National Tin Can Day was recently celebrated on January 19. Patented in 1810, Tin cans became one of the greatest inventions revolutionizing the preservation of food. The humble tin can used today actually contains no tin. Many cans today are made of aluminum or other treated metals. And these cans are used to package everything from fruits, vegetables, soups and soft drinks to lighter fluid.

Did you know that NDC's measurement solutions play a role in helping metal can manufacturers, such as aluminum can makers, to produce products better and more cost effectively? That's right.

Punches and dies are used in the manufacture of metal cans. And manufacturers of these cans have been able to significantly reduce the wall thickness of their products by being able to better control the sizes of their punch and die sets. In order to measure a punch properly, you must be able to measure the diameter at various locations as well as taper. And our measurement solutions make this possible.

Using NDC's Precision Pro 6000 multi-dimensional processor and PrecisionScan Series 4000 laser dimension sensor, these measurements are usually taken at 0° and 90° to ensure that the roundness of the punch is within specification. The die is measured across the center and is traversed while being measured with a fast sampling rate.

There are two elements to this application: punch measurement and die measurement. The punch rests on two 0.38 inch centerless ground shafts that create a v-block cradle assembly. The die sits on a precision fixture plate. Both punch and die fixture are attached to a programmable linear table.

The measurement system is easy to use. The operator places either the punch, die or both onto the fixture. He enters in the appropriate part numbers and presses start. The linear table automatically positions the part, takes the measurement and continues on to the next location. When measuring the die, the stage moves to the center of the die and then scans at a high rate to determine the size. These measurements are captured with the highest accuracy. Depending on the sensor, you can achieve 0.000020 repeatability on punches and dies up to 4 in.

All measurement values reside in the PrecisionPro 6000 or can be transmitted via RS-232 to a printer, PC or data collection device.

Learn more about NDC's Precision Pro and Precision Scan measurement systems.

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