Process
Fourslide / multislide
Cam-driven slides that stamp and form wire or strip in one tool. The right cell for frozen high-volume 2D clips. The wrong cell for a 12 mm 3D frame — and the reason CNC exists.
What fourslide is
A fourslide (multislide) machine drives tools from several directions with cams. Wire or strip is fed, often stamped, then formed in a dedicated tool. Piece price at high volume is hard to beat. The cost sits in the tool and in the weeks it takes to cut it.
That is the opposite of 2D CNC: a program instead of a cam, revisions in hours instead of a tool change, and a worse piece price once the geometry is frozen at hundreds of thousands.
When fourslide is the right call
- The part is 2D or nearly 2D.
- Geometry is frozen — no running changes.
- Volume pays for the tool (often mid five figures and up, plus time).
- You need stamping and forming in one hit (pierced strip, coined features).
- Diameter is usually well under 4 mm. 4 mm is already the tall end of the trade.
If those are not true, you are shopping CNC — or you are about to buy a tool you will recut three times.
How it sits next to 4–14 mm
| Diameter | Inch | Fourslide vs CNC |
|---|---|---|
| 4 mm | 0.157 in | Overlap zone. Simple 2D clips can still be fourslide; 3D and revisions are CNC. |
| 8 mm | 0.315 in | Fourslide is uncommon. CNC is the default. |
| 12 mm | 0.472 in | Not a fourslide job. Frames, guards, wire baskets. |
| 14 mm | 0.551 in | Not a fourslide job. |
This site’s production band is 4–14 mm CNC. Fourslide is on the map so a buyer can tell the difference — not because we run a cam tool for 0.030 in clips.
What we do not quote
Light fourslide clips, music-wire snaps, and strip stampings. We will say so. If the part is a 2D or 3D form in 4–14 mm, it belongs on CNC, then weld and finish as required.