Can Seaming Machines

Where can seaming fits

A can seaming machine, also called a can seamer or can closing machine, closes a filled can by rolling the edge of the lid and the flange of the can together into a seam. It is the step after filling, for food, powders and liquids packed in tinplate, aluminium or composite cans.

The five machines in this family cover three questions in turn: whether the can is loaded by hand or fed on a conveyor, whether it is closed in air, under vacuum or under vacuum with nitrogen, and how many cans per minute the line needs. The figures below come from each machine's technical specification and are confirmed for your cans in the quotation.

• Semi-automatic seamers loaded by hand, in air or under vacuum
• Automatic conveyor-fed seamers with a servo-driven indexing table
• Automatic vacuum seaming with a water-ring pump and buffer tank
• Vacuum nitrogen seaming for residual oxygen below 3%

Can seamers at a glance

Find the row that matches how cans reach the seamer and the atmosphere they need, then open the machine to read every figure with its condition.

How a can seamer closes a can

Every machine in this family closes the can in the same basic way. The filled can, with its lid placed on top, is lifted against a chuck that fits inside the lid. Seaming rollers then work around the rim.

• First operation: a grooved roller curls the edge of the lid under the flange of the can, so the two hook into each other.
• Second operation: a flatter roller presses the curled layers tight. The sealing compound inside the lid fills the gaps and makes the seam airtight.
• Release: the rollers withdraw, the can is lowered and leaves the station, by hand or on the conveyor.

This two-roller sequence forms a double seam. The LV-135B uses one first-operation and one second-operation roller; the LV-135ZFG and vacuum nitrogen configurations also use double seaming. On the LV-135B, the can stays still while the rollers travel around it, a handling arrangement suited to fragile and liquid products.

On the vacuum machines, the seam is formed inside a chamber that is evacuated first. The vacuum nitrogen machine also fills the chamber with nitrogen before seaming, so the can is closed with less oxygen inside.

How to choose a can seaming machine

Answer these questions in order. Each one narrows the five machines.

• How do cans arrive? If an operator fills and closes cans at one station, compare the hand-loaded LV-135C and LV-135B. If a filler feeds cans on a conveyor, compare the automatic servo seamer and the LV-135ZFG.
• What should be in the can when it closes? Air: LV-135C or the automatic servo seamer. Vacuum: LV-135B or LV-135ZFG. Vacuum and nitrogen: the automatic vacuum nitrogen seamer.
• How many cans per minute? Compare the speed range with the output of the filler before the seamer. The vacuum machines are slower because each can waits for the vacuum, and the LV-135B cycle lengthens as the vacuum deepens.
• Which cans and lids? Check every format against the model diameter and height range. For the automatic servo and LV-135ZFG configurations, we size the handling and seaming tooling from your can and lid samples.
• Which utilities? The LV-135ZFG requires AC 380 V; the others run on AC 220 V. All except the LV-135C use compressed air.

Air, vacuum or nitrogen

Products that change with oxygen, such as many powders, roasted products and nuts, are often closed under vacuum or with nitrogen. Whether your product needs it, and to what level, is a product and shelf-life decision for your team; the seamer is then chosen to deliver that level.

• Vacuum, hand-loaded: the LV-135B has a −0.060 MPa vacuum baseline, set on the touchscreen with live pressure display. Confirm the gauge or absolute pressure basis and agreed vacuum measurement in the project specification.
• Vacuum, automatic: the LV-135ZFG uses a water-ring vacuum pump and a 100–200 L buffer tank. We set the required vacuum level and cycle around your can, product and fill level.
• Vacuum and nitrogen: the automatic vacuum nitrogen seamer has a residual-oxygen baseline below 3%. Agree the product, can, nitrogen purity, cycle and measuring method with the engineering team so the project target is assessed under defined conditions.

For a nitrogen machine, also plan the gas: its purity, the supply pressure and whether it comes from cylinders or a generator on site. Compare modified-atmosphere options in our nitrogen flushing packaging guide, and see coffee packaging machines and snack, chips and nuts packaging machines for oxygen-sensitive applications.

Cans, lids and seam checks

The chuck, the rollers and the guides are made for one can and lid, so each format you run needs its own set and a changeover. Send empty cans and lids of every size, and say which you will run most.

A good seam depends on the can and lid as much as the machine. Agree with your can supplier which seam dimensions to check, and check the first cans from the seamer, and cans at intervals during production, against them. Seams are usually checked by cutting or tearing down a closed can and measuring it.

• Can diameter and height, and the material: tinplate, aluminium or composite
• Lid type: plain, easy-open or with a sealing compound specified by the can supplier
• Fill level, and any product on the rim after filling
• The seam dimensions your can supplier specifies

A seamer in a filling line

A can seamer closes cans after filling. For a combined filling and closing project, we review the dosing machine upstream of the seamer. The filling machines page explains piston, pump and auger dosing; the filler for your cans is discussed with the project.

For an automatic seamer, match its speed range to the filler's output, and give the conveyor height and direction at the joint. The LV-135ZFG vacuum pump and buffer tank stand beside the machine, so leave room for them on the layout. After seaming, cans often go on to coding and labeling.

Utilities at a glance

Use the machine-specific supplies below to plan utilities. We confirm the electrical configuration and compressed-air requirements against your site in the quotation.

How we use what you send

Your cans and lids decide the change parts, the product and atmosphere decide between a plain, vacuum or vacuum nitrogen seamer, and the output and filler decide between hand loading and a conveyor-fed machine. The proposal states the machine, the change parts for each format and what is included, optional or still under review.

Questions buyers ask about can seaming machines

What is the difference between a can seamer and a can sealer?

A can seamer rolls a metal or composite lid onto the can's flange to form a seam. A can sealer often means a machine that heat-seals a foil or film onto the rim. The machines in this family are seamers.

Which can seamer is the fastest?

The automatic servo seamer has the highest baseline in this range at 30–45 cans/min. The LV-135ZFG baseline is 25–35 cans/min under vacuum, depending on the can, product and fill level.

Can one machine run several can sizes?

Yes, within its model range and with change parts for each can and lid. Send every format so the change parts and the changeover are included in the quotation.

Do the machines fill the cans?

No. They close cans that have already been filled. Filling is quoted as a separate machine, or with the seamer as a line.

What residual oxygen can a nitrogen can seamer reach?

The automatic vacuum nitrogen seamer has a residual-oxygen baseline below 3%. We agree the target and measuring method for your product, can, nitrogen supply and cycle, then assess the result under those conditions.

Which machines need compressed air?

The LV-135B, the automatic servo seamer and the LV-135ZFG require at least 0.4 MPa compressed air, and the vacuum nitrogen seamer requires 0.6–0.8 MPa. The semi-automatic LV-135C uses an electric drive and does not require compressed air.