GB2092932A - Improved tooling for making container bodies - Google Patents

Abstract

A drawn container body for a can is produced from a circular, precoated sheet metal blank by forcing it through tooling comprising a plurality of similar dies (22) and punches (21); the first die (22) cups and irons the blank and the subsequent dies reduce the cup cross section and also iron the metal sheet. As the metal sheet is cupped or has its cross-section reduced, its thickness is increased so each die has an ironing land (22b) defining a clearance gap with the punch narrower than the thickened metal to remove the thickening. The final die ironing gap is about 0.001 inch (0.02 mm) narrower than the starting thickness of the blank. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improved tooling for making container bodies The present invention relates to improved tooling for making container bodies.

This disclosure relates to container bodies (the so-called two-piece bodies) and their manufacture by drawing and ironing operations. For about 20 years beverage container bodies have been made by a drawing and ironing process in which a metal blank is first cupped to establish the inside diameter of the required container and then pushed through a series of ironing rings which merely thin the side wall and do not appreciably affect the inside diameter. The process is done at high speed under a flood of coolant/lubricant in order to accommodate the severity of the operation and absorb the heat generated. The container bodies have to be washed and in some cases chemically treated to remove residual lubricant and improve corrosion performance of organic coatings and decoration subsequently applied to the container.

For the last 25 years, work has progressed on manufacturing drawn cans for food products. These containers were made of materials such as aluminium and low temper steels in orderto facilitate the drawing operation. In addition the containers usually had heights about equal to or even less than their diameters and were fashioned in a single or at most two drawing operations.

The need for a drawn container arises from the desire to eliminate the side seam and double seamed bottom in a traditional container. More specifically, to make a traditional 3-piece can a flat blank of sheet material is rolled into a cylinder and seamed along one side by welding, cementing or soldering. To this hollow cylindrical object a bottom closure is double seamed. The cylindrical body may be precoated and the side seam area may need the application of a repair stripe thereto. The operations of side seaming and double seaming are such that the quality of the container is dependent upon those seams. Of course, the cylindrical body has to be flanged in order to accept the factory-applied bottom closure and the packer-applied top end closure.The flanging and seaming operations require some care and can cause problems especially in the area of the side seam.

Only recently has it been possible to make multiply-drawn two piece food containers from organically precoated tin free steel blanks such that postcoating or post-treatment operations could be avoided.

More particularly a 24 oz. (682 ml) 404 x 307 tin-free steel container has been made in a two draw operation. (The can makers convention gives the diameter across the completed doubleseam in inches plus sixteenths of an inch then the height in inches plus sixteenths of an inch. Therefore, the foregoing container is 4 4/16" (404) in diameter by 3 7/16"(307) in height. In the metric system, these dimensions are 10.8 x 8.7 cms). It has long been desired to be able to make a container whose height is appreciably greater than the diameter, using a precoated starting material in a multiple draw process. It is also desired to make such a container in the popular 16 oz. (455 my) 303 x 406 size (8.1 x 11.1 cms) or the 15 oz. (426 ml) 300 x 407 size (7.6 x 11.3 cms) or the 11 oz. 211 x 400 size (6.8 x 10.2 cms).

We have recently manufactured and sold drawn containers in the 15 and 16 oz. sizes and have experimentally produced a 10 oz. size container (284 ml) using precoated stock. A triple draw operation was required to make these containers, and the process tends to thicken the area of the container side wall near the open end.

The amount of thickening increases from the bottom of the container to the top and all the way to the tip of the flange. This thickening is a consequence of the drawing of the material from a flat disc-shaped blank and the variable circumferential compression of the material as a function of distance from the bottom of the ultimately formed cup. The additional material thickness at the top of the container serves no useful purpose, is a waste of material and increases the weight and cost of the container.

Previous technology used in drawing containers included a punch and die combination wherein there was sufficient annular clearance between the outer surface of the punch and the inner surface of the die so that metal was not squeezed or thinned during forming. These clearances were on the order of one and one-quarter to two times the thickness of the material being drawn (for the types of steel and aluminium used to make cans). Additionally, the draw die radius (i.e. the radiussed surface over which the metal was drawn) had a radius of curvature of less than 0.125" (3.2 mm) to facilitate the movement of metal through the die. The use of such tooling reformed the metal and allowed the thickening of the upper side wall as already discussed.

In contradistinction, the drawing and ironing (D & ) process used for making beverage containers would have less clearance than the original metal thickness between the ironing ring and the punch.

