2-piece can for soft drinks

Cans for food and drinks may be constructed out of either two or three pieces of metal. Main containers are slim cans and stubby cans. Cans that can contain every kind of beverages including soda, juice, and coffee are manufactured and produced.

2-piece cans dominate in the beverage industry, due to their excellent sealing properties and the fact the manufacturing process particularly suits lightweight aluminum and alloys. These materials have the added advantage of helping beverages cool quickly. These cans preserve the taste and nutritional values of their filling for up to several years.

Cans are typically coated with an organic layer that protects the integrity of the can from effects of the food and prevents chemical reactions between the can’s metal and the food.

2-piece can is a packaging container with the bottom end and the body shaped from one sheet of metal by deep drawing, with a second end seamed to the can to close it and form a complete package for sale.

2-piece cans are made from a disc of metal which is reformed into a cylinder with an integral end. To this is seamed a loose end to finally close the can. The operation of reforming sheet metal without changing its thickness is called “drawing”.
2-piece can for soft drinks

Pull-tab can for soft drink

Typical carbonated soft drink cans are made of two pieces, one making up the sides and bottom, and the lid on top. Lids are commonly made of a different alloy than the aluminum sides and base because the flat shape provides less resistance to pressure than the concave bottom and rounded sides.

The first beverage cans were opened via puncture with a “church key” can opener.

In 1959, Ermal Fraze devised a can-opening method that would come to dominate the canned drink market. His invention was the "pull-tab". His first version used a lever that pierced a hole in the can. Unfortunately, this design produced a sharp opening, sometimes injuring the drinkers. Later he created the familiar pull-tab version, which had a ring attached at the rivet for pulling, and which would come off completely to be tossed aside.

His idea was patented by the United States government in 1963. Pittsburgh Brewing Company in Pittsburgh was the first company utilize Fraze’s design.

A pull-tab consists of a metal ring which, along with a wedge-shaped portion of the can top, is completely separated from the can when pulled to create an opening.

A variety of styles of pull-tabs evolved over the next 20 years or so, many of which pulled off completely and caused a great deal of environmental pollution. The version of the pop tab known today began to appear on beverage cans around 1980.
Pull-tab can for soft drink