French term (edited): fl�chissement

I think we really need to know what sort of "correction" is being carried out here (reduction of thickness, reshaping, etc.), and, indeed, the shape of the part being worked on.

But as a first attempt, I would suggest that "fléchissement" is a non-standard term for "étirage", for which the translations are multifarious (stretch-forming, drawing, ironing, etc.) depending on the type of operation being carried out.

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Note added at 49 mins (2004-06-18 12:39:56 GMT)
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i.e. it is a gradual operation rather than a \"brutal\" stamping operation.

French term (edited): fl�chissement

After folding the piece of metal, you can alter it either by striking it or by bending it.

To bend is a synonym for to deflect.



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Note added at 9 hrs 58 mins (2004-06-18 21:49:25 GMT)
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I love questions like this one because I learn so much. There is an entire page here on just bending in metalworking courtesy of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Minnesota.

Here is the introductory paragraph:
Bending is one of the most common metalworking operations. Parts are made by bending of sheet stock and bending also is a component of more complex sheet metal forming operatins. Bending is the plastic deformation of metals about a linear axis called the bending axis with little or no change in the surface area. When multiple bends are made simultaneously using a die, the process is sometimes called forming. What distinguishes bending is that the bend axes are linear and independent. Independence means that bending about one axis has no effect on the bending about the other axis. For example, a blank with four separate tags along the edges of a rectangular section can be bent into a box by bending each tab separately. In contrast, forming a box or rectangular pan from a rectangular sheet by using a punch and die is called a drawing operation. The corners of the pan are formed simultaneously and the deformation around a corner is determined by both edges and how they interact at the corner. If the axes of deformation are not linear or are not independent, the process becomes drawing and/or stretching, not bending.

http://www.me.umn.edu/~klamecki/Forming/bending.html

There is also a great site call Anvil Fire that has an English and an international glossary of metalworking terms. If you have any questions that you can\'t find the answer to, you can ask a question at the Guru\'s Den.
http://www.anvilfire.com/gurusden/index.htm

After my research, I would also suggest \"bending and stretching\" as a possible translation when the context justifies it.