Method for manufacturing one or more sharp bodies by wire electroerosion, semi-finished products, fixtures, and methods for manufacturing surgical cutting instruments for robotic microsurgery by wire electroerosion

Abstract

A method of manufacturing one or more sharp bodies by wire electroerosion includes the steps of providing a wire electroerosion machine and a fixture attached to the wire electroerosion machine, attaching at least one workpiece to the fixture, a sharpening step of sharpening at least one edge of the workpiece to be sharpened by performing a sharpening through cut on the at least one workpiece, and a shaping step of shaping the workpiece by performing a shaping through cut on the at least one workpiece, with a further step of rotating at least a portion of the fixture about its axis of rotation by a sharpening rotation angle other than 90° between the sharpening and shaping steps. For example, the sharpened body is a blade of a surgical cutting instrument for robotic microsurgery.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing method by wire electroerosion.

[0002] In particular, the method according to the present invention is adapted to form one or more sharp bodies.

[0003] Additionally, the present invention relates to a manufacturing fixture.

[0004] The one or more sharp bodies formed by the method of the present invention are particularly adapted for miniature cutting components.

[0005] The one or more sharp bodies formed using the method of the present invention are particularly suited for, but not exclusively intended for, surgical cutting instruments.

[0006] The present invention further relates to a surgical cutting instrument having one or more sharp bodies formed according to the present method.

[0007] The invention further relates to a semi-finished product.

[0008] Additionally, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an articulating end effector for a surgical cutting instrument by wire electroerosion. [Background technology]

[0009] Robotic surgical devices are generally known in the art and typically include a central robotic tower (or cart) and one or more robotic arms extending from the central robotic tower. Each arm includes a motorized positioning system (or manipulator) for moving a distally mountable surgical instrument to perform a surgical procedure on a patient. The patient typically lies on an operating table located in an operating room, where sterility is ensured to avoid bacterial contamination from non-sterile parts of the robotic device.

[0010] Surgical cutting instruments, generally comprising a pair of blades for performing a cutting operation, such as surgical scissors-type or needle driver / suture cutter-type surgical instruments, are generally known. The blades are generally made by molding or deep drawing and then sharpened by grinding. These known techniques for forming and grinding blades for surgical cutting instruments impose limitations on the miniaturization of the active parts of the surgical cutting instruments, which are also related to the support capacity of the parts during the sharpening operation by grinding, as well as the resistance and maintenance of the shape of the parts themselves subjected to large external forces by the sharpening process.

[0011] Commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 10,864,051, WO 2017064301, WO 2019220407, WO 2019220408, WO 2019220409 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021-059776 disclose telesurgical robotic surgery systems having one or more surgical instruments controlled by one or more master interfaces.

[0012] Furthermore, the documents US 10582975, EP 3586780, WO 2017064303, WO 2017064306, WO 2018189721, WO 2018189722, WO 2018189729, US 20200170727 and US 20200170726 to the same applicant disclose various embodiments of surgical instruments suitable for robotic and microsurgery. These types of surgical instruments generally comprise a proximal interface transmission (or back end) having an interface adapted to be driven by a robotic manipulator, a shaft and an articulating cuff at the distal end of the shaft. The articulating cuff consists of multiple links that are moved by multiple tendons (or actuation cables). One or more of the terminal links have free ends and are adapted to act directly on the patient's anatomy and / or to manipulate needles and sutures to perform an anastomosis or other surgical procedure.

[0013] Furthermore, WO 2017064305, EP 3362218 and EP 3597340 of the same applicant disclose methodologies for manufacturing surgical instruments including wire electroerosion, also known by the terms "WEDM", "wire cut", "electroerosion", "spark machining" or "spark erosion".

[0014] Furthermore, document FR 2 867 995 shows a wire electroerosion process for manufacturing optical components which provides a workpiece that can be rotated about its longitudinal axis. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0015] Therefore, a need is felt to provide a manufacturing process capable of producing one or more miniaturized sharp bodies.

[0016] Therefore, a need is felt to provide a manufacturing process capable of producing one or more miniaturized sharp bodies that ensures high accuracy and reproducibility of fabrication.

[0017] Therefore, a need is felt to provide a manufacturing process that can produce one or more miniaturized sharp bodies having one or more sharp sides and one or more shaped sides in the same manufacturing process.

[0018] Therefore, a need is felt to provide a single manufacturing process capable of performing both the sharpening and shaping steps.

[0019] In particular, in the medical-surgical field, a need is felt to provide a manufacturing process solution capable of producing one or more miniaturized blades for making miniature surgical cutting instruments.

[0020] In particular, a need is felt to provide a robust, repeatable and serializable manufacturing process capable of producing one or more miniaturized blades in an economically sustainable manner for single-use surgical instruments.

[0021] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT It is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art and to provide a solution to the aforementioned needs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0022] This and other objects are achieved by a method according to claim 1 as well as a semi-finished product according to claim 20 and a fixture according to claim 21.

[0023] Some advantageous embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0024] According to one aspect of the invention, a method for manufacturing one or more sharp bodies by wire electroerosion includes the steps of: (i) providing a wire electroerosion machine having a cutting wire and providing a fixture mounted to the wire electroerosion machine, where the fixture is mounted such that it can rotate about an axis of rotation at least a portion of which is transverse to a longitudinal extension of the cutting wire; (ii) mounting at least one workpiece in the fixture; (iii) sharpening at least one edge of the at least one workpiece to be sharpened by making a sharpening through cut in the at least one workpiece with the cutting wire; and (iv) shaping the at least one workpiece by making a shaping through cut in the at least one workpiece with the cutting wire.

[0025] According to one aspect of the invention, between the sharpening and shaping steps, a further step is performed of rotating at least a portion of the fixture about its axis of rotation through a sharpening rotation angle other than 90°, which may be the same as the angle formed in the cross section of the cutting edge produced on the workpiece.

[0026] The sharpening rotation angle can be selected to minimize movement of the workpiece relative to the cut wire head of the electroerosion machine.

[0027] The sharpening rotation angle may be an acute angle.

[0028] In this manner, replacement of the workpiece on the fixture is avoided.

[0029] The one or more sharp bodies may comprise one or more surgical blades.

[0030] The method can produce multiple sharp bodies on the same workpiece, where the sharpening and shaping steps are the same for all of said multiple sharp bodies. The sharpening step can be performed by a single cut trajectory (or a single cut path) having a start point and an end point that determine the sharpening of the multiple edges to be sharpened. The shaping step can be performed by a single cut trajectory (or a single cut path) having a start point and an end point that determine the shaping of the multiple parts to be machined.

[0031] The shaping step may include separating the sharp bodies. The shaping step may include collecting the separate sharp bodies in a collection basket by gravity. The collection basket may thus be positioned below, i.e., below, the cutting wire.

[0032] The sharpening step can be performed before the shaping step. The shaped through cut can traverse at least a portion of the sharp edge during the sharpening step. For example, the cutting path of the shaped through cut can be directed locally transverse to the sharp edge and traverse the sharp edge, thereby forming the sharp edge.

[0033] The workpiece may comprise a plate, such as a plate, strip, belt, etc., and the sharpening and shaping steps each include forming a through cut through the thickness of the workpiece plate. The thickness of the plate may be less than 1 millimeter, for example between 0.05 and 0.5 millimeter. The plate may be an elastic material, e.g. blade steel, that is elastically deformable by bending.

[0034] The sharp edge may be a curved edge in a definable lying plane of the sharp body.

[0035] The shaping step may include forming at least one hole edge adapted to define a through hole penetrating the thickness of the sharp body, for example, the through hole may be a centering hole, and the hole edge may have an open profile that defines a cut channel on the body of the part by the path of the cutting wire.

[0036] The mounting step can include assembling a plurality of workpiece parts in a fixture, and the sharpening and shaping step is performed by individually sharpening and shaping each of the plurality of workpiece parts.

[0037] The fixture can be made in such a way that the individual parts to be machined are machined separately by the cutting wire in at least two cutting planes that are not aligned with each other by said sharpening rotation angle. In other words, the workpieces to be machined can be mounted in the fixture in such a way that the cutting edge, which runs substantially straight, intersects at most one of the workpieces to be machined at a time in each of the provided cutting planes.

[0038] Fixing can include fixing a plurality of planar elements (strips) that are individually machinable by wire electroerosion in one or more rotational configurations about an axis of rotation.

[0039] The method can include, after the forming step, reshaping the workpiece by performing a second formed through cut in the workpiece at a second, different cut plane, with the fixture completing a rotation substantially equal to 90° between the forming and reshaping steps. A sharpening step can be performed between the forming and reshaping steps. The reshaping step can be performed on a subgroup of the workpiece.