More specifically, the difference between that clearance and the thickness of the metal represented the amount to which the side wall of the container was thinned. Usually, metal with no organic coating passes through three different ironing rings in a D & operation during which the T-1 temper ETP (electrolytic tinplate) is reduced about 25% in thickness in the first pass, about 25% of this reduced thickness in the second pass, and about 40% of its thickness resulting from the second pass in the last pass, while the metal and tooling are flooded with lubricant coolant. This operation increases the side wall length to several times that of the cup which was formed in an ordinary and separate one or two-draw operation. The cross-sectional configuration of an ironing ring includes a chamfer, a land and finally a relief angle.The ironing process begins on the chamfer and is completed by the land; at this time no drawing takes place. The D & process has heretofore involved drawing and ironing in the presence of a cooianflubricantflood. Coatings are normally applied after the drawn and ironed shell has been trimmed and washed free of lubricants. It would be desirable to concurrently draw and iron organically-precoated metal without having to wash away the coolant/lubricant and to find a way for making a container having a uniform wall thickness.

We have devised tooling and procedures which facilitate the manufacture of can bodies, and the tooling is the subject of the present invention. The procedure and the resulting bodies disclosed in the present application form the subjects of our copending U.K. patent application 81.36915 and 81.36914 filed on the same day as this application.

According to the present invention there is provided, a tool for forming a thin sheet of precoated metal into a hollow container comprising a plurality of forming means for converting the sheet into the shape of a container body having a predetermined cross-sectional configuration with a side wall and a closed bottom wall, each of said forming means including first, shaping portions which in combination work to generate the predetermined crosssectional configuration and second, reducing portions which cooperate to thin the side wall.

The invention also provides a tool for forming a thin sheet of precoated metal into a hollow container, comprising a punch and a plurality of dies of decreasing radius through which the punch advances the sheet metal in sequence, each die having a first portion which co-operates with the punch to form the sheet metal into a hollow cylindrical shape and which, in use, causes a thickening of the sheet metal in the course of its passage through the first portion, each die having a second, reducing portion defining a clearance gap with the punch narrower than the thickened sheet to remove the thickening, the clearance gap of at least the last die in the plurality thereof being slightly narrower than the thickness of the sheet metal starting material.

The following general description is given by way of example only of the present development.

In the preferred practice of this invention, a container is fashioned from double reduced plate and more specifically from plate of DR8 or DR9 temper and about 65 &num; per base box base weight.

Here the preferred material is tin free steel (TFS), tinplate, nickel plated steel, or steel base material.

DR8 or DR9 is a tin mill product specification which relates to the process by which the metal is cold reduced in two stages with an anneal between the two cold rolling operations. The steel is reduced approximately 89% in the first reduction, is annealled, and then is reduced about 25 to 40% in the second and final cold reduction. The base box terminology for base weight is standard in the can making industry; it originally referred to the amount of steel in a base box of tinplate consisting of 112 sheets of steel 14" x 20" (35.6 x 50.8 cm) or 31,360 square inches (20.2 sq. m) plate of surface (on one side). Today the base boxy as related to base weight refers to the weight of steel in 31,360 square inches (20.2 sq. m) of sheet, whether in the form of coil or cut sheets. 65 &num; per base box means a weight of 65 Ib or 29.5 kg.

This material may be coated on what ultimately will be the outside surface by an epoxy-resin or an organosol coating. The inside may be coated with any protective coating consisting of a combination of resins which has been found to withstand the severe multiple-forming operation. Inside and outside coatings are capable of withstanding the drawing and ironing stresses typical of can-making operations. Consequently, the container can be made from a relatively high temper material and may not require a postcoating.

The preferred method used in order to produce such a desired container uses a minimum amount of the high temper DR8 or DR9 steel, and it involves one to three concurrent drawing operations which may take place in a press such as that disclosed in our published U.K. patent application serial number 2,053,056A. For the case of a triple drawn and ironed can, in each forming operation, the diameter of the container and the wall thickness are concurrently reduced. More specifically, the first operation blanks and forms the sheet of precoated material into a shallow cup wherein the diameter is in excess of the height During this operation the wall thickness is reduced by ironing while drawing such that the wall is finally brought down to approximately 0.001" (0.02 mm) less than the thickness of the unformed or unworked part of the bottom (the starting thickness of the precoated material).The second operation redraws the container and reduces the diameter, and again concurrently irons the wall to maintain a reduced thickness from the top to the bottom. In this second operation the diameter is reduced and the height increased so that these dimensions are about equal. The final operation reduces the diameter still further and once again concurrently irons the side wall to produce a preferred thinness and uniformity such that the container achieves its final configuration. During this operation the bottom of the container may be given its desired profile, see for example our published U.K. patent application serial number 2,068,887A.

