Material thinning toward an edge, creating an irregular knife-edge, tattered appearance.
Feature-to-Feature
Dimension between two features on a part.
Feed Eccentric
A screw-adjusted device used to set the feed length on a slide forming machine.
Feed Unit
An integral part of the slide forming machine, eccentric-driven and cam controlled, that advances either wire or strip in accurate increments.
Female Tool
A mold duplicating the exterior dimensions of the part.
Ferritic
Referring to iron content.
Ferro Magnetic
Various alloys that exhibit magnetic qualities.
Ferrous
Metals containing iron as a major alloying constituent.
File Names
A name assigned to a computer file.
Fillet Weld
Joining method of filling an inside edge with welding metal.
Fit-Up
Degree of physical match between two or more components.
Fixture
Tooling designed to locate and hold components in position.
Flame Hardening
A process consisting of heating a desired area, usually localized, with an oxyacetylene torch or other type of high temperature flame and then quenched to produce a desired hardness.
Flange
Formed projection or rim of a part generally used for stiffness or assembly.
Flanging
The process of forming a flange or lip on the edge of a metal part.
Flat or Matte
Coating surface which displays no gloss when observed at any angle; a perfectly diffused reflecting surface.
Flat Pattern
A two dimensional development that represents the part before it is formed into a three dimensional shape.
Flat Wire
Round wire which has been reduced to a flat state with rounded edges.
Flattening
The process of removing wrinkles or distortions from a stamped part.
Floating Fastener
Hardware which allows the threaded portion to move within its particular confines without rotating, to compensate for misalignment.
Floppy Disk
See Diskette.
Flower Diagram
A drawing which superimposes the cross section contour of a roll formed part at each roll station, starting with the flat incoming material and ending with the desired profile. It depicts the anticipated flow of material in the forming process.
Fluting
Series of rounded parallel grooves which shows on the surface of metals.
Flying Die Cutoff
The system used in rollforming to cut the formed shape to length in a continuous operation. Similar in action to a punch press, but designed to allow the die to move in line with the rollformed shape during the cutoff cycle, and to make a cut on the fly.
Follower Block Tail Block
This serves to clamp the work piece to the tool.
Foreign Matter
Anything visually unrelated to the true nature of the substance under examination.
Form
A bend, or the process of bending a metalformed part.
Form Lifter
A cam-operated motion used for lifting the mandrel or forming in an opposite plane.
Formed Tab
Small flange bent at an angle from the body of a metal workpiece.
Forming
Operation converting a flat sheet metal workpiece into a three dimensional part. See, also Bending and Drawing.
Forming
The process of bending, stretching, or shaping metal into a desired form.
forming constituents.
Forming Limit Diagram
A diagram depicting the maximum strains a material can undergo before necking and failure during forming.
Forming Slides
Cam operated units used to drive tools on a slide forming machine.
Forming Tool
A slide mounted tool used for bending on a slide forming machine.
Form-to-Form
Dimension between two forms on a part.
Fourslide Machine
A machine, either horizontal or vertical, used to fabricate formed metal stampings and wire forms, by the action of four forming slides acting upon a stationary mandrel or center tool.
Front Cut-Off
A device driven by a cam that is mounted on the front shaft on a slide forming machine used to severe the blank from the strip before forming.
Functionality
The degree to which the designed part will perform to meet its intended purpose.
Fuse Welded Joint
Welding method without addition of a filler metal, used to generate little, if any eruption above the original surface level.