[0040] A zeroing and calibration process for the electroerosion machine may be included, which includes identifying an origin by contacting a known fiducial on the fixture and / or workpiece with the cutting wire. According to one embodiment, the method includes the further step of identifying an origin or fiducial of the cutting path, for example, approaching the cutting wire until the origin or fiducial is reached. The origin may belong to the workpiece, such as an edge of the workpiece to be sharpened.

[0041] The origin or reference may be one origin for both the sharpening and shaping steps as well as the reshaping step, and the control system of the wire electroerosion machine may store the one origin or reference and relate it geometrically (e.g., trigonometrically) to the kinematic rotation of the fixture at the sharpening rotation angle to process the next cut path. Both the sharpening cut and the shaping cut may start from the same point that is geometrically related to the origin or reference. After the identification step and before the sharpening and / or shaping steps, it is possible to perform a rotation of the fixture about the rotation axis by a certain angle, which may be an acute angle.

[0042] The sharpening through cut can be performed by making multiple repeated passes of the cutting wire along the same sharpening cut path, the number of said multiple repeated passes of the cutting wire to perform the sharpening through cut being greater than the number of passes made to perform the shaping through cut.

[0043] The sharpening of the sharp edges carried out may be of the "no back bevel" or "chisel edge" type sharpening, according to terms known in the art.

[0044] The shaping step may include not separating the sharp bodies and leaving at least one bridge of material of each sharp body intact.

[0045] According to one aspect of the present invention, a semi-finished product is provided comprising a plate-like body, e.g. a sheet-like body, the plate-like body having a plurality of integrally formed sharp bodies, the plurality of sharp bodies being connected to each other by connecting with bridges.

[0046] According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a fixture for an electroerosion machine having a mounting part to the machine and a housing part for receiving at least one workpiece, the housing part being rotatable relative to the mounting part. A motor can be provided for effecting the rotation.

[0047] The fixture may include a number of seats for receiving the workpieces.

[0048] According to one aspect of the invention, a method for manufacturing an articulated surgical cutting instrument by wire electroerosion includes the steps of: (i) providing a wire electroerosion machine including a cutting wire and a fixture rotatable relative to the cutting wire about an axis of rotation transverse to a longitudinal extension of the cutting wire; (ii) assembling a plurality of workpieces to be machined on the fixture; (iii) sharpening at least one edge of at least one of the plurality of workpieces to be sharpened by making a sharpening through-cut in the at least one workpiece with the cutting wire; (iv) shaping at least some, as well as all, of the plurality of workpieces, one at a time, in a first cut plane; and (v) reshaping at least some, as well as all, of the plurality of workpieces, in a second cut plane, by making shaping through-cuts in at least some, as well as all, of the plurality of workpieces, one at a time, with the cutting wire.

[0049] According to one aspect of the invention, between the sharpening step and the shaping step for the first cut surface, a step of rotating the fixture through a sharpening rotation angle different from 90° is performed.

[0050] In other words, in the sharpening and shaping steps on the first cut surface, the fixture completes a sharpening angle rotation other than 90°.

[0051] According to one aspect of the invention, between the shaping step relative to the first cut surface and the re-shaping step relative to the second cut surface, a step of rotating the fixture about its axis of rotation is provided, preferably by a rotation angle substantially equal to 90°.

[0052] At least one of the plurality of workpieces may be a small cylinder of material.

[0053] The arrangement of the workpieces on the fixture should preferably satisfy the condition that the cutting wire crosses at most one workpiece in each cutting step (ie, sharpening, shaping, and reshaping).

[0054] The method may include separating the molded parts.

[0055] The method can include assembling separate parts together, at least one of the parts having a sharp edge.

[0056] According to one aspect of the invention, a collection basket is provided for collecting the individual formed sharp bodies, the collection basket being attached to the electroerosion machine.

[0057] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments, given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings (references to "one" embodiment and "one" mode of operation in this disclosure do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or mode of operation, but should be understood as at least one, and further, it should be noted that for purposes of brevity and reducing the overall number of drawings, a given drawing may be used to show features of multiple embodiments and multiple modes of operation, and not all elements of a drawing are necessary for a given embodiment / mode of operation). [Brief description of the drawings]

[0058] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing some possible steps of the method according to possible modes of operation. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing some possible steps of the method according to some possible modes of operation. [Figure 1C] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing some possible steps of the method according to some possible modes of operation. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing some possible steps of the method according to possible modes of operation. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a vertical elevation view of a wire electroerosion machine according to one embodiment; [Figure 4A] FIG. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the wire electroerosion machine of FIG. [Figure 4B] FIG. 1 is a vertical elevation view of a fixture according to one embodiment. [Figure 4C] Axonometric view of the rotatable part of the fixture of FIG. 4B [Figure 5A] FIG. 1 shows an axonometric view of the sharpening step according to a possible mode of operation. [Figure 5B] FIG. 1 shows a vertical elevation view of a fixture for assembling the workpiece at the end of the sharpening step, according to a possible mode of operation. [Figure 5C] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a workpiece, illustrating a sharpening step according to a possible mode of operation. [Figure 5D] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a workpiece at the end of a sharpening step, according to one embodiment. [Figure 5E] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a workpiece, illustrating a sharpening step according to a possible mode of operation. [Figure 5F] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a workpiece at the end of a sharpening step, according to one embodiment. [Figure 6A] FIG. 1 shows axonometric views of the rotation steps according to possible modes of operation. [Figure 6B] FIG. 1 shows vertical elevation views of a rotating step according to possible modes of operation. [Figure 7A] FIG. 1 shows axonometric views of the forming steps according to possible modes of operation. [Figure 7B] Enlarged view of the circled detail in Figure 7A. [Figure 7C] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a workpiece that has been sharpened and shaped according to possible modes of operation. [Figure 8A] FIG. 1 shows a vertical elevation view of a blade, according to one embodiment. [Figure 8B] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the bending steps according to a possible mode of operation. [Figure 8C] FIG. 1 illustrates a blade in vertical elevation, according to one embodiment. [Figure 8D] FIG. 1 illustrates a blade in vertical elevation, according to one embodiment. [Figure 8E] FIG. 1 illustrates a blade in vertical elevation, according to one embodiment. [Figure 9A] FIG. 11 is a plan view of the sharpening and shaping cut paths according to possible modes of operation. [Figure 9B] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of two possible paths of the forming step according to possible operating modes. [Figure 9C] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of two possible paths of the forming step according to possible operating modes. [Figure 10A] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of two possible paths of the forming step according to possible operating modes. [Figure 10B] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of two possible paths of the forming step according to possible operating modes. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the forming step according to a possible mode of operation. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the forming step according to a possible mode of operation. [Figure 13A] 12 shows a semi-finished product according to an embodiment resulting from the forming step shown in FIG. [Figure 13B] 13 shows a semi-finished product according to an embodiment resulting from the forming step shown in FIG. 12 . [Figure 14] Electron microscope image showing two sharp bodies placed on a 5-cent euro coin, according to some embodiments. [Figure 15] Electron microscope image showing a blade in vertical elevation, according to one embodiment. [Figure 16] Photographic image showing a collection basket for a wire electroerosion machine according to one embodiment. [Figure 17] An axonometric view of a surgical instrument according to one embodiment. [Figure 18A] FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of an exploded view of a portion of an end effector of a surgical instrument, according to one embodiment; [Figure 18B] FIG. 18B is a plan view showing a portion of the end effector of FIG. 18A in an exploded view; [Figure 18C] FIG. 18B is a top view showing a portion of the end effector of FIG. 18A, assembled; [Figure 18D] FIG. 18B is an axonometric view of a portion of the end effector of FIG. 18A in an exploded view; [Figure 19] FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of an exploded view of a portion of an end effector of a surgical instrument, according to one embodiment; [Figure 20A] FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of an exploded view of a portion of an end effector of a surgical instrument, according to one embodiment; [Figure 20B] FIG. 20B is a vertical elevation view of a portion of the end effector of FIG. 20A in a closed configuration; [Figure 20C] FIG. 20B is a top view of a portion of the end effector of FIG. 20A in a closed configuration; [Figure 21] FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of a portion of an end effector of a surgical instrument, according to one embodiment; [Figure 22] FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of an exploded view of a portion of an end effector of a surgical instrument, according to one embodiment; [Figure 23] FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of a surgical robotic system, according to one embodiment. [Figure 24A] FIG. 1 shows a sequence of sharpening, rotating and shaping steps for several possible modes of operation. [Figure 24B] FIG. 1 shows a sequence of sharpening, rotating and shaping steps for several possible modes of operation. [Figure 24C] FIG. 1 shows a sequence of sharpening, rotating and shaping steps for several possible modes of operation. [Figure 25A] FIG. 1 shows a sequence of sharpening, rotating and shaping steps for several possible modes of operation. [Figure 25B] FIG. 1 shows a sequence of sharpening, rotating and shaping steps for several possible modes of operation. [Figure 25C] FIG. 1 shows a sequence of sharpening, rotating and shaping steps for several possible modes of operation. [Figure 26] FIG. 1 illustrates several possible steps of the method according to several possible modes of operation, as well as several embodiments of a fixture. [Figure 27]FIG. 1 illustrates several possible steps of the method according to several possible modes of operation, as well as several embodiments of a fixture. [Figure 28] FIG. 1 illustrates several possible steps of the method according to several possible modes of operation, as well as several embodiments of a fixture. [Figure 29A] FIG. 1 shows a sequence of sharpening, rotating and shaping steps for several possible modes of operation. [Figure 29B] FIG. 1 shows a sequence of sharpening, rotating and shaping steps for several possible modes of operation. [Figure 29C] FIG. 1 shows a sequence of sharpening, rotating and shaping steps for several possible modes of operation. [Figure 29D] Schematic diagram from the viewpoint indicated by arrow D in FIG. 29C. [Diagram 30] FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of an embodiment of a fixture for assembling multiple workpieces; [Diagram 31] FIG. 1 shows schematic vertical elevation views of possible steps of the method according to possible modes of operation; [Figure 32A] FIG. 1 shows schematic vertical elevation views of several possible steps of the method according to several possible modes of operation. [Figure 32B] FIG. 1 shows schematic vertical elevation views of several possible steps of the method according to several possible modes of operation. [Figure 32C] FIG. 1 shows schematic vertical elevation views of several possible steps of the method according to several possible modes of operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0059] References throughout this specification to an "embodiment" are meant to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Thus, the phrase "in one embodiment" in various parts of this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, particular features, structures, or functions as illustrated in different figures may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more modes of operation. Similarly, references throughout this specification to an "operational mode" are meant to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or function described in connection with the operation mode is included in at least one mode of operation of the invention. Thus, the phrase "in an operational mode" in various parts of this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same mode of operation. Moreover, particular features, structures, or functions as illustrated in different figures may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more modes of operation.

