A food sealing canning line is used to package a variety of beverages, including soda, beer and sparkling wine. The lines typically include a can filler, induction sealing machine and a labeling and packing system.
Depending on the line’s needs, this process can be automated or manually completed. The level of automation depends on how much time is spent on cans, the labor costs of can fillers and the ability of operators to handle large volumes.

The first step is to depalletize the cans by placing them in a chute that inverts and rinses them, prior to being purged with CO2 and filled with beer. Some breweries can get by with manual can washing and rinsing, while others need to upgrade to a more high-tech approach that includes automated wash down stations.

After the cans are filled, they are placed on a conveyor and transported to a lid seamer that forms a seal with the can’s lid. The lid’s thickness and the length of the internal lip sections are key measurements to ensure a perfect seal is formed.

This is called a “double seam” and involves two operations, one to roll the bottom lip of the can end up and under the bottom lip of the can body and another to iron or flatten the sections together to form a hermetic seal. These steps are important because if the seal is not perfectly formed, oxygen will seep into the cans, causing them to spoil and deteriorate quickly.