How are aluminium slugs made into collapsible tubes?
aluminiumsheet > 02-05-2020, 06:33 AM
An aluminium slugsfor collapsible tube is obtained on a machine that cuts many slugs from a straight bar or coiled stock. The thickness, shape and size of the slug is set by a stop in the machine. A feeding mechanism feeds the aluminum bar or coil stock up against the stop and then a knife pushes against the aluminum material and shears of the slug. This is done at a fairly high speed of production. The cut slugs are then sent to a cold heading machine that reverse extrudes each aluminium slugs into a straight can shape. A plunger pushes against the slug inside a hole in a die and the material flows up the plunger to form a can. This is done in a full automatic production line where aluminium slugs are fed into the start unit of the line. They are then extruded, during which lips are rolled onto them. The inside of the shaped cans are lacquered, and next labels are rolled onto them. The finished empty cans are bunched together, strapped and stacked on pallets ready to ship. All the steps are done on one production line with no human touch from start to finish.
As a kind of traditional packing approach, aluminum collapsible tube(aluminum tube) are widely used in Pharmacy, food, cosmetic, chemical industries. The major production process loop include: aluminium slugs-> slug tumbling->tube extrusion-> tube trimming-> annealing-> inner printing->primer-> printing-> capping-> end gluing-> inspection-> packing.
Aluminum collapsible tubes are one of the most common packaging solutions in cosmetic, health care, pharmaceutical, food and adhesive industries. They are ideal for packing low viscosity products, such as lotion, cream, ointment and adhesive.
The tube collapses as the contents are squeezed out, effectively preventing suck back of air or contaminants and thus maximizes shelf life of product.
Below are the key production procedures for making aluminium collapsible tubes:
Step 1: Slug Extrusion, Tube Trimming and Annealing
All tubes are made from aluminium slugs, usually in 99.7% purity. Slugs are put into extrusion press machine and molded into tubes. The extruded tubes then go through a trimming process, with mouth and shoulder being threaded, shaved and trimmed. Further, extruded tubes have to be annealed in the oven under 3,500 degree Celsius to reach proper degree of softness.
Step 2: Internal Lacquer
To avoid chemical reactions between tube and its contents, the inner wall of tubes will be duly lacquered to form a protective coating. Depending on the chemical features of the contents, clients can request for plain or double lacquering.
Step 3: External Coating & Printing
The extruded tubes can be coated externally with polyester resin, usually in white color. Also called as base coating, external coating forms a protective layer on the surface of tube. The coated tubes then proceed to offset printing process. Foil stamping in gold, silver or pearl white colors is also available.
Step 4: Capping
Caps are affixed to the tubes afterwards. Caps are made of PP or PS plastic, with various styles and colors to choose from, including flowerpot (snip tip top), rounded, angular, flat top, stiple top, piercer (cap with puncture point), stand-up (smooth, full-width), flip-top (natural dispensing cap with snap-top), concave top, tamper-proof, etc.
Step 5: Latex Lining
For products that are sensitive to air and moisture and require maximum shelf life, enhanced latex lining is required. Shin Dorn can do adjustable width of latex bands at the rear open end of tube to prevent content leakage.
Haomei is a professional aluminium slug for collapsible tube supplier in China, our aluminum slugs 1070 product won good reputation on world market. Collapsible tube made of 1070 aluminium slugs has 99.7% purity and can be used for cosmetic, tooth-pipe, pharmaceutical and food packaging. The diameter processable range is 6mm-220mm, and the thickness processable range is 2mm-25mm.
The aluminium slugsfactory Haomei in China is a professional company mainly produces aluminum slugs for cold extrusion aluminum cans and tubes. The cans and tubes processed from aluminium slugs are wide, such as toothpaste tubes, glue pipes, cosmetic tubes, marker tubes, capacitor tubes, aerosol cans, cigar tubes, pigment tubes, etc.