Something completely different

I'm ashamed to say I have been distracted by this strange opening mechanism and the structure of the cap, but had never explored the true meaning. Thanks for doing it for us! That is one amazing piece of engineering.

PeetieGonzalez

Autism at its finest . Normal person, I need my caffeine and sugar fix. Those of us on the spectrum, I must know what’s inside!

I am actually amazed how you manage to find these interesting contraptions that surround us daily. Perhaps after some time you develop an eye for such things. Thanks.

Normunds Gavars

I've found these intriguing from the first time I saw them but never actually thought to take one apart very interesting. I will definitely be sharing it once it's available

Pierre

Very similar if not the same is used by Welch's Grape Boost. Not always successful unless you keep the cap pressed in

They could do with getting rid of a lot of plastic packaging. And probably a lot of the "foods" in them too.

Big Clive

I am kind of torn on this rather ingenious mechanical seal. While it's very secure and is fascinating I'm troubled by the throw away nature of such devices.

I underestimated the force required and didn't have enough coffee to do another take.

Big Clive

First time I saw those I had to dissect it too. Very clever

Kevin Hardisty

I have also seen this on juice and milk cartons. I didn’t know it was so elaborate.

Gadgetman

I recently bought a couple of rotary selector switches with that in mind.

Big Clive

There are already pipe tapping devices. They usually involve quite a hard built in cutter.

Big Clive

A fun project might be a box with a knob, which you could plug LED bulbs into, with the knob allowing you to switch between a bunch of capacitors that would be put in series with the LED.

Jonathan Hendry

Also: I like how these cold coffees (which normally I would only buy on the last leg of a long car journey) are available as part of the Co-Op meal deal; and also in Tesco Express stores. Though I sometimes go for coconut water because I'm perverse.

Mike Page

Aye, there's a lot of mechanical innovation still going on. Don't forget you don't need a new idea to innovate. An old idea addressing a new problem will do.

Mike Page

cool, thanks for sharing. always wondered how that cap thing works

I already knew this but never actually seen it in action (obviously). Refreshing to have this type of content for a change.

I wonder if it would have a place in the plumbing industry for tapping into plastic water pipes.

Ymir the Frost Giant

I drive trucks on 12hr shifts and coffee never stays hot lat long, so I now make it the night before, let it cool, pour it into ordinary bottles and chill it overnight. Yum!

Ymir the Frost Giant

Fascinating. Thanks, Clive!

Julian Sharp

It's cheaper than coffee (i.e. a bottle of 80% coffee and 20% sugar is cheaper to make than 100% coffee), and a lot of Co-op,punters have sweet teeth. Very sweet after drinking one of these!

Ymir the Frost Giant

Love the mug! Also, thanks for sharing the delightfully clever spout.

Rand Gray

I should probably try chilled coffee since I can never drink it hot anyway and it's normally cold by the time I get round to it! lol

Mike Hanley

I really wish Alpro would use these instead of the dreadful pull tab inside the cap of its almond milks, where the tab requires such force that it either breaks or splashes. I didn't realise just how sophisticated these tabless caps are, very clever indeed.

Seán Byrne

What I find clever too, are the caps with 2-4 threads.

Trying to break the initial seal of a cream container, I twisted the whole apparatus out of the container. Quite messy

Why do they put so much sugar in these coffees ?

adrian

Very interesting. Thanks Clive.

Rocco Rizzo

I actually took one of these apart recently and thought "maybe Clive would do a video on this"

Jason Brinkerhoff

When I was a kid the "Tetra Pak" was actually a tetrahedron. So, the name made sense.

MrTridac

These are good coffee, never paid much attention to the cap, knew it was different but it was never more than a fleeting thought. Good video 🙂

The Tinkering Shed

Watch some freak of numbers and construction makes perfect these for tiny jet engines...but only until they melt. :(

Michael Thompson

Ingenious. Things we take for granted.

Mike Hughes

You should have clamped the tab in the vice of knowledge to make the demonstration easier, oh but that would obscure the cameras view, as you were.. I have seen similar devices on my juice boxes, so I had an outline understanding of how it worked. Great to see the full detail and component parts though.. Thanks Clive for doing these things so we don't have to.

Dr Andy Hill

I knew exactly what this video was going to be since I'd taken one apart to look myself when a carton of orange juice arrived with that mechanism. I remember it well because the other half told me off for ruining the carton.

evilution

Here in Aus, a lot of our long life UHT milk packets have these.

William Taylor

That was a good one. Yes very complex

Michael Thompson

A few, but spread over a few days.

Big Clive

Aaannnddd... 100% non-recyclable. :(

Scott Miller

How many of those did you have to drink to make that video. 😂

Lostngone

The company that makes these kind of things is called Tetra Pak. They were the ones who invented... basically the idea of aseptic packaging. Once you know to look for their mark, you see them /everywhere/. Basically if it's a shelf-stable liquid in a paper-cardboard-y package, it's probably made by Tetra Pak. That specific cap is the DreamCap 26: a detailed animation of how it works is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRrCu8604pE

Scrivener

I remember when the Tetra pak 'Poppers' came out and they were revolutionary.

mj

That is beautiful engineering! I love how something so simple is so complex behind the scenes. I've used the exact same cartons loads of times and never looked under the bonnet......because it's just a bloody carton. Could you 3D print your own version Clive? Would probably be of no real practical use but still fun to try.

John Carr

That is an intricate design. Thanks for exploring it.

Due to the rectangular form of the drink as in thumbnail (between logo CoOp and the nutritional panel), for some reason, I expected it to be a self heating coffee using a small battery. I mean, it's a Big Clive video after all. This is even more interesting than that, however. I (shamefully) drink energy drinks, and there is the "Bell Resealable Can End" which shows up on some Monster energy drunks. It is a resealable plastic cap that rotates. I cannot find the patent for it, however, to try and display it's inner workings. I suppose I'll try and use the same method of opening can, draining content and showing inside as it opens. I'm hesitant to do so, as there would be razor fine aluminium exposed. May have to buy gloves.

Loscha

Total seal for hygiene and also makes the glued on spout sealing less critical.

Big Clive

I work in a bottling plant, and I always wondered how these actually worked. Very interesting design, but it makes you wonder why they went through the effort since a simple threaded cap with an induction foil seal would achieve the same result without the extra engineering.

That’s cool

Thank you, Clive! I've often wondered how these worked and worked out, simplistically, what was going on but didn't realise it was this complex. I've always meant to look into it but never had the time.

nowt