Tins should stack on one another

[Deleted User]

Hi,

JCS1 wrote: »

You can buy a gadget from Lakeland to make the tins stack:

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/23022/Stac-a-Can

that gadget gave me an idea.

Make your own, I've just checked and the lid from a 200g of Tesco Classic Coffee jar (other brands available) is just the right size for a normal tin of beans size can, so just glue two together.

I'll be saving mine from now on.

pawsies

I wish my life was this simple that all I had to moan about was tin stacking!

kermitfrog

pawsies wrote: »

I wish my life was this simple that all I had to moan about was tin stacking!

What could possibly be more important than tin stacking???!!!

blossomhill_2

First world problem

(I would have sympathised but 1) I am old enough to remember a time before stacking tins and 2) you lost me at "evil nuisance" - sorry!)

Zero_Gravitas

Azari wrote: »

The pressed aluminium tins generally stack perfectly because they can be easily made to do that.

The cans formed from sheet steel generally don't as they have a rim at the top and bottom that is a necessary artefact of the manufacturing process.

I suspect that aluminium is not suitable for products that are significantly acidic.

Just to be really nerdy about this, the difference is that 2-piece cans (which can be either aluminium or steel) will stack, and that 3-piece cans (which will be steel) will not stack

A 2-piece can has the bottom and the body formed from one piece of material (Cans made by this pressing process are technically called "drawn and wall-ironed", or DWI cans), and then the top forms the second piece. This allows the shape of the bottom to match the shape of the top of the can underneath and hence they can be stacked.

A 3-piece can has two separate ends and a body, and the process for fixing the body to the bottom (called flanging and seaming) means the cans cannot be stacked perfectly.

In either case, the inside of the can is coated (the coating process is called lacquering) to protect the metal of the can from the contents, so the type of metal used has no bearing on what can be put in the can. For the record, the most acidic can fillings are pineapple and rhubard - both requiring several coats of lacquer to protect the inside of the can.

That's just for food cans. Once you start talking about drinks cans the technology gets even more interesting...

Guess who spent 25 years working in the canmaking industry?

Best Regards,

ZG.

Azari

Zero_Gravitas wrote: »

Just to be really nerdy about this, the difference is that 2-piece cans (which can be either aluminium or steel) will stack, and that 3-piece cans (which will be steel) will not stack

A 2-piece can has the bottom and the body formed from one piece of material (Cans made by this pressing process are technically called "drawn and wall-ironed", or DWI cans), and then the top forms the second piece. This allows the shape of the bottom to match the shape of the top of the can underneath and hence they can be stacked.

A 3-piece can has two separate ends and a body, and the process for fixing the body to the bottom (called flanging and seaming) means the cans cannot be stacked perfectly.

In either case, the inside of the can is coated (the coating process is called lacquering) to protect the metal of the can from the contents, so the type of metal used has no bearing on what can be put in the can. For the record, the most acidic can fillings are pineapple and rhubard - both requiring several coats of lacquer to protect the inside of the can.

That's just for food cans. Once you start talking about drinks cans the technology gets even more interesting...

Guess who spent 25 years working in the canmaking industry?

Best Regards,

ZG.

Thanks for that.

It's always good to get the low down from someone with actual experience of the industry.

The reason I inferred the use of steel for the more acidic products was that Tesco value brand uses Al for baked beans and kidney beans and steel for tomatoes. There must be some other reason for that choice as I would assume otherwise they would just use the cheapest.

Zero_Gravitas

Azari wrote: »

Thanks for that.

It's always good to get the low down from someone with actual experience of the industry.

The reason I inferred the use of steel for the more acidic products was that Tesco value brand uses Al for baked beans and kidney beans and steel for tomatoes. There must be some other reason for that choice as I would assume otherwise they would just use the cheapest.

You're welcome. And you're quite right - in the end it does all come down to price.

Tesco will buy from whichever filler will sell them the cheapest beans (for example).

The filler will buy the cheapest cans based on two factors: (1) the cost of the cans from the canmaker, and (2) The cost of changing over their filling lines from steel to aluminium cans - or vice versa (there may be magnetic handling for steel cans, for example).

The canmaker will manufacture cans based on two factors: (1) the cost of steel or aluminium at the time, and (2) the cost of changing their production lines from steel to aluminium - or vice versa (different types of tooling are required, etc)

So it's a complex model, and one the canmakers are looking at all the time. Canmaking is also the second biggest user of steel in the UK, after the motor industry, so these are very big decisions.

One final observation: the manufacturing tolerances on cans are significantly tighter than on space equipment - so the next time you have beans on toast, remember than the can you've just opened and thrown away is the result of something that makes rocket science look easy

Best Regards,

ZG

Raksha

Is storage of empty cans also a potential issue ZG? Can the 2 piece cans be stacked inside each other?

I also worked in the canning industry some time ago, and can remember the huge pallets of 3 piece cans in the yard...

Zero_Gravitas

Raksha wrote: »

Is storage of empty cans also a potential issue ZG? Can the 2 piece cans be stacked inside each other?

I also worked in the canning industry some time ago, and can remember the huge pallets of 3 piece cans in the yard...

Hi Raksha,

Making 2-piece cans that would fit inside each other was tried some time ago, but it meant that each can had to be ever-so-slightly conical, which led to huge problems handling the cans on filling lines; so 2-piece are stored in the same way as 3-piece: on pallets, with a "layer pad" (big sheet of cardboard) between each layer of cans.

HTH.

Best Regards,

ZG

Dave_C_2

Forget stacking tins, stackable livestock is the only way to go

Dave