The manufacture of stainless steel involves a series of processes. First, the steel is melted, 

  To make stainless steel, the raw materials-iron ore, chromium, silicon, nickel, etc.-are melted together in an electric furnace. This step usually involves 8 to 12 hours of intense heat. Next, the mixture is cast into one of several shapes, including blooms, billets, and slabs. and then it is cast into solid form. After various forming steps, the steel is heat treated and then cleaned and polished to give it the desired finish. Next, it is packaged and sent to manufacturers, who weld and join the steel to produce the desired shapes.
Melting and casting
• 1 The raw materials are first melted together in an electric furnace. This step usually requires 8 to 12 hours of intense heat. When the melting is finished, the molten steel is cast into semi-finished forms. These include blooms (rectangular shapes), billets (round or square shapes 1.5 inches or 3.8 centimeters in thickness), slabs, rods, and tube rounds.
Forming
• 2 Next, the semi-finished steel goes through forming operations, beginning with hot rolling, in which the steel is heated and passed through huge rolls. Blooms and billets are formed into bar and wire, while slabs are formed into plate, strip, and sheet. Bars are available in all grades and come in rounds, squares, octagons, or hexagons 0.25 inch (.63 centimeter) in size. Wire is usually available up to 0.5 inch (1.27 centimeters) in diameter or size. Plate is more than 0.1875 inch (.47 centimeter) thick and over 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) wide. Strip is less than 0.185 inch (.47 centimeter) thick and less than 24 inches (61 centimeters) wide. Sheet is less than 0.1875 (.47 centimeter) thick and more than 24 (61 centimeters) wide.