[0060] According to a general embodiment, a method is provided for manufacturing one or more blades, such one or more sharpened bodies preferably adapted to form a miniature cutting element.

[0061] According to a preferred mode of operation, the manufacturing method is adapted to form one or more blades, such one or more blades being preferably miniature blades.

[0062] The method includes the steps of providing a wire electroerosion machine 200 that includes a cutting wire 202 .

[0063] The cutting wire 202 preferably extends longitudinally between two heads 206, 207 of the wire electroerosion machine 200 when in the operating state. To perform a cut (i.e. electroerosion), the cutting wire 202 advances along a cutting path in a feed direction W (or cutting direction W) that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the cutting wire 202, i.e. the feed direction is substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the portion of the cutting wire 202 between the two heads 206, 207 of the machine 200, in a manner known per se. Each of the two heads 206, 207 can be associated with a reel 209 for the cutting wire 202, or a winding / unwinding roller 209. When in the operating state, the cutting wire 202 winds around one reel as it unwinds from the other reel, and the heads 206, 207 guide the cutting wire 202 in the feed direction W (or cutting direction W) to perform the cut on the workpiece.

[0064] The wire electroerosion machine 200 preferably comprises a tank 208 filled with a dielectric fluid in which, when in an operating state, electroerosion of at least one workpiece 204 takes place. The electroerosion machine 200 may further comprise a hydraulic circuit comprising a hydraulic duct 211 to which a pump 212 is attached and a filter that terminates in a nozzle 213 that draws and filters the dielectric fluid from the tank 208 and directs it onto the workpiece 204.

[0065] At least one workpiece 204 is preferably made of a conductive material, such as a metal, or is coated with a conductive material.

[0066] The wire electroerosion machine 200 further comprises at least one jig 214 or fixture 214 that is transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cutting wire 202 and is preferably rotatable relative to the cutting wire 202 (i.e., relative to the cut portion of the cutting wire 202) about an orthogonal axis of rotation FF. For example, the axis of rotation FF of the jig 214 extends substantially horizontally, while the cut portion of the cutting wire 202 extends substantially vertically.

[0067] The method includes mounting at least one workpiece part 204 to the fixture 214, for example by fastening the workpiece part 204 to the fixture 214 with a set screw or other fastener such that the at least one workpiece part 204 rotates integrally with a portion of the fixture 214. Rotating the fixture 214 about its axis of rotation FF thereby results in rotation of the workpiece part 204 relative to the cut wire 202.

[0068] The fixture 214 may comprise a fixing part 215 fixed to a bracket of a worktop 216 inside the tank 208 of the wire electroerosion machine 200 and a housing part 217 for receiving at least one said workpiece 204, for example in its at least one housing seat 241. The housing part 217 of the fixture 217 is rotatable relative to the fixing part 216 of the machine 200 about said rotation axis FF. According to one embodiment, the fixing part 216 of the fixture 214 to the machine 200 comprises positioning intended rectified surfaces 221 to abut rectified counter-surfaces 222 of a bracket of the worktop 216 of the machine 200.

[0069] The housing part 217 of the fixture 214 may have an elongated body extending along the rotation axis FF and may be pivotally connected to the fixed part 215. To minimize the deformability of the cutting wire 202, it is generally desirable to position the workpiece 204 close to the lower head 206 during cutting. Therefore, by rotating only the housing part 217 relative to the fixed part 215, the translational movement of the workpiece 204 relative to the lower head 206 of the machine that may result from the rotation step can be minimized. In other words, the rotation of the fixture may move the workpiece relative to the cutting wire in the longitudinal extension direction of the cutting wire between the machine heads, for example moving the workpiece close to the head located in the central zone of the part of the cutting wire extending between the heads of the machine, since it is more deformable laterally in the part close to one of the heads, which results in a change in the cutting characteristics, for example in terms of finishing and / or cutting resolution. Generally, in practice, wire electroerosion machines are adapted to perform better and more accurate cutting operations when the workpiece is located close to at least one of the heads, where the cutting wire undergoes less lateral deformation as it slides longitudinally, or when the heads are close together and the longitudinal extension of the portion of the cutting wire extending between the machine heads is short, thereby limiting the lateral movement during operation, i.e., during cutting, or when the sliding direction of the wire is entirely perpendicular to the plane defined by the feed direction W or the cutting direction W. Although the electroerosion machine 200 may be provided with features that include crossing the heads 206, 207, i.e., translating the heads to tilt the cutting wire 202 with respect to the workpiece 204, in light of the above, such a feature for placing the heads close together, and therefore crossing the heads, may generally speaking allow the cutting wire to be tilted at an angle of up to about 5° with respect to the workpiece. This makes this solution of crossing the heads of the wire electroerosion machine unsuitable for obtaining sharpening.

[0070] The housing seat 241 of the housing part 217 of the fixture 216 may be constituted by a longitudinal slot 241 along the body of the housing part 217, for receiving the plate-shaped workpiece 204 and clamping it in its central part, for example by means of the fixing and positioning element 219. The plate-shaped workpiece 204 thus forms two opposing cantilever flaps 205, both of which can be subjected to the wire electroerosion process. The workpiece 204 may also be clamped in other ways. To mount the workpiece in the fixture 214, positioning elements such as holes or notches may be provided in the body of the workpiece.

[0071] Preferably, the extension of the cantilever part of each cantilever flap 205 of the plate-like body of the workpiece 204 protruding in a cantilever manner from the housing part 217 of the jig 214 is selected so as to minimize vibrations that may occur during the action of the cutting wire 202 on the workpiece 204 and the jig 214, leading to cutting uncertainties. Screws or clamping screws can be provided as clamping positioning elements 219 adapted to clamp the housing seat and at the same time act as positioning elements of the workpiece 204 in the seat. Depending on the possible operating modes, one or more fixing and positioning elements 219 are designed to traverse the body of the workpiece 204, for example in a through hole, in order to provide its fixing effect to the jig and its positioning effect relative to the jig and the cutting edge.

[0072] According to a possible mode of operation, the workpiece 204 comprises a plate having a thickness 210 in the range of 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm. The plate can be obtained from a strip tape of material or a complete piece of sliced ​​material. The plate can be elastic and bendable.

[0073] The method includes sharpening at least one edge 234 to be sharpened of at least one workpiece 204 by making at least one sharpening through cut on at least one workpiece 204 with a cutting wire 202. A through cut is made in the at least one workpiece by advancing the cutting wire 202 along a sharpening cut path, thereby sharpening the at least one edge 234 to be sharpened of the workpiece 204, such that the edge 234 to be sharpened becomes a sharp edge 34.

[0074] At least one sharp edge 34 forms the cutting edge of the sharp body produced by the method, and thus at least one sharp edge 34 forms the cutting edge of the body of one or more blades 30 produced by the method and the manufacturing method used to produce one or more blades.

