Tinplate – tin-plated cold-rolled steel strip for packaging and technical protective applications
Tin-plated cold-rolled steel strip offers numerous advantages: it is food-safe, protects against corrosion, is electrically conductive, easy to form, and highly solderable. It also has a high-quality finish and is perfect for subsequent coating. Thanks to these properties, it has an extremely wide range of applications – from food and beverage cans to packaging for chemical products and aerosol containers, as well as automotive filters, electrical components, and shielding. Thomas Frank, who heads up Materials Technology at Waelzholz Brasmetal, explains a key benefit for customers: “Our in-house galvanic tin plating process offers our customers high-quality steel with a highly versatile, functional surface.”
Uniform, pore-free surface coating available in a variety of dimensions and thicknesses
The quality of the tin plating starts with the steel material used. Materials engineer Frank explains: “Our DC grades feature an extremely homogeneous microstructure and exceptional surface finish. They form the basis for the tin’s optimal adhesion.” Thanks to our many years of experience and sophisticated production processes, we achieve a uniform, pore-free surface coating. We offer tin-plated steel strip in a wide range of sizes – with strip thicknesses of up to 5.00 mm.
Possible strip widths and coating thicknesses
- Strip thickness: from 0.15 mm to 5.00 mm
- Strip width: from 335 mm to 660 mm
- Coating weight per square meter: 5.0 to 11.2 g/m²
Custom dimensions available upon request. Please feel free to contact us.
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In addition, we offer our customers differential tin plating. Frank explains: “In many applications, it makes sense to apply different thicknesses of tin to each side of the strip. This is the case when the two sides serve different purposes. For example, the inside of a can may require a thick coating for chemical resistance, while a thinner coating on the outside is sufficient to allow for subsequent painting.”
Early collaboration for reliable results
The base materials used for our tin-plated cold-rolled steel strip are primarily DC grades with a fine-grained microstructure and low carbon content. Together with our customers, we define the exact product specifications that are ideal for subsequent processing and for the final product. “The best results are achieved when we’re brought in as a development partner early in the product development process. Thanks to our extensive experience and sophisticated process stability, we consistently maintain the agreed upon material specifications across multiple batches, ensuring that our customers always receive products with reliable properties,” explains Frank.
Advantages of tin-plated cold-rolled steel strip
- Food safety: Food-safe and odorless, making it ideal for food packaging such as cans for canned goods or beverage cans
- Corrosion protection: Protects the cold-rolled steel strip by serving as an exceptional barrier against oxygen and moisture
- Excellent conductivity: Offers a reliable connection and excellent electrical conductivity over a long service life
- Outstanding workability: Exhibits excellent properties for stamping and forming processes such as deep drawing, folding, and flanging
- Strong joining properties: Tin is easy to solder and produces gas-tight, durable joints
- Highly adhesive surface: Paints, printing inks, and industrial adhesives can be easily applied to a tin coating
- Excellent appearance: The tin coating produces a bright, shiny surface with a high-quality look