Applications and performance characteristics of tinplate
I. Applications of Tinplate
Tinplate (commonly known as tinplate) refers to steel sheet with a thin layer of tin plated on its surface. Tinplate is produced by rolling low-carbon steel into steel sheets of approximately 2mm thickness, followed by pickling, cold rolling, electrolytic cleaning and annealing, flattening, and edge trimming. After further cleaning, electroplating, soft melting, passivation, oiling, and shearing, the final tinplate sheet is obtained. The tin used for plating is high-purity tin. The tin layer can also be applied using a hot-dip plating method, which produces a thicker tin layer with higher tin consumption, and does not require purification after plating.
Tinplate consists of five parts, from the inside to the outside: steel substrate, tin-iron alloy layer, tin layer, oxide film, and oil film.
II. Performance Characteristics of Tinplate
Tinplate has excellent corrosion resistance, certain strength and hardness, good formability, and is easy to weld. The tin layer is non-toxic and tasteless, prevents iron from dissolving into the packaged goods, and has a bright surface, allowing for printed images to enhance the appearance of products. It is mainly used in the food canning industry and also in packaging materials for chemicals, paints, oils, and pharmaceuticals. Tinplate is classified into hot-dip tinplate and electroplated tinplate according to the production process. The yield of tinplate must be calculated based on the weight after plating.
III. Factors Affecting Tinplate
Many factors affect the properties of tinplate, such as grain size, precipitates, solid solution elements, and thickness of the sheet material. During production, the chemical composition of steelmaking, the heating and coiling temperature of hot rolling, and the process conditions of continuous annealing all affect the performance of tinplate.
IV. Classification of Tinplate
Equal Thickness Tinplate:
Cold-rolled electroplated tinplate with the same amount of tin plating on both sides.
Unequal Thickness Tinplate:
Cold-rolled electroplated tinplate with different amounts of tin plating on both sides.
Grade 1 Tinplate
Electroplated tinplate that has undergone online inspection. Under normal storage conditions, it is suitable for conventional painting and printing on the entire steel sheet surface and must not have the following defects: ① pinholes that penetrate the thickness of the steel sheet; ② deviations in thickness exceeding the standard specifications; ③ surface defects such as scratches, dents, wrinkles, and rust that affect use; ④ shape defects that affect use.
Grade 2 Tinplate
Surface quality is lower than Grade 1 tinplate. Small-area, more obvious surface or shape defects such as inclusions, wrinkles, scratches, oil stains, indentations, burrs, and scorch marks are allowed. It does not guarantee that the entire steel sheet can undergo conventional painting and printing.
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