[0075] The method further includes forming at least one workpiece 204 by making at least one shaped through cut in the at least one workpiece 204 with the cutting wire 202. By advancing the cutting wire 202 along the shaped cut path 230, a through cut is made in the at least one workpiece 204, resulting in, for example, forming a sharp body of one or more blades 30 produced in the manufacturing method. The forming step does not necessarily result in the separation of a single sharp body. For example, a bridge 231 of material may connect the sharp bodies to each other at the end of the forming step. The forming step may form an end 32 on the workpiece that may form a distal end of the sharp body.

[0076] Of course, the sharpening and shaping steps can be performed in any order.

[0077] Between the sharpening and shaping steps, a further step is performed of rotating the fixture 214 about its axis of rotation FF through a sharpening rotation angle α.

[0078] According to one embodiment, a motor 218, for example an electric motor, is associated with the fixture 214 for rotating the housing portion 217 of the fixture 214 relative to the fixed portion 215. In this case, the step of rotating the fixture 214 is performed by operating the motor 218. The electroerosion machine 200 also preferably comprises at least one electronic control system 242, the motor 218 being operatively connected to said electronic control system 242 of the machine 200. Thus, the step of rotating the fixture 214 can be automated.

[0079] More preferably, the sharpening rotation angle α is different from 90°.

[0080] "Different from 90°" means to denote a deviation from 90° of at least 10°, i.e. a sharpening rotation angle α differing from 90°±10°, which is significantly different from 90°. Preferably, this means to denote a sharpening rotation angle α different in absolute value from 90°, i.e. for any direction of rotation (clockwise or counterclockwise) around the rotation axis FF.

[0081] Providing a sharpening angle α other than 90° allows for the creation of an acute angle β in the cross section of the workpiece body, resulting in a sharp edge 34.

[0082] According to a preferred embodiment, the sharpening angle α is an acute angle, net of a tolerance of ±10°, which can be understood as an angle less than 80°, preferably more than 10°, in absolute value.

[0083] Because the selection of the sharpening angle α determines the acute angle β in the cross section of the sharp edge 34, the sharpening angle α, which measures the rotation of the workpiece relative to the cutting wire 202, can be selected to achieve the desired cutting performance of the sharp edge 34.

[0084] In this manner, it is possible to obtain at least two through cuts in the workpiece on two cut planes that are not perpendicular to each other, at least one of the through cuts being a sharpened through cut, i.e. forming a sharp edge 34 on the workpiece 204, and the other through cut being a shaped through cut.

[0085] Where the workpiece comprises a plate-like body, a shaped through cut is preferably performed by orienting the cutting wire 202 substantially perpendicular to the plane of the plate-like body to produce a short, strong cut wall in the thickness of the workpiece, whereas a sharpened through cut is performed by orienting the cutting edge at an angle to the plane of the plate-like body to produce a sharp profile in the thickness of the edge of the workpiece, i.e., in the cross section of the workpiece.

[0086] The jig 214 may include mechanical stroke ends 220, e.g., two opposing stroke end ridges 220 facing opposing double-ended stroke abutment surfaces disposed on the housing part 217 and fixed part 215 of the jig 214. In such a case, the rotating step may include abutting the housing part 217 of the jig 214 against the stroke end ridges 220 of the fixed part 215 of the jig 214. The stroke ends 220 may be releasably associated with the jig 214, e.g., one or more stroke ends may be extended and retracted, to allow the sharpening rotation angle α to be adjusted.

[0087] The rotation step is performed while avoiding the separation of the workpiece 204 from the fixture 214 and avoiding the separation of the fixture 214 from the wire electroerosion machine 200. Thus, replacement is avoided. The rotation axis FF of the fixture 214 can extend through the body of the workpiece 204, for example, if the workpiece has a plate-like body (e.g., it is a strip, ribbon, plate, sheet), the rotation axis FF of the fixture 214 can extend along the thickness 210 of the workpiece 204. In such a case, the rotation of the fixture 214 can also result in the rotation of the plate-like body of the workpiece 204 about one of its axes (e.g., the median axis, one of the axes of symmetry).

[0088] In this way, it is possible to manufacture one or more blades 30 by making two through cuts in the workpiece 204 by wire electroerosion on two cutting planes that are non-orthogonal to each other and rotated by the sharpening angle α, where the through cuts are sharpened through cuts. In this case, it is avoided to separate the workpiece 204 from the fixture 214 and the fixture 214 from the wire electroerosion machine 200. This avoids repositioning of at least one workpiece relative to the machine, so that a high cutting accuracy of the sharpening cuts and the forming cuts is achieved. Also, for example, the calibration of the electronic control system of the electroerosion machine 200 is more reliable and can be performed only once, for example after the assembly step and before both the sharpening and forming steps.

[0089] To perform zeroing and calibration of the electroerosion machine 200, the method may include, prior to the sharpening step, identifying a reference point 229 and bringing the cutting wire 202 close to said reference point 229. The reference point 229 may be identified by contacting one or more points of the workpiece 204 with the cutting wire 202 one or more times. For example, orthogonal sides of a workpiece slab may be contacted to identify a reference point 229 that coincides with an apex of the workpiece 204 slab.

[0090] According to the operating mode, said reference point 229 belongs to an edge 234 of the workpiece 204 that is to be sharpened.

[0091] Although not necessarily, the approaching step causes the cutting wire 202 to reach the reference point 229. The starting cut points 232, 235 of the sharpening cut path 240 and / or the shaping cut path 230 can be close to or coincident with the reference point 229. Depending on the possible modes of operation, the starting cut points 232, 235 of the sharpening cut path 240 and / or the shaping cut path 230 are located at positions having a predetermined geometric relationship to the reference point 229.

[0092] According to a possible mode of operation, the identification and approaching steps are carried out before each of said sharpening and / or shaping steps.

[0093] According to a possible mode of operation, the identification and approaching steps are carried out only once, prior to both the sharpening and shaping steps.

[0094] According to a possible mode of operation, the identifying step includes identifying a single origin of the cutting path that serves as the origin of both the sharpening cut path and the shaping cut path, and the approaching step includes approaching the cutting wire to said single origin both in preparation for the sharpening step and in preparation for the shaping step.

[0095] According to an operating mode, prior to both the sharpening and shaping steps, the method includes the steps of identifying a single origin of the cutting path that serves as the origin of both the sharpening and shaping cut paths, and of moving the cutting wire 202 towards said single origin, preferably until said single origin is reached, both in preparation for the sharpening and in preparation for the shaping steps, which allows resetting the machine, i.e. calibrating it only once at the start of the method, and avoiding recalibration.

[0096] Identification of the origin may be performed by contacting a known fiducial on the fixture 214 with the cut wire 202. Identification of the origin may be performed by contacting a known fiducial on the workpiece 204 with the cut wire 202.

[0097] According to a possible mode of operation, the method creates multiple sharp bodies on a single workpiece 204, and the sharpening and shaping steps are the same for all of the multiple sharp bodies. For example, a single sharpening trajectory 240 having a starting point 235 and an end point 236 is provided for the multiple sharp bodies, regardless of whether the multiple sharp bodies are the same or different.

[0098] According to a possible mode of operation, the sharpening step is performed by a single sharpening cut trajectory 240 of the cutting wire 202, and said shaping step is performed by a single shaping cut trajectory 230 of the cutting wire 202. The cutting wire can make multiple repeated passes through each cutting trajectory 230, 240.

[0099] The sharpening through cut removes material from the edge 234 of the workpiece to be sharpened, exposing the sharpening cut wall 223 with the workpiece 204 and the cut wire 202 forming a particular angle with each other (depending on the selection of the sharpening angle α), the particular angle being selected such that the exposed sharpening cut wall 223 and the adjacent wall of the workpiece together form the sharp edge 34, i.e., an acute edge defined by the joining of the sharpening cut wall 223 and the adjacent wall of the other workpiece. In cross section, following the sharpening through cut, as shown for example in FIG. 6C, the sharpening cut wall 223 preferably forms an acute angle β with the back surface 224 of the workpiece 204. The sharpening cut wall 223 may form an acute angle with the opposite surface 225, i.e., the front surface of the workpiece 204.

[0100] According to the operating mode, said sharpening rotation angle α is equal to said acute angle β, however, such acute angle β formed between the sharpening cut wall 223 and another wall of the workpiece 204 does not necessarily correspond to said sharpening rotation angle α. According to one embodiment, the acute angle β is equal to 90°-α.

[0101] According to a possible mode of operation in which the workpiece has a plate-like body having parallel opposing faces 224, 225 defining a thickness 210 therebetween, the forming through cut is performed perpendicular to the opposing parallel faces 224, 225 through the thickness, and the sharpening through cut is performed through the thickness of the workpiece in a direction oblique to the opposing parallel faces 224, 225. This results in a sharp edge 34 being formed on one of the opposing parallel faces 224, 225 of the workpiece 204, which is transverse (orthogonal in this case) to the forming cut plane and incident on the sharpening cut plane.

