The manufacture of domestic aluminum two-piece cans began in 1985. It has invested USD 300 million to import 13 cans production lines and has a production capacity of 11 billion aluminum cans. In 2003, 2 billion cans of canned beer were used, an increase of more than 8%, which was higher than the 5% growth rate of bottled beer, indicating that the domestic high-end beer market is expanding.
The big tankers of beer brands are topped by Budweiser and Qingdao, 200 million and 400 million, respectively, of which Budweiser can be installed as the world's only and only domestic can-shaped cans, which shows that the world's beer bosses are different. Tsingtao Brewery pioneered the introduction of 500-mL cans in China, through packaging innovation, to better meet consumer demand for different capacity specifications.With the increasing popularity of canned beer among consumers, the domestic can-making industry has emerged from the predicament. BALL, CROWN, REXAM, PACIFIC, UNITED, etc. Aluminum cans and Shanghai Baoyi Steel Tanks jointly divided the domestic beer and metal containers market.
Aluminum cans
Aluminum has good processability and printing adaptability, suitable for high-speed, continuous automatic production, aluminum cans do not rust, corrosion-resistant, opaque, fresh and taste, light weight, safe transportation, storage, carry, use Convenient, waste cans and old tanks can be recycled and recycled, which is conducive to environmental protection. More than 200,000 liters of domestic breweries are basically equipped with canned lines to produce cans of beer. Listening and packaging wines have superior sealing performance and are clean and hygienic. The shelf life of beer can be kept to a great extent within 12 months, which has attracted more and more urban middle-aged and young consumers.
Aluminum cans from the coil to 0.28 mm specifications cans of a total of ten processes: cup, stretch, thin stretching (three), incision, primer, printing, closing and flanging. The process flow is as follows: the cup machine makes the aluminum sheet into a cup, the stretching machine stretches the cup, thins and cuts, makes the white jar, and the cleaning machine is a white jar for cleaning, and the coating machine coats the surface of the white jar The undercoat and the external printer are used to print the can body according to the design patterns of different customers. The outer printing oven can be used to dry the can body to print the pattern, the can is used to make the internal coating through the internal sprayer, the internal drying oven sprays, and the wax coating machine. The wax coating along the edge of the tank, the necking machine and the flanging machine finally closes and flanging. Each finished product tank needs to pass the light inspection procedure. The computer light inspection machine will automatically reject the unqualified products, and the qualified auditors will finally enter. Automatic stacker packaged. The speed of domestic can makers is above 900 cpm.
Packaging processThe packaging process for canned beer is simpler and easier to control than bottled and canned. The main equipment of an automated canning line is composed of a unloader, a bottle-wrapper, a sterilizer, and a caser/cartoner. The filling speed can reach 1000 cpm, which is comparable to that of the can factory.
The beer canning process is as follows: The depalletizer removes the empty cans from the plastic tray, pushes them onto the plastic chain plate, and then enters the washing machine with 80oC hot water, rinses and dries to asepsis. Then use CO2 equal pressure filling, using carbon dioxide to replace the air inside the tank, after canning, spray carbon dioxide foam to the tank mouth, quickly cover. The level is checked with an automatic meter, followed by pasteurization (spray sterilisation). After filling, the listener is blown dry by the air dryer, and then the printer sprays the production time at the bottom of the tank.
According to the packing form, different packing machines are used: a single piece of die-cut cardboard is a type of wrapper, the sounder is pressed against a large surface of the paper board, and the mechanical rod lifts the other large surface and the two sides in turn, and the heat is applied. The sol quickly bonds the manufacturer's seams and flaps. The wrap type is widely used in domestic breweries and is provided by the German Kisters company. There is also a KnockDown (manufacturer seams in the carton factory sticky molding box), the suction cup of the packing machine will adsorb large hollow into the surface, the mechanical rod is pushed inward into the ear, and then bonded, this packing efficiency Very high, widely used abroad. The wrap-around case packer can also pack thermoplastic film cans with paper holders. This fashion case machine requires a PE film slitting, wrapping system and heat shrink oven. If the surface of the PE film is printed, it is necessary to configure a photoeye device. After the automatic packing, the OPP sealing tape is no longer used in the listening box. Typical 355ml cans are 24 cans and 18 and 12 cans, depending on the consumer's purchase habits.
Before and after filling
Modern beer craftsmanship uses computer identification systems and digital display instruments to assist mechanized filling operations, ensuring that beer quality is not affected during the filling process. The unloading function can automatically detect the following defects of the can manufacturing: oil, liquid, deformation, foreign matter, and odor, and reject the unqualified container from the line.
