The Ingenious Design of the Aluminum Beverage Can

Bill details the engineering choices underlying the design of a beverage can He explains why it is cylindrical, outlines the manufacturing steps needed to created the can, notes why the can narrows near it lid, show close ups of the double-seam that hold the lid on, and details the complex operation of the tab that opens the can.
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[chrisclowers]

Dude this guy made something that's normally really boring into a really fascinating and enjoyable video to watch. Never thought I'd enjoy a 12 minute long video about cans.

[alphabetsoup]

I'm not lying, and I can't be the only one like this, I've watched this at least 50 times simply because I enjoy watching it and listening to this man explain how aluminum cans are made.

[MarioGoatse]

I’ve watched this video at least 4 times now. YouTube recommends it to me every couple years, and I watch it every time. So much amazing engineering on what we think as a simple invention, but it really isn’t. It’s the evolution of 80-100 years of engineering, and has been improved over and over again until the consumer can’t even see the improvements anymore. It’s gone from a good design, to the best possible design within the parameters. Truly amazing.

[Nick_Espinosa]

Youtube recommended this for my annual aluminum beverage can pilgrimage, see you guys next year

[huzzzer]

What a video.
No clickbait, no sponsors, nothing.
You got to the point straight away.
Very informative, quality video.

10/10 would watch again. Brilliant 👍

[WhatIsMisophonia]

You know you're a good teacher when you can make something as seemingly mundane as the aluminum can into one of the more captivating videos I've ever seen. Almost everybody, including I would say most instructors, struggle to keep explanations in layman's terms without dumbing it down, as almost none of us speak the internal language of whatever industry is presented.

[kevinwilson]

You sir, are the David Attenborough of the mechanical world. I imagine I would stayed transfixed listening to you talk about anything. Thank you. Kevin

[RockyRacoon]

This is (no joke) one of the greatest videos on YouTube. It is absolute masterpiece and also a masterclass on how to make an extremely interesting video out of a typically boring topic.

[BFFsEngineer]

Don't know why this was in my recommended but it is a well made video. Enjoyed watching it

[ferretmayn]

YouTube: you wanna see a guy talk about cans for twelve minutes again
Me: your goddamn right I do

[nickyhr]

I come back to this video every now and again. Not because I forget how cans are made, but rather to remind myself of what I consider to be an example of how every teacher should behave. You took a seemingly simple and uninteresting topic, and made it into an extremely informative, concise and most importantly interesting "class". Thank you for sharing this with us

[piercebales]

I briefly worked in a can factory, there was a machine there that was the size of a small house, half the machine rose a few feet and then fell. Each impact produced thousands of cans. It was a little awesome to see.

[siddharthprakash]

This is the way engineering should be taught

[Wangdalf]

I often wonder why I have no friends, and here I am, watching an 11 minute video on aluminium cans.

[modjohnsenglishdisco]

I used to collect beer cans as a kid in the 70s. I was fascinated by the design advances, as well as the variation of graphics, over the decades. Until now I didn't know about aluminum can manufacturing, or indeed the genius of the stay-on tab. Marvels of engineering and art they are. Thanks for the info!

[maenad]

The sphere can is oddly satisfying to look at

[ErickG]

I know what I’m going to talk about for 3 hours at my next house party

[dsndansegovnetwork]

Man, this video was 11:00 minutes long. It was also about cans. But man this was an extremely interesting video!!!

[elkpants]

As an aspiring mechanical engineer at the end of my Junior year, I love watching videos like these. I find them to be inspiring and the design beautiful.

[Shadowreaper]

Explained well and in an engaging way. It's hard to find a video like this that explains concepts in a way that you could show to cub scouts or young children in schools without boring them. Bill gives just enough detail spreads out with diagrams and animations to keep the interest. I didn't even realize the video was nearly over until I saw the first bench on the right side of the screen.