, but so are the facilities that produce them. For instance, EXAL Group, Youngstown, OH, opened an aluminum slug production facility in Puerto Madryn, Argentina neighboring the largest aluminum smelter in Argentina. Commercial slug production began in September 2014. According to EXAL, this is the first aluminum slug plant built in the last 25 years and is the only slug plant fed by molten aluminum. Combining new technology with the benefit of molten aluminum will help Continued on p.47 December 2014 Spray 41
Spray Dec 2014
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