P 904 - Development of a process for saving material in the manufacture of rotationally symmetrical thin-walled containers

With this procedure, no reshaping takes place in the area of the base of the cup, which is why the material remains almost in its original state (thickness and solidification). By implementing SCS technology in this production step, pre-stretching is realised before the deep-drawing process in order to thin out the material and simultaneously achieve quasi-homogeneous hardening. The corresponding hardening increases the strength of the base, which compensates for or even exceeds the reduction in strength due to the reduction in sheet thickness. The SCS technology was developed at the IFU and essentially consists of a two-part mould with a set of characteristic mould elements on the edge of the mould halves. When the tool is moved together, the outer mould elements of the tool interlock. The resulting bending and friction processes initialise a tensile stress on the inner area of the blank. This causes the material to flow in this area, resulting in stretching. In the deep-drawing stage, the cup is formed by pulling the blank out of the collapsed mould elements. In the research project, the SCS technology was implemented for the production of base bodies of the beverage can and a material saving of 8% was realised in the product base. This corresponds to an overall material saving of 3% for this product. The objective of the project was achieved. The significance of this research project lies in the further development of the manufacturing process for rotationally symmetrical consumer goods in the consumer, electronics and automotive industries through the use of SCS technology. By saving steel as a material, resources are conserved, the energy balance of the overall manufacturing process for rotationally symmetrical containers is further improved and the cost-effectiveness and competitiveness of steel containers compared to competing materials (plastics, Tetra-Pak) is significantly increased.