In the operations where the diameter is reduced and the side wall is thinned, the ironing operation may be stopped before it reaches the flange in any of the multiple operations. Consequently, the flange thickness as well as the side wall area adjacent the flange can be left thicker. In any event stopping the process defines where the side walls are ironed; the flange may be or may not be maintained.

In a fourth operation, the container flange is trimmed and the container is sent to a beading machine. It should be appreciated that a complete container can be manufactured without having the need for any washing, repair postcoating or additional energy-intensive operations.

The addition of ironing to the multiple-draw process permits the original cut edge or circular blank to have a smaller diameter than that necessary for an unironed container of similar size. Therefore, the amount of metal needed can be reduced compared with the amount needed for drawn containers of the same size. This reduction saves material and reduces the ultimate container weight and cost.

A tool or die used to provide concurrent drawing and ironing is a unique combination of the drawing and ironing tool technologies. Thus, the elements of the respective toolings and, in particular, the die profile as viewed in a cross-section is adapted to concurrently draw and iron the container body side wall. The material thickening which normally occurs during the circumferential compression of the metal being formed into a hollow cylindrical container, is ironed out during the forming process so that the resulting thickness of the side wall can be less than the original material thickness.

The present disclosure shows a draw die having a draw die radius which curves inwardly toward the companion punch. The punch and die dimensions are chosen so that the metal must thin to pass through the annular clearance therebetween.

Another modification to the draw die is a land which is below the draw die radius to assure that ironing takes place concurrently with the drawing operation.

The metal being drawn is first bent over the draw die radius as the punch pulls the metal into the die. The metal is then pulled over the die radius and must unbend to become part of the straight side wall. It is very desirable that the unbending at the termination of the die radius takes place before commencement of ironing. It is preferable that a transition taper or chamfer extend from the draw die radius to the ironing land. This transition can be short or long (axially) depending upon the operation that is to take place and is beneficial in that it helps to make the process less sensitive to alignment problems.

The ironing land is of sufficient length to thin the side wall without scuffing the precoating and to afford acceptable tool life. There is a relief angle in the die which gives longitudinal support to the land and also accommodates circumferential stress induced by the ironed container as it passes therethrough. It has been found that with the proper selection of die radius, transition angle and length, land dimension and relief angle, precoated material can be concurrently drawn and ironed into cans whose coating integrity is sufficient to meet commerical requirements. Depending upon the ultimate configuration (height to diameter ratio) of the container, it passes through a plurality of toolings as described in order to achieve the required configuration and ironing. This flexibility allows the process to be adapted to cover a wide commercial range of can sizes.

The present invention will now be further described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a partial side cross-sectional view showing a blank being formed into a shallow cup in the first step of the container making process, using a combined drawing and ironing tool according to the present invention; Figure 1A is an enlarged sectional view of part of the tool shown in Figure 1; Figure 2 is a partial side cross-sectional view showing the cup being further formed into a container whose height to diameter ratio is approximately one by means of another combined drawing and ironing tool according to the invention designed to provide concurrent drawing and ironing in a second step of the process; Figure 2A is an enlarged sectional view of part of the tool shown in Figure 2;; Figure 3 is a partial side cross-sectional view showing the container being further formed into an elongated can, wherein the side wall thickness is slightly less than the thickness of the original blank, by means of another combines drawing and ironing tool according to the invention for concurrent drawing and ironing in a third step of the process; Figure 3A is an enlarged sectional view of part of the tool area of Figure 3; and Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view of a container body after complete forming thereof by the tools and by the processes disclosed herein, the body side walls being relatively uniform and slightly thinner than unformed portions of the bottom of the container.

The accompanying drawings show tooling used in the various steps of a multiple-step process for making a container body, the latter being seen in Figure 4. In order to simplify the disclosure, like parts of the toolings are given like references. That is to say, precoated metal being formed into a container as shown in Figure 1 and 1A is labelled 20, similarly it is labelled 30 in Figures 2 and 2A and 40 in Figures 3 and 3A. Similarly, the tooling is generally labelled 25 in Figure 1; 35 in Figure 2 and 45 in Figure 3. The completed container is shown in Figure 4 as 50. It should be appreciated that the reference numbers in the twenties are used in connection with Figures 1 and 1A; numbers in the thirties are used in connection with Figures 2 and 2A and numbers in the forties are used in connection with Figures 3 and 3A.

