There are many ways to make patterns on stainless steel plates, including carving, milling, embossing, stamping, etching, sandblasting, etc.
1. Hand Carving
It is to use a diamond blade to carve various patterns on the stainless steel plates by hand. This method usually results in poor pattern accuracy, high labor intensity, and low work efficiency. Therefore, hand carving is suitable for plates with uneven surface decoration that does not require high precision.
2. Sandblasting
It is to use compressed air to spray high-speed emery on the surface of the stainless steel plate blocked by the pattern template to form sand patterns. The surface produced by the sandblasting method is relatively rough and it is difficult to spray thin strips. The depth generally does not exceed 0.08mm.
3. Mechanical Milling
It is to use mechanical equipment, such as engraving machines, profile marking machines, or copiers to operate rotary tools for milling. This method can only be engraved on flat stainless steel plates and is easy for deep milling. The operation cost of mechanical milling is expensive but offers a strong three-dimensional effect.
4. Embossing
It is produced by rolling a coil of stainless steel straight into the embossing mold to form designs on the coil surface. Then the coil will be cut into sheets. It should be noted that this type has been pattern-pressed into a raised design on one side of the product. The other side is flat. The patterns are mainly Belgian flowers and Japanese fine flowers.
5. Stamping
With stamping, the stainless steel plate is passed between a series of large patterned rollers and mechanically stamped into patterned designs. This process creates concave and convex designs on the surface of the stainless steel plate. As the patterns are different, the depth of the concavities and convexities on the plate is also different. The commonly used pattern molds of this type are mainly lentil flowers and round bean flowers and the thickness of the stainless steel plate is about 2-5mm (too thin will directly cause the plate to deform). Generally speaking, the scratch resistance of the stamped plate is 80% higher than that of the embossed plate.
Another thing that should be noted is that both embossing and stamping are the two main processing methods to fabricate stainless steel patterned plates nowadays.
6. Etching
Etching is to use an auxiliary electrode in an appropriate electrochemical etching solution to erode the surface of the stainless steel plate that has been covered with a patterned resist film to obtain an etched pattern. After removing the film, a pattern with higher precision will be obtained. Its etching speed is also faster, and suitable for mass production. But it requires the use of specialized instruments and equipment.
7. Other Methods
Of course, in addition to the above commonly used methods that directly form patterns on the surface of stainless steel plates, there are also thermal transfer and lamination sheets that are slowly being accepted by the market. Moreover, with the development of stainless steel processing technology, new processes will continue to emerge, and stainless steel plates will become more and more popular.

1. Embossed
This is also a commonly used method and a lower cost method.
By applying pressure to a mold, die or roller, localized material is plastically deformed to obtain a pattern. Pressure processing includes stamping, hydrostatic pressing or rolling. There is internal stress after stamping. Use the above method to reduce stress and deformation.
Depending on the tensile properties of the mold and stainless steel plate, the punch depth can be deep or shallow, which can be a sign of stress.
2. Chemical corrosion method
Through various printing techniques or photo engraving，the surface of the stainless steel plate is first covered with a patterned anti-corrosion film and then etched in a suitable corrosion solution. After removing the film, a high-precision pattern was obtained, making this method suitable for mass production.
This is how we commonly make currency plates and black titanium marble.
3. Engraving and milling
Use mechanical equipment such as engraving machines, profiling machines, and printing presses to operate rotating tools for milling or manual engraving.
This method can only be engraved on flat steel plates to facilitate deep milling. This method is expensive but has a strong three-dimensional feel.
4. Sand blasting method
Use compressed air to spray high-speed silicon carbide on the surface of the stainless steel plate surrounded by the template to form a sand mold.
The surface produced by the sandblasting method is rough, making it difficult to spray thin strip patterns, and the depth generally does not exceed 0.08mm.
5. Electrochemical corrosion
In a suitable electrochemical corrosion solution, the surface of the stainless steel plate is etched with an auxiliary electrode to obtain an etching pattern. The etching speed is fast and the etching depth is large, requiring special equipment.

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