Patent ID: 8511125

Claim:
Beverage can manufacturing apparatus, comprising in combination a) a set of necking stations S 1 , S 2 . . . S N for progressively and smoothly necking a beverage can body having a diameter greater than or equal to 2.8 inches to result in an open end designed to receive a first standard end, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 20, and wherein a subset of the necking stations S i . . . S j , where 1<i<j<N, progressively neck the beverage can body to result in an open end designed to receive a second standard end for the beverage can; and b) a can body maker for forming the beverage can body having a punch sleeve and wherein the punch sleeve is designed with a peripheral surface having a lower portion forming a bottom wall and mid-wall of the beverage can body, a transition point and an upper portion, the transition point being where the lower portion transitions to the upper portion, the upper portion forming a top wall of the can body, the punch sleeve tapering at the transition portion such that the upper portion has a smaller diameter than the lower portion to thereby provide the beverage can body with a relatively thick topwall of sufficient length L of at least about 1.0 inch such that the required amount of necking of the beverage can body to an open end designed to receive either the first or second standard end can be performed without wrinkling or other problems in the can body.