Tinplate is a thin steel sheet coated by tin. It has an extremely beautiful metallic luster as well as excellent properties in corrosion resistance, solderability, and weldability. Tinplate is used for making all types of containers such as food cans, beverage cans, 18-liter cans, and artistic cans. Its applications are not limited to containers; recently, tinplate has also been used for making electrical machinery parts and many other products.
By far the largest application of tinplate is in packaging and it is ideally suited for this purpose, by virtue of it being non-toxic, light in weight, strong, corrosion resistant and easily formed, soldered and welded; it also provides an excellent printing surface. The tin coating has a low melting point, possesses lubricant qualities and imparts a good appearance. Cans made from tinplate are easy to handle, dispose and store. Tinplate is primarily used for packaging foodstuffs and beverages, but it is also used in containers for oils, grease, paints, powdered, polishes, waxes, chemicals and many other products. Aerosol containers and caps and closures are also made from tinplate.
| 1. Type of Steel |
| MR | It contains few residual minor constituents and has good corrosion resistance. |
| It is widely used for the applications of containers. |
| L | It contains particularly few residual minor constituents as Cu, Ni, Cr, Mn. |
| It is suitable for the materials of containers requiring improved corrosion resistance. |
| D | It is an aluminum killed steel. It is suitable for the applications. |
| that bear deep drawing or other workings which may produce Luder's lines patterns. |
Product
Finish | Code | Steel base | Product | Flow-melted | Nominal surface roughness of the steel base |
| Euro | China | Ra (μm) |
| Bright | BR | B | smooth | Tinplate | Yes | ≤ 0.35 |
| Fine stone | FS | R | fine stone | Tinplate | Yes | 0.25 - 0.45 |
| Stone | ST | R2 | stone | Tinplate | Yes | 0.35 - 0.60 |
| Silver | SG | S | shot blast | Tinplate | Yes | ≥ 0.90 |
| Matt | MM | M | shot blast | Tinplate | No | Various |
| Fine stone | FS | R2 | fine stone | TFS/ ECCS | - | 0.25 - 0.45 |
| Stone | ST | R1 | stone | TFS/ ECCS | - | 0.35 - 0.60 |
| Note 1 | Double reduced product is only supplied as stone finish |
| Note 2 | Sub-classfied based on the surface finishing of the blackplate. |
| Note 3 | The appearance is governed by: |
| a) | the surface characteristics of the steel base which principally result from controlled preparation of the work rolls used during the final stages of temper rolling; |
| b) | the mass of the coating applied; and |
| c) | whether the tin layer is flow-melted or unflow-melted. |
| Surface finish | Characteristic |
| Bright finish | Glazed surface obtained after melting treatment of electrotinned smooth raw materail strip with extremely fine rubstone fingure by processing. |
| Stone finish | Glazed surface obtained after melting treatment of electrotinned smooth raw materail stripfeaturing certain rubstone figures. |
| Silver finish | Glazed surface obtained after melting treatment of electrotinned smooth raw material strip with rough matt furface. |
| Matte finish | Matt surface of general matt raw material strip without melting treatment. |