[0102] If the workpiece 204 has a given shape, such as, for example, but not limited to, a flat strip or ribbon or sheet shape with its plate-like body, and said sharpening rotation angle α is understood as the rotation angle of the plate-like body during the rotation step, then according to a preferred embodiment, the sharpening rotation angle β is equal to or complementary to the sharpening rotation angle α.

[0103] The workpiece 204 may have a squat body or other non-plate-like body, and a sharpened through cut is made through the body of the workpiece 204 to form the sharp edge 34 .

[0104] The acute angle of the sharp edge 34 must be selected to optimize cutting performance and find a compromise between penetration and strength. In general, an acute angle β of the sharp edge 34 less than 45°, e.g., 10°-40°, allows for high cutting penetration but tends to wear out prematurely (a trend that increases with decreasing acute angle β). On the other hand, an acute angle β of the sharp edge 34 greater than 45°, e.g., 50°-80°, allows for a long service life, but the sharp edge 34 may experience cutting resistance under some conditions of use (a trend that increases with increasing acute angle β).

[0105] An acute angle β in the range of 30° to 60° (here understood as a value having a tolerance of ±10%) may provide a satisfactory compromise for applications of the resulting blade 30 or blades 30 in the field of robotic surgery.

[0106] According to a preferred embodiment, the acute angle β is substantially equal to 45°. This value is also to be understood here as a value with a tolerance of ±10%. Here, preferably, the acute angle β is substantially equal to half of 90°. That is to say, it forms a through cut in the workpiece body exposing a cut wall that is oriented substantially at 45°.

[0107] Thus, when the acute angle β depends on the sharpening rotation angle α, said sharpening rotation angle α can be in the range of 20°-70°, preferably the sharpening rotation angle α is substantially 30°±10° or 45°±10° or 60°±10°. These values ​​should be understood in absolute terms, i.e. they can be valid for any rotation direction of the body of the workpiece 204 relative to the cutting wire 202 formed during the rotation step. Thus, 45° here means both a 45° rotation in one direction and a 45° rotation in the opposite direction. The rotation direction can affect the orientation of the cut wall 223 exposed on the body of the workpiece 204 and determine whether the sharp edge 34 belongs to the back surface 224 or the front surface 225 of the workpiece 204.

[0108] The sharpening angle α may be selected to minimize the distance between the workpiece and a datum of the machine 200 , such as the head 208 .

[0109] According to a possible mode of operation, the sharpening through cut of the sharpening step follows a cutting path 240 extending along the thickness 234 to be sharpened of the workpiece 204. This makes it possible to create a sharp edge 34 that is substantially uniform along its extension, even if the edge 234 to be sharpened has a concave and / or convex shape in the sharpening cut plane.

[0110] According to a possible mode of operation, the edges 234 of the workpiece 204 to be sharpened coincide with the edges of the workpiece body, for example the edges of a plate-like body such as a strip or plate or ribbon, and the cutting path 240 of the sharpening through cut extends substantially straight along those edges, substantially chipping away at those edges, i.e. electroeroding material from the thickness 210 of the workpiece plate, forming a gap that is inclined relative to the opposite faces 224, 225 of the plate and exposing the cut surface 223 that forms the sharp edge 34.

[0111] By selecting the sharpening rotation angle α, the orientation of the sharpening through-cuts and the forming through-cuts on the workpiece can be defined.

[0112] According to a preferred mode of operation, the shaped through cut traverses the body of the workpiece 204 in its thickness direction. According to a preferred mode of operation, the shaped through cut produces edges that are not sharp edges, but rather edges that form two opposing angles of substantially 90° with the opposing faces 224, 225 of the workpiece, the workpiece having a predetermined regular shape, e.g. a plate-like body.

[0113] The cut path 230 followed by the shaped through cut can form a path that includes a curved portion, such as the hole edge 36, and according to a possible mode of operation, forming the hole edge 36 includes forming a radial passage channel 39 for passing the cutting wire. It is noted that the hole edge 36 does not necessarily have to be configured with a curved portion, but can also be configured with a dashed portion of the hole edge 36. The hole edge 36 can define one or more centering holes for receiving an articulation pin when in an operating state.

[0114] The curvature due to the cutting path 230 followed by the shaped through cut can create sharp edges 34 to sharpen curved, concave, and / or convex edges.

[0115] The feed rate parameters of the cutting wire 202 can be adjusted to provide a good compromise between finishing time and production time. According to one embodiment, the forming step can create parts with extreme resolution due to said through cuts, such as legs with widths of a few hundredths of a millimeter.

[0116] According to a possible mode of operation, the shaped through cuts form edges that are not perpendicular to the opposing faces 224, 225 of the workpiece 204, i.e., the shaped cuts can form edges that are inclined relative to a definable lying plane of the workpiece.

[0117] According to a possible mode of operation, a sharpening step is first performed, followed by a rotating step, followed by a shaping step, so that sharpening is performed and then shaping is performed. In this case, the shaping through cut can cross at least a portion of the sharpening through cut, i.e. the shaping cut path 230 is incident on the sharpening cut path. According to this mode of operation, the method can first make it possible to form a plurality of sharp bodies, for example a plurality of blades 30, from the same workpiece by sharpening and forming at least a portion of at least one edge of the workpiece 204, which is common to at least a group of bodies, for example blades 30, i.e. shared by at least a group of bodies, and then it is possible to shape the individual sharp bodies, for example of the individual blades 30, which involves making a shaping through cut that intersects the sharp edge 34 and thus cuts the cut wall 223 to separate or make separable the individual sharp bodies, for example the individual blades 30, which can be obtained from the same workpiece 204. For example, if the workpiece is a plate mounted in a fixture 214 that forms two opposing cantilever flaps, the method may include first sharpening both of the edges and then forming the plurality of individual sharp bodies, e.g., individual blades 30, into both opposing cantilever flaps.

[0118] According to a possible mode of operation, the sharpening step is performed before the shaping step, and the shaping cut path 230 of the shaping step does not extend along the sharp edge 34 formed by the sharpening step, i.e. no shaping through cut is made in the workpiece according to the profile of the already machined sharp edge 34. The cut path 230 of the shaping through cut can traverse the sharp edge 34 transversely to the longitudinal extension of the edge to shape the blade 30 and interrupt the sharp edge of the workpiece 204.

[0119] According to a possible mode of operation, the cutting path 230 of the shaped through cut provides an outer section 238 of the cutting path 230 of the workpiece 204 in an outer position relative to the sharp edge 34 and at a certain distance from it. A calibration verification step is performed along the outer section 238 of the cutting path 230, with a sudden approach to the sharp edge 34 of the cutting wire, which substantially follows a notch 239 on the cutting path 230. This makes it possible to verify the correct positioning of the workpiece 204. In fact, if the sudden approach of the cutting wire 202 to the sharp edge 34 determines an electrical erosion of material from the sharp edge 202, this indicates an anomaly, such as a possible positioning error of the workpiece.

[0120] 9B shows an example of a shaped cut path 230 of shaped through cuts forming the shape of multiple blades 30 on the same workpiece forming undercuts, hole edges 36, passage channels 39, the outer sections 238 being against sharp edges 34. The shaped cut path 230 shown here can be performed multiple times, i.e., multiple repeated passes, e.g., back and forth passes.

[0121] Fig. 9C shows an example of a shaped cut path 230 of a shaped through cut providing different intersecting return paths to form and separate a plurality of blades 30. According to a possible mode of operation, the cutting profile 230 shown in Fig. 9C can be understood as a single return path to at least one forward path shown in Fig. 9B, in such a case the single return path machines a substantially straight edge of the body of the blade 30 and the shaped through cut made along said single return path of the shaped cut path 230 serves to separate the blades 30. According to a possible mode of operation, the cutting profile 230 shown in Fig. 9C can be understood as a shaped cut profile independent of the one shown in Fig. 9B, and the return paths can be selected as required.

[0122] 10A and 10B show an example similar to that shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C above.

[0123] The sharpening cut path can be performed multiple times, i.e. in multiple repeated passes, e.g. back and forth passes, for example with a number of passes between 3 and 11, preferably between 3 and 7. According to an operating mode, said sharpening cut paths of the sharpening step are performed more frequently than the form cut paths of the forming step. This leads to a better finishing of the sharp edge 34. According to a preferred operating mode, the sharpening cut is performed before the form cut, so that during the process of making the blade, the part is not subjected to vibrations during the first finishing pass or during the multiple finishing passes.

[0124] The mold cut also preferably provides for the removal, i.e., separation, of the blade 30. Separation of the blade 30 is preferably performed after the blade is made, and preferably in a single pass.

[0125] According to a possible mode of operation, the sharpening step is performed by a single sharpening cut trajectory 240 of the cutting wire 202 and said shaping step is performed by a single shaping cut trajectory 230 of the cutting wire 202. Preferably, the sharpening cut path or trajectory 240 has a start point 235 and an end point 236 which can coincide if an even number of reciprocating passes are performed. Preferably, the shaping cut path or trajectory 230 has a start point 232 and an end point 233 which can coincide if an even number of reciprocating passes are performed.