Turning now to Figures 1 and 1A, there is shown a punch 21 which is used for drawing a precoated circular sheet metal blank 20 into a cup shape through a draw die 22 and, in particular, across a draw die radius 22a (see Figure 1A). The blank is about twice the diameter of the final container body, and the resulting cup has a diameter approximately twice its height. Draw die radius 22a has a radius curvature in the range of 0.030" to 0.125" (0.76 to 3.2 mm). As also shown in Figure 1A, the die has a taper which leads inwardly from the end of the draw die radius 22a to a straight die section or ironing land 22b which is the ironing part of the die 22.The land 22b is generally vertical or parallel to the axis of the punch 21, while the taper makes an angle E to this axis to form a lead-in from the draw die radius 22a to the land 22b of about one-half to 3 . The land 22b is approximately in the range of 0.010" to 0.100" (0.25 to 2.5 mm) in vertical length and extends from its juncture with the said taper to the beginning of a relief portion 22c of the die 22. This relief portion 22c makes an angle F outwardly from the vertical at about one-half 15 and is included to accommodate circumferential and longitudinal stress in the die 22 due to the working forces encountered while ironing.

More specifically, and as shown in Figures 1 and 1A, the blanked part has an original thickness as it is held under the draw clamp 23 of the tooling 25 before it is pulled into the clearance between the punch 21 and the die 22. This material thickness increases as it approaches the die radius 22a and is diminished slightly just after the material passes over the tangent point of the draw die radius 22a. It further thins slightly as it unbends as it comes off the die radius 22a and becomes part of the side wall. The material is thinned significantly as it is ironed in the clearance between the die 22 and the punch 21.

The side wall of the container or cup will be somewhat wedged shaped in section. Its thickness will increase with the height above the bottom. This is because the material thickness entering the ironing zone constantly increases due to circumferential compression. This greater thickness entering the ironing zone 22b causes greater load on the tooling 25 which is elastic and will deform. Further, since metal springback is a proportional phenomenon, increased incoming wall thickness produces an increased outgoing wall thickness.

Turning now to Figure 2, there is shown a punch 31 which is used for drawing the cup formed by the tooling 25 of Figure 1, into a taller and smaller diameter container. Shape, the height and diameter thereof being approximately equal. The tooling 35 of Figure 2 is similar to that of Figure 1. In Figure 2A draw die radius 32a, has a radius curvature in the range of 0.030 to 0.125" (0.76 to 3.2 mm). As also shown in Figure 2A, there is a taper making the small angle G to the tooling axis which leads inwardly from the end of the draw die radius 32a to a flat section or land 32b which is the ironing part of the die 32. The ironing land 32b is generally vertical or parallel to the axis of the punch 31. The angle G, being the lead-in from the draw die radius 32a to the land 32b, represents a taper of about zero to 30.The land is approximately in the range of 0.010 to 0.100" (0.25 to 2.5 mm) in vertical length and extends from its juncture with the said taper to the beginning of a relief portion 32c of the die 32. This relief portion 32c makes an outward angle H from the vertical of about one-half to 100 and is included to accommodate circumferential and longitudinal stress in the die 32 due to the working forces encountered while ironing.

More specifically, and as shown in Figures 2 and 2A, the cup has an original thickness as it is held under the draw sleeve 33 of the tooling 35 before it is pulled into the clearance between the punch 31 and the die 32. This material thickness increases as it approaches the die radius 32a and is diminished slightly just after the material passes over the tangent point of the draw die radius 32a. It further thins slightly as it unbends as it comes off the die radius 32a and becomes part of the container side wall. The material is thinned significantly as it is ironed in the clearance between the die 32 and the punch 31.

The side wall of the redrawn container will again be somewhat wedged shaped in section. Its thickness will increase with the height above the bottom.

This is because the material thickness entering the ironing part 32b of the die 32 constantly increases due to circumferentiai compression. This greater thickness entering the ironing part 32b causes greater load on the tooling 35 which is elastic and will deform. Further, since metal springback is a proportional phenomenon increased incoming wall thickness produces an increased outgoing wall thickness.

