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What Is Slide Forming?

Slide forming, also called 4 slide stamping or multi-slide stamping, is a highly efficient metal stamping process that merges the progressive die process with additional forming stations inside one specialized piece of equipment. This integration allows Stewart EFI to produce complex, precision-formed parts with exceptional material efficiency and consistency.

Benefits of Stewart EFI’s Slide Forming Process

Stewart EFI’s slide forming process goes beyond traditional stamping by combining multiple operations in one machine. Our approach creates opportunities to improve part quality, reduce material use, and streamline production, resulting in measurable savings for our customers.Using transfer-style presses for deep drawn stamping provides several advantages for OEMs and precision manufacturers:

01.

Precision and Complexity

Our 35+ slide forming machines (four-slide, multi-slide, and verti-slide) support intricate shapes with multiple bends and tight tolerances.

02.

Material Efficiency

By utilizing raw stock edges efficiently, we minimize waste and deliver the lowest total cost stamped components in the industry.

03.

Quality Assurance

Sensor-driven quality control combined with our lifetime tooling guarantee ensures every part meets demanding specifications.

04.

Value Engineering

We provide design support to optimize cost, quality, and part integration, often consolidating multiple components into one part.

05.

Reduced Downtime

Our modular tooling and in-house maintenance keep production running reliably.

How the Slide Forming Process Works

Stewart EFI engineers and toolmakers design and build tools and dies using the process best suited to achieve the highest-quality part at the lowest total cost.

A typical 4 slide stamping or multi-slide stamping machine synchronizes:

The feed, straightener, and press head work similarly to a progressive die process, but all sub-processes are integrated into one machine along with the forming station. In the press head, features such as cuts, holes, dimples, extrusions, coining, and other part characteristics are produced while the parts remain attached to the strip. Once sensors confirm proper positioning, a gripper holds the part, which is then cut off from the strip and transferred to the forming station.

Cam-Driven Forming for Complex Shapes

The forming station is mounted in the cam-operated area of the machine. Form tooling is mounted on cam-driven slides around a central mandrel (king post or arbor). This mandrel acts as an anvil over which slide punches form bends in the part.

Slides, each fitted with a punch, move simultaneously or in sequence, driven by cams on the machine’s drive shafts. Depending on the machine, four or more slides are fixed at 90-degree intervals around the mandrel (Four-Slide or Multi-Slide) or positioned anywhere around a 360-degree axis for rotary forming. Machines are available in horizontal and vertical versions depending on the slide direction.

After forming, stripping fingers positively eject the finished part off the mandrel and out of the machine.

Leverage Stewart EFI’s Expertise in Precision Slide Forming

With decades of experience and one of the largest fleets of slide forming equipment in the industry, Stewart EFI delivers cost-optimized, high-quality components at scale. Our integrated process, sensor-driven quality control, and lifetime tooling guarantee translate into reliable production and significant value for our customers.

Fill out the form on this page or contact a sales representative in your area to discuss your project requirements. Our experts will work with you to determine if 4 slide stamping is the right process for your application.

Slide Forming Stamping Process (Four-Slide, Multi-Slide, and Verti-Slide Stamping)