[0126] For example, as shown in Fig. 16, a basket 243 can be provided for collecting the separated blades 30. For example, the basket 243 can be assembled, e.g., coupled, around the lower head 206 of the electroerosion machine 200. The basket 243 is made of two separable halves 244, 245 that, when assembled, can form at least one collection chamber having a substantially annular shape for collecting the separate blades 30 that fall under the influence of gravity into the dielectric fluid tank 208. In such a case, the method can include, after the step of separating the blades 30, a step of collecting, by gravity, the separated blades 30 sharpened and shaped by wire electroerosion.

[0127] 11 and 12 each show an example of a shaped cut path 230 of a shaped through cut representing the shape of multiple blades 30 on the same workpiece, each provided with connecting bridges 231 forming undercuts, hole edges 36, passage channels 39, said outer sections 238 to sharp edges 34. The shaped cut path 230 shown here can be performed multiple times, i.e. multiple repeated passes, e.g. back and forth passes. In such a case, the method can include a step of separating the blades 30, including breaking the breakable connecting bridges 231, as performed elsewhere. For example, the step of separating the blades by breaking the connecting bridges 231 can be performed during assembly of a finished product, such as a surgical cutting instrument.

[0128] 13A and 13B show some examples of semi-finished products 250 manufactured by a method according to any one of the operating modes described herein, for example comprising a plurality of blades 30 each with a connecting bridge 231 made of a breakable material. According to the operating mode, the method further comprises the steps of producing said semi-finished products 250 and of separating the blades 30 by breaking the respective connecting bridges 231.

[0129] Breaking the connecting bridges 231 can be achieved by making shaped cuts by wire electroerosion.

[0130] According to a possible mode of operation, the shaping step is carried out first, then the turning step and then the sharpening step, so that shaping comes first and sharpening comes afterwards.

[0131] This possible operating mode is preferably carried out when the connecting bridge, the shape of the part, or the thickness of the part itself are sufficient not to induce vibrations during one or more sharpening passes on an already formed part.

[0132] According to a possible mode of operation, the shaping step is performed first, then the turning step, then the sharpening step, then a further turning step, then a further shaping step, i.e. the shaping step can be partially performed before the sharpening step and completed after the sharpening step. According to this mode of operation, the shaping step can leave the shape of one or more blades traced by the cuts on the workpiece, but these blades are interconnected by bridges of material 231, for example breakable bridges of material with a locally reduced thickness.

[0133] According to one embodiment, the method determines to manufacture a semi-finished product 250 comprising a plate-like body, in which a number of blades 30 each have a sharp edge 34 and the blade bodies are interconnected by one or more material bridges 231 of the workpiece body that have not been intentionally removed, for example breakable material bridges.

[0134] The shaping step is performed first, then the turning step, then the sharpening step, where the shaping step creates the shape of one or more cut and shaped blades (but without sharp edges 34) on the workpiece 204, the blades being interconnected by material bridges 231. The sharpening step can be performed on the edges 234 of the individual blade shapes to be sharpened, although the cut path can in some sections follow a continuous path that does not cross material of the workpiece already removed, e.g. by cutting by shaping.

[0135] Depending on the possible operating mode, the sharpening and shaping steps can alternate, always including a rotation step between them.

[0136] It may include multiple sharpening cuts on different cut faces and / or multiple forming cuts on different cut faces. For example, it may include a step of rotating the tool between two adjacent sharpening steps and / or it may include a step of rotating the tool between two adjacent forming steps. For example, it may include a rotation angle of the tool 214 of substantially 90° between two forming cuts of the same workpiece, and further orientations may be included even if another sharpening cut is included between the two forming cuts.

[0137] For example, between two sharpening cuts of the same edge to be sharpened of the same workpiece, a rotation angle of the fixture 214 of more than 90° can be included, but in order to create an acute angle β in the body of the workpiece 204. According to a possible mode of operation, two sharpening through cuts are made in two cut faces rotated by 90°-150°, preferably 120°-150°.

[0138] According to a possible mode of operation, the method comprises a step of separating one or more of said blades 30. The separating step can be included in the forming step, the cut path of the formed through cut forming one or more separate blades. If a semi-finished product 250 is produced in which a number of blades 30 are cut and formed, the blade bodies being interconnected by one or more material bridges 231, each having a sharp edge 34, the separating step can comprise breaking said material bridges 231 and can also be performed at the assembly site.

[0139] Depending on the possible operating modes, the workpiece 204 is an elastic body having an elastic deformation body for providing an elastic reaction force. According to one embodiment, the workpiece 204 is an elastic plate-like body, for example an elastic strip adapted to bend elastically. By providing an elastically bendable workpiece, it is possible to make small elastic blades having an elastically bendable body.

[0140] Preferably, the workpiece 204 is made of a metallic material. The workpiece 204 can be made of blade steel. For example, one or more surface treatments 228 on the workpiece, such as coatings and / or heat treatments, can be included to make the cutting edge 34 harder and more wear-resistant when in operation. According to one embodiment, the cutting edge 34 includes a surface treatment 228 on at least the surface 35 intended to function by mechanical interference contact with an opposing blade when in operation.

[0141] The workpiece 204 may be subjected to bending, such as press bending, as shown in Fig. 8B for example. In such a case, the method includes a step of bending the blade 30. This step may include, for example, a step including a press 260 having a hammer 261 and an anvil 262. The bending by press bending may give the blade 30 elastic properties.

[0142] According to a possible mode of operation, the method comprises a step of treating the surface of the workpiece to obtain a workpiece surface treatment 228. The step of treating the surface can also be performed multiple times.

[0143] According to a possible mode of operation, a step of preparing the surface is carried out before the sharpening step. If the surface treatment 228 is carried out before said sharpening step, the wall 223 exposed by the flush cut of the cutting edge 34 does not comprise the surface treatment 228. In this case, for example, a "no back bevel" or "chisel edge" type sharpening can be obtained, in which the surface 35 of the cutting edge 34 intended to function by mechanical interference contact with the opposing blade when in operation comprises the surface treatment 228, while the opposite cut wall 223 does not comprise the surface treatment 228.

[0144] According to a possible mode of operation, a step of treating the surface is carried out after the sharpening step. If the surface treatment 228 is carried out after said sharpening step, the wall 223 exposed by the flush cut of the cutting edge 34 can include the surface treatment 228.

[0145] According to a possible mode of operation, the step of treating the surface comprises creating a diamond-like carbon (DLC) type coating or the like.

[0146] According to a possible mode of operation, the step of treating the surface comprises carrying out a heat treatment, for example of the "Corstelize" type.

[0147] According to the mode of operation, the step of coating the surface is carried out when the workpiece is in the form of a semi-finished part 250 having a plurality of sharp bodies, for example a body with a plurality of shaped blades, interconnected by connecting bridges 231. This facilitates the miniaturization of the sharp bodies, since a plurality of sharp bodies can be positioned together for surface treatment by positioning the body of the semi-finished part 250, for example as a ribbon or strip.

[0148] According to a possible mode of operation, the method further comprises, after the forming step, a further reshaping step for performing a second shaping on a second cut surface, performing a second shaping through cut on at least one workpiece 204 with the cutting wire 202 on the second cut surface, and between the forming and reshaping steps, a step of rotating the fixture 214 by a shaping angle, preferably substantially equal to 90°. According to this mode of operation, it is preferable to perform the shaping step before the sharpening step. As shown, for example in the sequence of Figures 29A-29C, it is possible to perform first a shaping step, then a sharpening step, then a reshaping step, and between the forming and reshaping steps, the workpiece 204 has been rotated by a rotation of the fixture or part thereof by an angle substantially equal to 90°.

[0149] Between the forming and sharpening steps, the workpiece 204 can be rotated through a sharpening angle α.

[0150] This allows two shaping cuts and one sharpening cut to be made on the same workpiece 204 .

[0151] According to a possible mode of operation, the mounting step comprises mounting a number of workpiece parts 204, 304 in the fixture 214, and the sharpening and shaping steps comprise sharpening and shaping each workpiece part individually. In other words, according to this mode of operation, each workpiece part 204, 304 is processed individually, avoiding making simultaneous cuts on multiple workpiece parts. If different cuts are made on different parts, the cuts can be made successively on the different parts.

[0152] According to a possible mode of operation, the mounting step comprises also mounting at least a second workpiece 304 in said fixture 214 in order to obtain at least two workpiece parts 304 mounted in the same fixture 214, the method further comprising a step of sharpening at least one edge to be sharpened of said second workpiece part 304. Between the step of sharpening at least one edge to be sharpened of at least one of said workpiece parts 204 and the step of sharpening at least one edge to be sharpened of said second workpiece part 304, a further step of rotating at least a part of said fixture 214 is included, whereby different sharpnesses can be obtained on the different workpiece parts 204, 304.

