Two-piece can

There are in essence distinct types of cans and ends (or lids). The lids are always attached after filling the can with foodstuffs; thus, the packers and fillers purchase empty cans and lids and seam the lids onto the cans.

Two basic styles of cans: three-piece cans, which consist of a body and two ends, and two-piece cans, which consist of an integral bottom-and-body, with only one end. Three-piece cans are nearly all made of tinplate.

Two-piece cans are usually made of aluminum or of tin-free steel, though they can be made of tinplate. In terms of can body height, there are shallow drawn cans and deep drawn cans; in terms of raw materials, there are two-piece aluminum cans and two-piece steel cans (tinplate cans).

Most of the drawn cans find usage in the beverage as well as the food industry. Drawn cans are also widely used for packing sweets, and these are usually closed with a slip lid. Both steel and aluminum substrates can be used.

There are two main methods used commercially to make two-piece cans:

*Drawn and ironed (D&I) process which can be adapted to produce a can for pressure packs (including carbonated beverages) and for food containers. This is a variation on beer and beverage cans.

*Drawn and redrawn (DRD) process which is a multistage operation and produces a can mainly suitable for food products. For taller cans, such as large salmon cans, two or three operations – draw and redraw (DRD) or multiple redraw are used.
Two-piece can