The process of producing formed metal parts made from wire or strip material has changed dramatically over the last 25 years. In the early to mid-1900s, fourslide machines produced formed metal parts that had rather liberal tolerances and high production volumes. These machines were typically found in shops that manufactured springs. Since that time the fabrication of formed metal parts, particularly stampings, has been revolutionized. Because a fourslide machine can produce parts completely off the machine, it can provide unique advantages over the generally more costly progressive-die method of fabrication. The term 'slideforming' better describes the current capabilities of producing formed metal parts and assemblies than does the generic term 'fourslide.' Originally, parts were produced on basic fourslide machines. As the name implies, these machines usually had four cam-operated forming slides that would drive custom tooling to bend wire or strip material around a mandrel. Some of the machines carried a press attachment or die section and could produce flat stampings that included some common die work such as pierced holes and trimmed profiles.
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