Hot-rolled / Quarto stainless steel sheets and plates

For some applications, such as architecture, art or shipbuilding, stainless steel sheet fabrication in dimensions (width and length) that exceed those of commonly used sheets is required. If such a requirement is accompanied by a relatively large thickness – such as 6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm, etc. –, hot-rolled stainless steel sheets, also called Quarto sheets, can be an interesting solution.

For his major project (70 tons of AISI 316 stainless steel), an internationally renowned artist required metal sheets up to 14,973 x 3,347 x 16.0 mm.

mirrorINOX supplied Quarto plates of Perfect Mirror No. 10® polishing quality from its own production.

Such large plates also offer extremely interesting options for industrial applications, for example in the construction of:

• Industrial plants
• Containers
• Tanks
• Machinery
• Etc.

Our Quarto / hot-rolled stainless steel sheets at a glance

mirrorINOX offers the surface treatment of Quarto sheets in the following material grades:

• Stainless steel AISI 304 (1.4301)
• AISI 316 (1.4404)
• AISI 318LN (1.4462)
• And others

We provide various sheet sizes in lengths up to 16,000 mm and widths up to 4,000 mm depending on the various in-house processes.

What are hot-rolled stainless steel sheets?

The term "quarto plate" stands for hot-rolled heavy stainless steel plates with a thickness of at least 3.0 mm, which are produced on so-called quarto mill frames regardless of the steel or stainless steel grade. These frames typically have two working rolls and two support rolls, from which the name "quarto" is derived.

In contrast to the continuously coil-to-coil rolled steel and inox plates, Quarto plates are not produced from and to coils but are manufactured and delivered as single plates in different lengths as a finished hot-rolled product.

Slabs and ingots of the raw material are heated up to 1,250°C and then undergo their deformation on the quarto production units. Here they are rolled out thinner and thinner under several thousand tonnes of pressure until they reach the desired thickness and width.

Depending on the steel or stainless steel grade used (e.g., AISI 304, 316, 430, etc.), the sheets undergo further processing steps to achieve a surface that is as flat as possible and free of "ripples". After that, they are trimmed to length and width.

What are their advantages?

In addition to the possibility of having the quarto plates individually manufactured in terms of inox grade and dimensions (and in some cases oversized dimensions), these offer further advantages depending on the various stainless steel grades and applications:

• High chemical and mechanical resistance
• High-temperature resistance
• Improved abrasion resistance
• Good formability and welding properties
• Cost-effectiveness

They are also suitable for further treatments such as beadblasting, grit-polishing, mirror-polishing and other stainless steel surface finishes which mirrorINOX performs on the bases of these sheets.

Applications: what are hot-rolled stainless steel sheets used for?

The option to produce Quarto sheets in a wide range of custom dimensions allows this material to be used in the most various applications, for example in:

• Heavy and industrial engineering
• Construction of machinery and appliances
• Container construction for pharmaceutical and food industry
• Yacht and shipbuilding
• Construction of bridges
• Architecture
• Art installations

mirrorINOX: high-quality sheets by surface treatment experts

mirrorINOX processes cut-to-size Quarto / hot-rolled stainless steel sheets for your requirements according to your individual needs, specifications, and customized design.

Our high standards of finding the best individual solution, our unique know-how and many years of experience in metal surface treatment make us the ideal supplier, - whether it is hot- or cold-rolled stainless steel or whichever grades, design, dimensions, thicknesses you are looking for - for Quarto sheets and other metal plates!