Cans and bottles share a lot of the same packaging line. Both get filled, closed, coded, inspected, and packed. But anyone who has run both formats knows the conveying side behaves very differently. An empty aluminum can weighs almost nothing, has an open top, and dents if you look at it wrong. A full can is stable and heavy. The conveyor system has to handle both states, often within a few feet of each other.
Used Packaging Equipment has supplied used conveying and packaging machinery to beverage, brewing, food, and household producers since 1988. This guide walks through can conveying zone by zone, the conveyor types you will see on can lines, and what to look for when buying used conveyors for canning.
An empty can is easy to tip, easy to dent, and easy to push off a conveyor. Line pressure that would be harmless for a glass bottle can crush the sidewall of an empty aluminum can or knock it out of line. Empty-can conveying is about gentle, controlled handling with minimal back pressure.
Once a can is filled and seamed, it is heavier, more stable, and much more tolerant of accumulation. Conveying after the seamer looks more like conventional container handling. A good can line design treats the empty side and the full side as two separate problems.
Empty cans travel open end up or open end down depending on where they are in the line. That affects rinsing, contamination risk, and how the can is guided.
Cans typically arrive on pallets in layers. A depalletizer sweeps each layer onto a conveyor, and from there the cans need to be thinned out and moved toward the filler.
Before filling, cans are usually inverted so they can be rinsed or air-cleaned open end down, then righted again. Twister rails and can inverters handle this without any drive at all, relying on guide rails and gravity. Rinsers in this zone may use water, air, or ionized air depending on the product and plant standards.
The filler needs a steady, single-file supply of cans at the right pitch. Single-filers and timing screws convert a mass flow of cans into an orderly line. This transfer is one of the most common sources of jams on a can line, so it deserves close attention when evaluating used equipment.
After seaming, cans move into the full-can side of the line. Here conveyors carry product through date coding, fill-level inspection, and often a warmer or pasteurizer tunnel. Because full cans are more stable, this zone can tolerate more accumulation and more conventional tabletop chain conveyors.
At the end of the line, cans feed into multipack applicators, carriers, tray packers, or case packers. Many of these machines need cans lane-divided or grouped, so the conveyor ahead of them often includes lane dividers and metering.
Plastic tabletop chain is the workhorse of most can lines, especially on the full side. Wider mat-top chain is common for mass conveying ahead of packaging and through accumulation zones.
Cable conveyors are well suited to empty cans because they move light containers gently over long distances and elevation changes. They are a common solution for routing empties from a depalletizer to a filler that sits across the room.
Some high-speed lines move empty cans with air rather than chain. Air conveying handles empties gently, but it requires a compressed air or blower supply and the right guide design for the can size.
Magnetic conveyors work well for steel food cans and are often used to elevate or invert them. They do not work on aluminum, which is a common mistake when buyers try to reuse food canning equipment on a beverage line. Vacuum conveyors fill a similar role for aluminum cans where a magnetic hold is not possible.
Craft breweries, cideries, and small beverage producers often run compact canning systems where the conveyor is integrated into a single skid. Expansion usually means adding a depalletizer or a longer discharge conveyor. Used conveyor sections are a practical way to extend these lines without replacing the whole system.
Higher-output can lines rely on longer conveyor runs, air or cable conveying for empties, multiple accumulation points, and automatic packaging. On these lines, conveying is less about one machine and more about balancing the flow between several machines running at different rates. Used conveyor systems from decommissioned lines can supply much of this at a fraction of new cost.
Can lines often run more than one format, such as standard, sleek, and slim cans. Check whether the conveyor’s guide rails, starwheels, and timing screws are adjustable or require change parts, and whether those parts are included. A conveyor set up for one can diameter will not handle another without the right rails.
Review the chain for worn or missing links and look at the wear strips beneath it. Uneven wear can tip empties and cause jams. Plan for replacement chain where needed.
Dead plates and side transfers are where empty cans most often fall over. Ask how the conveyor transferred into and out of the machines it served on its prior line, and whether those transfers fit your layout.
Ask whether the conveyor has been tested under power, what motors and gearboxes it uses, and whether it runs on variable frequency drives. Conveyors on can lines usually need speed control and photo-eye sensing to manage flow, so plan for how the used sections will tie into your line controls.
Beverage and food lines need conveyors that can be washed down and kept clean. Check frame material, drainage, and whether the system was set up for dry lubrication or water-based lube.
Always verify actual speeds, chain widths, and can size ranges against the specifications of the specific machine you are considering rather than relying on general guidance.
The best results come from planning the conveyor system around your container formats and your bottleneck machine, usually the filler and seamer. Start with the can sizes you run now and plan to run later. Map where empties need to travel and where full cans need to accumulate. Then fill in conveyor sections, twisters, and transfers to match.
Used Packaging Equipment has specialized exclusively in used bottling and packaging machinery since 1988, serving beverage, brewing, food, dairy, and household producers. Our inventory includes conveyors, accumulation tables, depalletizers, fillers, and packaging equipment for canning and bottling lines of every scale. Financing is available to help you add or expand conveying capacity without straining your budget.
Contact our team to talk through your can formats and line layout, and we will help you find the used conveyor equipment that fits.
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