Can Opener

CAN OPENER

After waking up from a deep sleep you feel famished, so you decided to prepare yourself a toast with can baked beans. Having the can in front of you, you realised that you require an object to open it with, so you rummage through your drawers to look for a can opener. While trying to open the can you wonder…. How does a can opener work?

What is a can opener?

A can opener is a tool that helps us open cans more efficiently. It consists of three simple machines: a wheel and axle, lever, and a wedge. The two metal arms that are pressed onto the can are levers. The handle that is use to rotate is a wheel and axle. Lastly the wheel that cuts the can open is the wedge. It is a way that is easier and not having to use other resources like knives that would slip if it didn’t get handled carefully. I believe that can openers are important and can help our lives more than we expect.

How does a can opener work?

When using a can opener the first thing to do is apply the arms to the can by tightly compressing it together, that causes the serrated wheels grip into the can. Then start turning the handles, turning the handle(which acts as an axle) causes the serrated wheel to rotate and move the cutter blade across the top of the can that cuts it. A lot of force is needed to keep the cutter down. The cutting blade needs to be stronger than the lid of the can in order for it to work.

How does it cut?

Pretend squishing a butter into your hand. The butter has to move out of the way so it goes out sideways while it gets flattened. However when using a thinner material to cut like the blade on a can opener,the edge is thinner so the pressure(Having the right amount of force to move something)is higher and easier to push through.

How does this simple machine make life easier?

Without having a can opener in everyday life, it makes our lives more difficult by trying to open cans with different resources that can be dangerous like knives, scissors, and other sharp objects.

Now you know how a can opener works,It is fascinating to know how a machine works and realised how complex it is. In summary a can opener works by applying a lot grip on a handle that turns the blade. Also the blade cuts by the pressure.