The Former is the first half of the forming section. Paper stock is supplied to the headbox and passes through the slice, which feeds it onto the Polyester Forming Fabric.
A sheet of paper begins in the forming section, where a mixture of 99% water and 1% cellulose fiber flows between two large, fine mesh, porous belts called Polyester Forming Fabric. It is here that the paper sheet is formed and the initial water removal occurs.

A Polyester Forming Fabric is a high precision woven mesh with a unique weave structure made out of Polyester Monofilament yarns having special properties. In the forming section of a paper machine, pulp is released over a moving fabric and while the water is drained through this fabric through gravitational and vacuum forces, the fibers are left behind to form a wet sheet of paper.