How cans are made
Cans for food, drinks and non-food products may be constructed out of either two or three pieces of metal.
The first cans ever produced were three-piece and they were developed in the middle of the 19th century. They consist of a cylindrical body rolled from a piece of flat metal with a longitudinal seam, usually formed by welding, with a top and bottom, each seamed on the ends of the body.
Three-piece cans may be manufactured in almost any practical combination of height, diameter and shape. This process is particularly suitable for making cans of different sizes as it is relatively simple to change the parameters of the can under production.
The Cazander Brothers mainly have machinery for three-piece cans in stock.
What is an expander?
A cylinder body is placed over a mandrel which is the shape of the container. A pair of shaped calipers close around the cylinder and form the body shape. The hooks lock together to prevent the metal springing apart when the calipers are opened again. Mandrels and calipers can be made to form many different cross-section shapes.
Cazander Brothers regularly offers quality used Bertil Ohlsson expanders from their extensive stock.