A quick-change starwheel guide assembly is structured to be coupled to a starwheel guide assembly mounting base. The quick-change starwheel guide assembly includes a starwheel guide assembly mounting assembly, a starwheel guide assembly support assembly, a number of starwheel guide assembly guiderails and a starwheel guide assembly can body height adjustment assembly. The starwheel guide assembly mounting assembly is coupled to the starwheel guide assembly support assembly. The starwheel guide assembly guiderails are coupled to the starwheel guide assembly mounting assembly. The starwheel guide assembly can body height adjustment assembly is coupled to at least one the starwheel guide assembly guiderail. At least one of the starwheel guide assembly mounting assembly or the can body height adjustment assembly is a quick-change assembly.

A forming station for a necker machine including a frame assembly, an inboard turret assembly, an outboard turret assembly and a forming station quick-change assembly.

A rotary manifold includes a manifold assembly outer body assembly with a generally toroid outer body, a number of manifold assembly outer body assembly bearing assemblies, a number of seals, and a number of fluid couplings. The manifold assembly outer body assembly body defines a number of radial passages. A generally toroid manifold assembly inner body defines a number of right angle passages. The manifold assembly inner body is rotatably disposed within the manifold assembly outer body assembly body. Each manifold assembly inner body passage inlet is discontinuously in fluid communication with the manifold assembly outer body assembly body passage outlets. Each manifold assembly inner body passage outlet is discontinuously in fluid communication with the process shaft assembly body passages inlets.

An infeed assembly for a necker machine includes a full inspection assembly wherein the full inspection assembly is structured to be coupled to a necker machine frame assembly.

An aluminum roll-on container, and a method of manufacturing the same, retains a roller sphere for applying a product onto an external surface. The roller sphere can both rotate and move within the container, and a chamber is formed between the container and the roller sphere. In a first position of the roller sphere, the chamber forms a continuous volume with the interior volume of the container such that the chamber receives a product stored in the container volume. Then, in a second position, the chamber forms a continuous volume with the external environment such that rotation of the roller sphere transfers the product from the chamber to an external surface. A relationship between the roller sphere and an upper opening of the container allows the roller sphere to be pressed into the container and then retained in the container.

A shaped metal container comprising less metal than prior art shaped metal containers while still able to handle sufficient axial load and undergo shaping processes, including necking, without wrinkling, buckling, collapsing or other physical defect is disclosed. Processes for shaping a metal container having a sidewall of variable thickness, wherein a portion of the sidewall having a variable thickness is shaped using a die or dies are also disclosed.

A necking tool for manufacturing of metal beverage cans, the necking tool being a cemented carbide comprising in wt % of about 18 to about 63 WC, of about 21 to about 30 TiC, of about 0 to about 27 TiN, of about 0 to about 12 NbC, of about 0 to 2 Cr.sub.3C.sub.2, of about 8 to about 14 Co and of about 0 to about 6 Ni.

A device for inhibiting rotational motion of an article to be processed comprises a pressure plate assembly including a generally ring-shaped guide assembly. The guide assembly has and at least two guide pins extending from a first side in a transverse direction. The guide assembly further includes at least two resilient devices positioned over a respective one of the at least two guide pins and a container guide having an aperture for receiving an open end of a container moving in a first direction and for aligning the open end with a processing device. The container guide is positioned adjacent to the first side of the pressure plate assembly. At least two resilient devices are configured to be compressed in response to movement of the container guide in a first direction and are configured to decompress in response to movement of the container guide in a second, generally opposite direction.

An apparatus and method of simultaneously forming a contoured shoulder and neck portion on a closed end a metallic container are provided. More specifically, an apparatus and methods of forming a contoured shoulder and neck portion on a closed end of a metallic two-piece container are disclosed.

A feed apparatus for successive processing of hollow bodies at processing stations which are arranged in a ring-shaped manner, to a necking machine for successive processing of hollow bodies, to a method for successive feeding of hollow bodies at processing stations which are arranged in a ring-shaped manner, and to a corresponding computer program. In order to allow a relatively large number of processing stations to be provided, without there being an excessive space requirement or similarly inefficient resource utilization, a feed apparatus is proposed for successive processing of hollow bodies at processing stations which are arranged in a ring-shaped manner, having a first circulating guide for first processing stations and a second circulating guide for second processing stations, one of the guides being arranged within the other guide, and having a moving unit for moving a hollow body into the first guide and/or the second guide.