How should slicer feed stroke length be determined?

Feed stroke on a slicer is fixed by three things: the longest piece you run, the usable cutting window, and the unavoidable end trim. Too short a stroke leaves long items partly uncut and wastes tail ends; too long a stroke lets the gripper wander, so slice thickness drifts. Measure your real maximum and minimum lengths first, then have the supplier state the usable stroke range, clamping style, and changeover downtime. Run both extremes, count good slices against trim loss, and judge the feed design on that evidence rather than machine footprint. Keep grip-slip and thickness-deviation notes per length for future setup.