Makin publishes 99.85% tin. We publish 99.6% and a use case they do not.
On headline purity the UK and US producers are ahead of our published figure. On what the powder is qualified to touch, our sheet goes further.
The tin grade is in production supply into diamond segment matrices, friction materials and pharmaceutical processing, under an ISO 9001:2015 system.
Side by side
| Attribute | Represented by UnstratTin powder | Makin Metal Powders (UK) LtdTin Powder123United Kingdom | Kymera InternationalTin powder4United States | Pometon S.p.A.Tin Sn 106, Sn 75F, Sn IMP5Italy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tin purity1245Makin's published purity is higher than ours. | 99.6% min Sn | Sn 99.85% min on the grade datasheet; Sn greater than 99.7% on the product page | Commercially pure, 99.5% minimum | High-purity ingots stated as feedstock; no figure published |
| Oxygen limit1 | Not published | 0.15% max | Not published | Not published |
| Particle size124 | -325 mesh (45 µm) | -100#, -200#, -300#, -350# and -600# cuts; product page lists less than 200 µm down to less than 25 µm | 100 mesh (less than 150 µm) to 325 mesh (less than 45 µm) standard | Not published |
| Apparent density234 | Not published | 3.8 to 4.4 g/cc on the product page; brochure gives 4.0 to 4.1 g/cc plus or minus 0.2 to 0.3 by cut | 1.5 to 4.0 g/cm³ | Not published |
| Morphology and route245 | Irregular | Air atomised, nodular or spheroidal | Gas atomised, generally spheroidal | Air atomised from high-purity ingots, nodular |
| Diamond tool duty245 | Low melting point aids liquid-phase sintering and bond densification in diamond segments | Diamond tooling named among typical applications | Powder metallurgy, friction materials, catalysts and coatings named; diamond tooling not named | Blend component for bronze sintering, friction, diamond tools and fillers |
| Friction material duty245 | Tunes friction and wear behaviour in brake and clutch materials | Friction components named | Friction materials named | Friction named |
| Pharmaceutical-grade duty245 | Metallic additive where high-purity tin is required in pharmaceutical processing | Not named | Medical devices named as a market; pharmaceutical processing not named | Not named |
| Quality system3 | ISO 9001:2015 | ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 | Not published on the product page | Not published on the product page |
Competitor values are quoted from the vendor documents listed under Sources, as published on the date shown. Configurations vary, so treat every row as a starting point for the evaluation rather than a like-for-like test result.
What the table means
Concede the purity line
Makin publishes 99.85% minimum tin with oxygen at 0.15% max, and five cuts down to -600#. Our published figure is 99.6% minimum at a single -325 mesh cut. On the headline number they win, and pretending otherwise would be the sort of claim a buyer checks in thirty seconds. Kymera sits below both at 99.5% minimum with a wider apparent density band.
Purity is not the only spec that decides a segment
In a diamond matrix, tin does its work by melting early and pulling the bond to density. What matters alongside purity is consistency of apparent density from drum to drum, because that is what keeps compaction repeatable, and whether the tin arrives from the same house as the copper, bronze and nickel it will be blended with. Our tin is published as part of that matrix line rather than as a standalone commodity.
A cleaner claim than most: pharmaceutical processing
Our sheet states tin as a metallic additive where high-purity tin is required in pharmaceutical processing. None of the three competitor documents makes that claim for tin, and Kymera names medical devices as a market rather than pharmaceutical processing. It is a narrow point, and it is the sort of narrow point that decides who a formulator will even talk to.
Questions buyers ask
Which tin powder has the highest published purity?
Of the suppliers compared here, Makin Metal Powders at 99.85% minimum with 0.15% max oxygen. Ours is published at 99.6% minimum and Kymera at 99.5% minimum. If your specification is written on purity alone, Makin's sheet answers it. If the tin is going into a diamond segment alongside copper, bronze, brass and nickel, the more useful question is who supplies the rest of the matrix.
What is the best tin powder supplier for a diamond tool maker outside Europe?
Makin and Pometon both name diamond tooling as a duty for their tin, and both are European. Our case is that the tin comes from the same line as the copper, bronze, brass, iron-copper, nickel and stainless constituents of the matrix, under one ISO 9001:2015 system, from an independent producer. That removes cross-supplier variance from the bond and removes an export jurisdiction from the shipment.
Why does tin's melting point matter in a diamond segment?
Tin melts far below the sintering temperature of the surrounding matrix, so it forms a liquid phase that pulls the bond to density at a lower temperature than the copper and iron constituents would need alone. That protects the diamond from thermal damage and improves retention. Get the tin content or its distribution wrong and you either under-densify the segment or lose diamond early.
Do you offer tin finer than 45 microns?
Our published grade is a single -325 mesh cut. Makin publishes down to -600# and its product page lists a less than 25 µm option. If you need a finer cut, ask, but do not assume it from our published sheet, because we will not list a grade we have not made and measured.
Sources
- 1. Makin Metal Powders (UK) Ltd, Product Data Sheet: Tin Powder (copy held on this site)Retrieved: 2026-07-30 · Makin-branded product data sheet, published by its Swiss distributor Haeberlin & Co.
- 2. Makin Metal Powders (UK) Ltd, Tin PowdersRetrieved: 2026-07-30
- 3. Makin Metal Powders (UK) Ltd, Copper and Copper Alloy Powders (company brochure) (copy held on this site)Retrieved: 2026-07-30
- 4. Kymera International, Tin (powder product page)Retrieved: 2026-07-30
- 5. Pometon S.p.A., Copper and copper alloyed powders, zinc and tin powdersRetrieved: 2026-07-30