[0153] As shown in Figure 26, for example, two sharpening cuts can be made on different workpiece parts by rotating the housing part 217 mounting each workpiece part 204, 304 through different sharpening angles, i.e. the first workpiece part 204 through a first sharpening angle α and the second workpiece part 304 through a second sharpening angle α2. This allows sharp edges with different acute angles β to be formed on the different workpiece parts 204, 304.

[0154] As shown in Fig. 27, it is possible to perform two sharpening cuts on different workpieces 204, 304 rotating together with each other, for example by providing a further step of rotating at least a part of the fixture 214 by a predetermined angle, for example an angle equal to α2-α, between the two sharpening steps, i.e. between the step of sharpening at least one edge to be sharpened of at least one workpiece 204, 304 and the step of sharpening at least one edge to be sharpened of the second workpiece 304, as shown in Fig. 27. The angles α and α2 may differ from each other by any amount. The angle α2 can be selected with reference to the angle α and therefore according to the same considerations described with reference to the direction of the cutting wire 202 for performing the shaping cuts.

[0155] Depending on possible operating modes, the fixture 214 receives a number of workpieces 204 having plate-like bodies arranged so as to be individually and singly machinable by the cutting wire 202 in one or more rotational configurations of the fixture 214.

[0156] 28, three (or more) workpiece parts 204 having plate-like bodies can be arranged in a star configuration on the fixture 214, i.e., arranged with respective cantilever flaps extending radially from and relative to a housing portion 217 of the fixture 214. For example, the workpiece parts in a star configuration can be sharpened individually, which can include rotating the housing portion 217 of the fixture 214 between one workpiece part and the other workpiece part.

[0157] According to one embodiment, fixture 214 or jig 214 includes clamping a number of planar elements (strips) that can be individually machined by electroerosion in one or more rotational configurations.

[0158] According to a possible mode of operation, the method comprises at least two shaping steps, namely a shaping step and a reshaping step, with a further step of rotating the tool 214 by a shaping angle preferably substantially equal to 90° between said two shaping steps, i.e. the two shaping steps are preferably performed on two cut surfaces perpendicular to each other. It is also possible for the method to first perform a first shaping step, then rotate the tool 214 by said sharpening rotation angle α (for example α=40°), perform a sharpening step, then rotate the tool 214 again by an angle equal to 90°-α (50° in this example) and perform a second shaping step, with the tool 214 having been rotated by 90° from the first shaping step to the second shaping step. This mode of operation can be advantageous for manufacturing a link assembly to be assembled with an articulated end effector of a surgical cutting instrument (e.g., surgical scissors or needle driver / scissors) in a single placement of the workpiece within the electroerosion machine 200, where at least one of the links of the link assembly has a sharp edge 34, e.g., a blade link 30.

[0159] Thus, a method for manufacturing a plurality of links of an articulated end effector 9 actuable by an actuation tendon for a surgical cutting instrument 1 for robotic surgery by wire electroerosion comprises the steps reported below. Preferably, the method makes all the links of the articulated end effector 9 (e.g., an articulated cuff) of the surgical instrument 1. The method can be used to make the links of the articulated end effector 9 of a robotic non-surgical arm.

[0160] This method Providing a wire electroerosion machine 200 comprising a cutting wire (202) and a fixture 214 rotatable relative to the cutting wire about an axis of rotation FF transverse to a longitudinal extension of the cutting wire; mounting a plurality of workpieces 204, 302, 320, 350, 390 all rotating together with the fixture 214 such that a cutting wire 202 intersects at most one of the workpieces 204 at a time; Includes.

[0161] In other words, the workpieces can be processed singly, i.e. individually, by the cutting wire 202, and the workpieces are mounted in the fixture in such a configuration that avoids cutting simultaneously (for example, aligned with each other with a certain distance between two adjacent parts or arranged on a curve). The workpieces can comprise, in the two cutting planes, parts to be shaped 302, 320, 350, 390 intended to be shaped but not sharpened, and workpieces 204, 304 intended to be sharpened and shaped. The shaping parts 302, 320, 350, 390 can be, for example, cylinders mounted in the fixture 214 so as to protrude in a cantilever-like manner in a direction parallel to the rotation axis FF.

[0162] This method is sharpening at least one edge 234 of at least one workpiece 204 of the plurality of workpieces by performing a sharpening through-cut with a cutting wire 202 on the at least one workpiece 204; shaping at least some, and preferably all, of the plurality of workpieces 204, 302, 320, 350, 390 on a first cut surface by making forming through cuts with a cutting wire 202 for at least some, and preferably all, of the workpieces, one at a time; Further comprising: Between the sharpening step and the shaping step for the first cut surface, Rotating the fixture 214 about its axis of rotation FF through a sharpening rotation angle α whose absolute value is other than 90° (for which one or more of the above-mentioned considerations may apply), reshaping at least some or all of the workpieces 302, 320, 350, 390 of the plurality of workpieces on a second cut surface by making forming through cuts with a cutting wire 202 in succession, one at a time, for at least some of the workpieces of the plurality of workpieces; is further executed.

[0163] Between the shaping step at the first cut surface and the shaping step at the second cut surface, a step of rotating the jig 214 around its rotation axis FF is included. Depending on the arbitrarily selectable sequence of the sharpening step, the shaping step at the first cut surface and the shaping step at the second cut surface, as explained above, the rotation step with a rotation angle substantially equal to 90° can be operatively performed with two execution moments, one of which corresponds to a step of rotating the jig 214 around the rotation axis FF by the sharpening rotation angle α.

[0164] The arrangement of the workpieces of the plurality of workpieces on the fixture should preferably satisfy the condition that the cut wire 202 crosses at most one workpiece at a time in each step (sharpening, first forming, second forming). For example, if only one of the workpieces undergoes a sharpening step, such workpiece 204 can be placed at the edge of a row of workpieces of the plurality of workpieces.

[0165] The housing portion 217 of the fixture 214, i.e., the portion of the fixture that is rotatable relative to the fixed portion 215, in this embodiment preferably includes a number of housing seats 241 that rotate together with one another. Preferably, the housing seats 241 are aligned with one another.

[0166] According to a possible mode of operation, the shaped part and the sharpened part are assembled together. The method may therefore comprise a step of assembling together the parts obtained.

[0167] According to a possible mode of operation, the shaping and / or reshaping step comprises shaping the two workpiece parts differently. According to a possible mode of operation, the shaping step comprises shaping the two workpiece parts such that one portion of one shaped part is complementary to one portion of another shaped part.

[0168] According to a possible mode of operation, the rotating step comprises providing a rotary support table and rotating said rotary support table, which is preferably integral with at least one, preferably all, of the workpieces.

[0169] According to a possible mode of operation, the method is carried out by providing at least some of the plurality of workpieces in the form of a cylinder of material, e.g., the parts to be shaped 302, 320, 350, 390, are mounted in a fixture 214 so as to protrude in a cantilever manner, and a shaping and reshaping step forms a 90° edge on the cylinder, in other words, the shaping and reshaping step removes material from the curved side of the cylinder to form an orthogonal surface.

[0170] According to a possible mode of operation, the method includes assembling together three links of an articulated end effector, at least one of which is a link with a sharp edge 34, and the housing portion 217 of the fixture 214 includes three housing seats 241 that rotate together with one another. For example, the three links are a blade link 30 having the cutting edge 34, a blade holder link 50, and a second tip link 20 including an opposing blade surface 24.

[0171] It is also possible to obtain two links from a single workpiece. In such a case, the method allows for the assembly together of multiple links of the articulated end effector 9, at least one of the links being a link with a sharp edge 34, and the housing part 217 of the fixture 214 having at least two housing seats 241 that rotate together with each other. For example, the blade holder link 50 and the second tip link 20 can be manufactured from the same workpiece.

[0172] According to a possible mode of operation, the method involves assembling together five links of an articulated end effector 9, at least one of which is a link with a sharp edge 34, and the housing part 217 of the fixture 214 is provided with five housing seats 241 which rotate together with each other. Two links can be obtained from a single workpiece. In such a case, the method involves assembling together five links of an articulated end effector 9, at least one of which is a link with a sharp edge 34, and the housing part 217 of the fixture 214 is provided with at least two housing seats 241 which rotate together with each other.

[0173] Preferably, at least one workpiece 204 is machined with a sharpening step and one forming step, while the other workpieces 302, 320, 350, 390 are not machined with sharpening. Each workpiece is machined with two through cuts in two different cut planes, without part separation between one cut and the other. The through cuts are not the same for all parts, because at least the sharpening cut on at least one part 204 has a different inclination than both forming cuts made overall.