Turning now to Figure 3, there is shown a punch 41 which is drawing the container 30 of Figure 2 through a draw die 42, and in particular, across a draw die radius 42a (see Figure 3A). Draw die radius 42a, has a radius curvature in the range of 0.030 to 0.125" (0.76 to 3.2 mm). As also shown in Figure 3A, a taper leads inwardly from the end of the draw die radius 42a to a flat section or land 42b which is the ironing part of the die 42. The land 42b is generally vertical or parallel to the axis of the punch 41. The taper makes an angle J, between the lead-in from the draw die radius 42a to the land 42b, of about zero to 30 The ironing land 42b is approximately in the range of 0.010 to 0.100" (0.25 to 2.5 mm) in vertical length and extends from its juncture with the taper from the draw die radius 42a to the beginning of a relief portion 42c of the die 42.This relief portion 42c makes an outward angle Kfrom the vertical of about one-half to 150 and is included to accommodate circumferential and longitudinal stress in the die 42 due to the working forces encountered while ironing.

The thickness changes during progress through the die 42 are in substance the same as described with reference to Figures 1, lA and 2, 2A but the side wall of the final container body will not be measurably wedged shaped in section. This is because the multiple ironing operations have reduced nonuniformity due to drawing. While material thickness entering the ironing part of the die constantly increased due to circumferential compression, the effect is less since the percent diameter reduction is less. Consequently, the finished container body will be largely uniform in sidewall thickness. The final container has a diameter about 75% of its height.

As shown in the Figures, the container material is metal with thin uniform precoatings on what ultimately becomes its inside and outside surfaces.

These coatings are designed to draw with the metal and not be torn or damaged such that the metal protective covering is lost even though ironing takes place in the process of drawing the material through and across the die.

Figure 4 shows the completed container having a flange 51, a side wall 52 and a bottom generally designated 53. The bottom has a planar circumferential margin 54 and a domed centre section 55. The thickness of the material in the side wall 52 of the finished container 50 is relatively uniform. The thickest portion of the container is in the base margin 54 which has the same thickness as the blank from which the container was made. The rest of the container has a thickness which is reduced by approximately 0.001" (0.02 mm) from the original thickness of the precoated blank. The thinning of the side wall 52 has been explained in connection with the multiple operations of drawing and concurrent ironing shown in the Figures and herein described.

The thinning of the domed portion 55 of the container bottom takes place near the bottom of the stroke of the punch 41 in Figure 3. It will be noted that the punch 41 has a recessed area 41a adapted to clear profile tooling (not shown) which contacts the bottom center section of the container 40 when forming the domed bottom profile in the bottom wall 53. In forming the dome 55, the material of the container bottom is stretched so the wall thickness in the domed area is diminished slightly.

The punch can be diametrically undercut or ta pered to increase the ironed side wall thickness. If the punch is tapered the side wall near the bottom will be thicker so that the ultimate container will have greater abuse resistance in this critical corner area.

The radius of the draw die is critical to the stress induced into the material as it is pulled by the punch from underneath the clamping load. More specifically, the draw die radius and the tapered lead to the ironing land must be adjusted to minimize the induced strain and wrinkling which naturally occurs as the diameter of the undrawn material is reduced.

As the material is pulled inwardly toward the radius of the draw die radiating lines of residual stress are generated even though the material is held by a clamping load and the material is thickening. The nonuniform circumferential stresses produce an inhomogeneous condition of strain in the material which is evidenced by work hardening variability in the ultimately produced container side wall. The strain increases the probability of flange cracks parallel to the axis of the can. As explained herein, the material in the upper portion of the container can remain unironed and thus thicker. This extra thickness will help to resist cracking. However, in certain processes, the entire container will be ironed when a flange will be subsequently formed.The importance of the draw die radius and the taper are greater then since the need to minimize the formation strain is greater.

The taper between the draw die radius and the ironing land is also critical from another standpoint.

The taper acts to pilot or guide the punch as it pushes the container material into the ironing portion of the die. Tolerances on the position of the land, the concentricity of the punch and die and the various angles and radii in the cross-sectional configuration of the die profile all work to generate a certain amount of transverse motion between the punch and die. The taper, being steep, acts to centre the moving punch relative to the die and causes the sheet material to flow more uniformly through the annular clearance between the punch and the die. It can be appreciated that with multiple operations, the container wall uniformity from side to side will vary to some degree depending upon the clearances and tolerances prevailing in the proceeding operation.

