Description
Tinning is the process of thinly coating sheets of wrought iron or steel with tin, and the resulting product is known as tinplate. It is most often used to prevent rust. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinplate now is the manufacture of tin cans. Formerly, tinplate was used for cheap pots, pans and other hollowware. Presently, it finds greater use in electrical & electronic industry wherein the conductivity and anti-tarnish of tin is considered to be on par with silver.
The sheets employed in the manufacture are known as black plates, and are now of steel, either Bessemer steel or open-hearth. Formerly iron was used, and was of two grades, coke iron and charcoal iron; the latter, being the better, received a heavier coating of tin, and this circumstance is the origin of the terms coke plates and charcoal plates by which the quality of tinplate is still designated, although iron is no longer used. Tinplate was consumed in enormous quantities for the manufacture of the tin cans in which preserved meat, fish, fruit, biscuits, cigarettes and numerous other products are packed, and also for the household utensils of various kinds made by the tinsmith.
Tin plating is used extensively on many different types of metals, both ferrous and nonferrous. Tin is A grey-white, soft, and ductile metal that is not easily oxidized in air. Electrodeposited tin has good conductivity and corrosion resistance while enhancing solder ability of substrates that are not otherwise easily soldered to. Tin is generally considered non-toxic and non-carcinogenic and as such its use is generally approved for food contact applications. Tin plating is provided in two general types of deposits: bright tin and matte tin. Both can be obtained from an alkaline or acidic bath and both are electrolytic ally applied. The acidic chemistry are most common today.