Empty listening liquids are tested before flushing, and empty listening walls are rinsed with clean brewing water.
Listen to CO2 flushing, prepare pressure, and then brew; wait for the end of the brew, after pressure relief, broken foam, and then seal and cap. The volume tolerance of the 355ml volume should be controlled within ±8ml, CO2 between 2.65-2.85, OG between 10.7-11.0, and TPO average control below 134ppb. Bottling and closures are closely linked actions. Machine suppliers are mostly KHS.
The function of the HEUFT liquid level detector includes detecting the amount of audio content, automatically sampling, and recording the number of filling defects for each wine valve.
The beer sterilization process was divided into three parts: warming temperature, sterilization temperature of 62oC, and temperature drop. Improper sterilization affected beer flavor. The quality indicators that should be controlled were: PU (8-10), MPT (141 ± oC), and BOT ≤ 27oC.
The post-sterilization liquid level test is controlled by a Filtec weighing device, which automatically discards the wine with insufficient liquid level.
The main defects of the code jet are code blur, missing jet, incorrect code, and wrong code position. The inkjet printer for small characters with high definition is mainly Vediojet.
Retrofit
For canned applications, foreign packaging has been developed in various forms. If it can be used in the domestic market, it will be able to consolidate and improve the high-end status of canned beer and promote sales, protect the environment and protect consumers. Innovative packaging forms include:
â—† Tank surface embossing: a shaped hearing pot, an embossing machine is added in the forming process section of the auditorium, and the surface of the auditorium is made uneven by installing different molds. It is also possible to print embossed visual effects using special inks, except that when holding the cans there is no relief.
â—†Temperature change effect: The use of low-temperature temperature sensitive ink to print beer patterns or logos, starting to display within a certain temperature range, can not only prompt consumers to drink the best condition, but also play a forgery.
â—† Film printing: Uses PE film flexo printing and then attaches to white sound. The effect is the same as metal printing, but flexo printing is vivid, flexible and environmentally friendly.
â—† SOT green cover: The pull ring on the SOT finger cover will be hidden inside the cover after the lid is opened, which facilitates the lid and the can body to be recycled together, and at the same time protects the consumer from accidental injury from the pull ring.
â—† Cover dust: Due to consumer complaints about the surface of the canned drinks, a cover dust composite film is sealed on the lid after filling to prevent dust contamination.
â—† Aluminium bottles: The aluminum bottles that were invented in Japan are designed to adapt metal containers to glass bottle filling lines. The bottom of the bottle is in the shape of a listener and the top is bottlenecked. The surface printing uses a preprinted film to attach to the bottle surface.
â—† Paper cans: The can body is made of paper and aluminum foil, and the can lid is made of plastic with pull rings. Due to pressure resistance, it is not currently used in beer packaging.
â—†Combination Packaging: Various types of audio combination packages include HiCone plastic tape, shrink film wrap, die-cut cardboard wrap, and die-cut cardboard connector. If the amount of orders is large enough for machine packages, manual packaging is more economical when the order volume is small.
â—† Hand hole box: The hand hole box of the packaging 12, 18, 24 has a hand hole on the side of the carton, which is convenient for consumers to purchase when the whole box is purchased. In order to enhance the strength of the hand hole, a surface-pasteable PVC fabric is generally used, which is glued in advance on the carton board corrugated cardboard line.
Food canning trend
According to the news of the last technical conference at the Packaging Exhibition/Food Processing Machinery Exhibition, EZO was at the forefront of this trend. Canned food is a practical container for foods, and with lids, there is no need to use a can opener. Cost can be a problem, but supporters of Yi Laga cited research findings that consumers are willing to pay an extra 6 to 8 cents per pack.
“Every 60% to 65% of European canned foods use elasta. In the German market, this figure is 80%,†said Jeff Deliberty, a marketing manager at SilganClosures in Downers Grove, Ill., “In the Asian market, The EZO penetration rate is about 60%."
However, in the US market, the share of Yi Lagai only accounted for 35% of cans. Deliberty predicts that this number will reach 60% in 2008. He predicted that the key areas for transformation will be pet foods, soups/chili/pasta, and fruits and vegetables.
When most of the discussion is still focused on rigid metal lids, a new generation of easy lids, including peelable foils, some of which can be processed in ultra-high pressure vessels. They can be made into irregular shapes, and the patterns on them can be compared with can labels.