This nonuniformity presents a problem to the tooling of the next operation and a steep taper has been found to help overcome the problem and to minimize the pre-existing condition of the container such that it will function properly in the subsequent operation. Therefore, it has been found that the second and third operations of concurrent drawing ironing are possible with a taper of 0 under certain conditions.

The preferred embodiment is a 303 x 406 (8.1 x 11.1 cm) container. A blank is first formed into a cup by the punch 21 and the die 22, the blank being circular and having an approximate diameter of 7.947" (20.19 cm). The resultant cup has an inside diameter of 5.007" (12.72 cm) and a height of approximately 2.000" (5.08 cm). The material thickness in the unironed bottom of the cup is 0.0076" (0.19 mm) and the average wall thickness of the side wall of the cup is approximately 0.0070" (0.10 mm).

In Figure 2 step, the cup 20 of Figure 1 is redrawn into a taller and smaller diameter container wherein the height is about 3.350" (8.50 cm) and the inside diameter is about 3.805" (9.66 cm). Again, the bottom thickness remains about 0.0076" (0.19 mm) and the side wall is on average 0.0067" thick (0.17 mm).

Finally, the container 30 of Figure 2 is redrawn to form the finished item wherein the height is about 4.425" (11.24 cm) and the inside diameter is about 3.060" (7.77 cm). The thickness of the bottom remains the same but the wall thickness is a relatively uniform average thickness of 0.0064" (0.16 mm).

Those skilled in the art of tooling and container making will no doubt appreciate that, while a specific container has been shown and described, the tooling can be adapted to different size containers, different materials, and different working methods - or any combination of the foregoing - which would produce containers having relatively uniform overall thicknesses using tooling that concurrently draws and irons to a degree sufficient not only to overcome thickening of the wall but in fact slightly to reduce the wall thickness.

The present invention is particularly adapted for use in the method claimed in our copending U.K.

patent application No. 81 36915 entitled "Improved container drawing process" filed on the same day as this application. The entire disclosure of this companion application is hereby imported into the present application by this reference.

Claims (13)

1. A tool for forming a thin sheet of precoated metal into a hollow container comprising a plurality of forming means for converting the sheet into the shape of a container body having a predetermined cross-sectional configuration with a side wall and a closed bottom wall, each of said forming means including first, shaping portions which in combination work to generate the predetermined crosssectional configuration and second, reducing portions which cooperate to thin the side wall.

2. A tool for forming a thin sheet of precoated metal into a hollow container, comprising a punch and a plurality of dies of decreasing radius through which the punch advances the sheet metal in sequence, each die having a first portion which cooperates with the punch to form the sheet metal into a hollow cylindrical shape and which, in use, causes a thickening of the sheet metal in the course of its passage through the first portion, each die having a second, reducing portion defining a clearance gap with the punch narrower than the thickened sheet to remove the thickening, the clearance gap of at least the last die in the plurality thereof being slightly narrower than the thickness of the sheet metal starting material.

3. The tool according to claim 2, wherein the final clearance gap is about 0.001 inch (0.2 mm) smaller than the thickness of the sheet metal starting materal.

4. The tool according to claim 1,2 or 3, wherein the first portions are parts of an axially aligned punch and die combination which parts cooperate to draw the sheet metal to the said cross-sectional configuration.

5. The tool according to claim 4, wherein the second portions are a side clearance defined by the profile of the die and its position relative to the punch, to define a varying annular space through which the side wall is pulled as the punch moves material through the die.

6. The tool according to any of claims 1 to 5, which has a cross-sectional configuration generally circular to form a cylindrical container.

7. The tool according to claim 5, wherein the said clearance is smaller than the sheet material thickness.

8. The tool according to claim 7, wherein the area of the die parts of the first portions each includes a die radius over and across which the sheet material is first drawn and an unbending working surface adjacent the die radius which the sheet material in use next encounters as it is forced through said die by the punch.

9. The tool according to claim 8, wherein the second portions each include an ironing land which is a die section having a wall parallel to the axis of the die, the land being located radially inwardly of the associated first section and serving to thin the side wall in use as the punch moves the sheet material across the land.

10. The tool according to claim 9, wherein the die includes an inwardly tapered portion extending from the end of the die radius to the land.

11. The tool according to claim 10, wherein the tapered portion is steep and aids in axially aligning the punch with the land.

12. The tool according to claim 10, wherein the said tapered portion is steep, being less than 30 with respect to the die axis.

13. A tool for forming a thin sheet of metal into a hollow container, substantially as herein described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.