DragonFlex Micro – Towards the Limits of 3D-Printing

Developed in 2012-2015, thickness 5 mm, steering range: ±90º in all directions, complex components made by 3D-printing.

The DragonFlex has been developed in close-collaboration with Dr. Filip Jelinek, former PhD from the BITE-Group and currently employed at ACMIT.

In follow-up of the successful DragonFlex Macro, the DragonFlex Micro has been miniaturized to a 5 mm scale, where special attention has been given to the reliability and precision of the mechanism and optimization of the 3D-printing technique for such small scale components. Developing and optimising new design methodologies for 3D-printing,  a number of prototypes have been manufactured from different materials, resulting in world’s first steerable surgical instrument made entirely by 3D printing.

 

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