[0174] According to a general embodiment, a blank 250 is provided that integrally comprises a sheet-like body having a plurality of sharp-shaped bodies connected to one another by one or more breakable connecting bridges 231. Blank 250 may include any of the features described with reference to any of the previous embodiments.

[0175] The workpiece 250 may include a surface treatment 228 or may be intended to receive a surface treatment 228 .

[0176] According to a general embodiment, a fixture 214 or jig 214 for the electroerosion machine 200 is provided.

[0177] The fixture 214 or jig 214 comprises a fixed portion 215 for mounting the fixture 214 to the electroerosion machine 200 and a housing portion 217 for receiving at least one workpiece 204, the housing portion 217 being rotatable relative to the fixed portion 215 about a rotation axis FF.

[0178] Preferably, the fixture 214 further comprises a motor 218 for rotating the housing portion 217 relative to the fixed portion 215 .

[0179] The fixture 214 or jig 214 may include any of the features described with reference to any of the previous embodiments.

[0180] According to one embodiment, the housing portion 217 of the fixture 214 comprises a plurality of seats for receiving a plurality of workpieces, the seats for the plurality of workpieces being arranged such that two orthogonal lines intersect one workpiece at a time. In other words, the seats are arranged such that when a workpiece is mounted on the fixture 214, the cutting wire 202 of the electroerosion machine 200 cuts only one of the workpieces at two orthogonal cutting planes. Preferably, the seats for the plurality of workpieces are arranged such that three lines, including two orthogonal lines and a third line inclined by a sharpening angle α, intersect only one workpiece at a time. For example, the seats are arranged on the fixture 214 such that they are aligned with each other at a predetermined relative distance.

[0181] According to an embodiment shown diagrammatically in Figures 25A-25C, the fixture 214 comprises two housing parts 217, 270 rotatable individually or together with respect to a fixing 215 to the machine 200, a first housing part 217 for receiving the workpiece 204 and for making a sharpening cut and a shaping cut thereon, and a second housing part 270 for receiving both the first housing part 217 and one or more further workpiece parts 302, 320, 350 and for making two orthogonal shaping cuts thereon. Preferably, the first housing part 217 is mounted on the second housing part 270 so that it can rotate relative to the second housing part about a rotation axis FF. To obtain the rotation of the first housing part 217 and the second housing part 270, a single motor 218 can be included.

[0182] According to a general embodiment, there is provided a surgical cutting instrument 1. For example, said surgical cutting instrument 1 is a surgical scissors type instrument. For example, said surgical cutting instrument 1 is a needle driver / suture cutter type instrument.

[0183] The surgical instrument 1 preferably comprises a shaft 7 having a distal end 8 and an articulated end effector 9 (or in other words, an articulated end device 9) connected to the distal end 8 of the shaft 7.

[0184] The surgical instrument 1 is particularly suited, but not uniquely intended for, robotic surgery and may be connected to a robotic manipulator 103 with motorized actuators in a robotic surgery system 101, for example as shown in Figure 23. For example, the surgical instrument 1 may be associated with mechanical and manual controls and actuation devices.

[0185] The robotic surgical system 101 comprising said surgical instrument 1 is particularly suited for, but not exclusively intended for, robotic microsurgical operations. The robotic surgical system 101 may be intended for robotic laparoscopic surgery.

[0186] According to a preferred embodiment, the shaft 7 is a rigid shaft, although it is not necessarily a rigid shaft, for example it may be a bendable shaft and / or an articulated shaft. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, a proximal interface part 104 or a back end part 104 of the surgical instrument 1 may be provided at the proximal end 102 of the shaft 7 to form an interface with a robotic manipulator 103 of a robotic surgery system 101. A sterile barrier may be interposed between the robotic manipulator and the proximal interface part 104 of the surgical instrument. For example, the proximal interface part 104 may comprise a set of interface transmission elements for receiving drive movements applied by the robotic manipulator 103 and transmitting them to the articulated end effector 9. According to one embodiment, the surgical instrument 1 is detachably associated with the robotic manipulator 103 of the robotic surgery system 101.

[0187] The articulated end effector 9 at the distal end 8 of the shaft 7 may comprise a number of links articulated to one another at one or more revolute joints actuable by a number of antagonistic actuating tendon pairs extending from the proximal interface 104 to the inner articulated end effector 9 of the shaft 7, terminating in end seats 15, 25 on at least some of the links of the articulated end effector 9. One or more of the actuating tendons of an antagonistic tendon pair may consist of a single tendon forming a round trip path from the proximal interface 104 of the instrument to the links of the articulated end effector of the instrument.

[0188] Preferably, the term "link" refers to a body made in a single piece, i.e. a monoblock body.

[0189] Preferably, each link of the articulated end effector 9 is fabricated according to a method according to any one of the modes of operation described above.

[0190] Not all links forming an articulated end effector 9 are necessarily articulated, i.e. movable, relative to each other and / or to the distal end 8 of the shaft 7. For example, the end effector 9 may be a "roll-pitch-yaw" type articulated cuff, according to the terminology widely adopted in the art. For example, the end effector 9 may be a "snake" type articulated end effector 9, i.e. comprising multiple coplanar and / or non-planar rotational joints.

[0191] According to one embodiment, the articulated end effector 9 comprises a body having integrally one or more convex ruled generatrix of a connecting link with parallel generatrix and connected to a distal end 8 of a shaft 7. The connecting link further comprises integrally a first distal connection part. Preferably, said first distal connection part of the first connecting link comprises two protrusions and is adapted to form a proximal rotation joint with a proximal rotation axis PP. According to a preferred embodiment, all the convex ruled generatrix of the connecting links are parallel to the proximal rotation axis PP.

[0192] According to a preferred embodiment, the articulated end effector 9 comprises a support link 2 having a body articulated to the connecting links and integrally comprising one or more convex ruled surfaces of the support link 96, 98 with parallel generatrices. The support link 2 further integrally comprises a proximal connection part articulated to a first distal connection part of the first connecting link, defining a proximal rotation joint for the connecting link and the support link 2, whereby they can rotate relatively about a common proximal rotation axis PP.

[0193] The support link 2 further comprises an integral distal connection part, which preferably comprises a support structure including, for example, two protrusions 3, 4 for defining a distal rotation axis YY, i.e. for forming a distal or yaw rotation joint having a common distal or yaw axis YY that can be perpendicular to the pitch or yaw axis PP.

[0194] The support structure of the support link 2 is preferably a rigid support structure, i.e. for example a rigid support fork, and the relative positions of the protrusions 3, 4 are rigidly determined, as are the relative positions of the protrusions 3, 4 and the ruled surfaces 96, 98. According to one embodiment, the distal rotation axis YY is the yaw rotation axis YY and the proximal rotation axis PP is the pitch rotation axis PP, the yaw rotation axis YY and the pitch rotation axis PP being mutually orthogonal.

[0195] According to one embodiment, the articulated end effector 9 further comprises a blade holder link 50 articulated to the support link 2 having a body integral with a mounting root of the blade holder link 51 having a pulley portion 79 formed by one or more convex ruled surfaces 79 of the blade holder root having parallel generatrices. The blade holder link 50 integrally comprises a proximal mounting root 51 articulated to said distal rotary joint.

[0196] The articulated end effector 9 preferably includes a blade link 30 having a body with a cutting edge 34 thereon and rotating in unison with the blade holder link 50. The cutting edge 34 is adapted to perform a cutting action.

[0197] The blade link 30 is manufactured by a method according to any one of the aforementioned modes of operation.

[0198] According to one embodiment, the blade link 30 is integral with a proximal mounting root 31 articulated to said distal rotation joint. The blade link 30 is preferably integral with the mounting root 31 located side-by-side with the root 51 of the blade holder link 50, preferably the root 31 of the blade link 30 is directly adjacent and closely aligned with the root 51 of the blade holder link 50.

[0199] According to an embodiment, the body of the blade holder link 50 further comprises an integral reaction part 57, and the body of the blade holder link 30 further comprises an integral reaction part 37, which engages with said reaction part of the blade holder link 50. The reaction engagement part can be obtained by the engagement of the blade link 30 with the blade holder link 50. The reaction engagement part between the blade link 30 and the blade holder link 50 can be located distally with respect to the common rotation axis YY, i.e. distally with respect to the mounting roots 31 and 51. In such a case, the reaction engagement part 37 (or the reaction part 37) of the blade link 30 is preferably located far away from the blade link root 31 to ensure a correct reaction, even though the reaction part 37 of the blade link 30 can be located at the blade link root 31 to achieve a more favorable mechanical transmission.

[0200] According to one embodiment, the articulated end effector 9 further comprises a reaction link 20 articulated to the support link 2 and the blade holder link 50, the reaction link 20 having a body further integrally comprising a reaction link mounting root 21 having a pulley portion 80 formed by one or more convex ruled surfaces having parallel generatrices.

[0201] According to one embodiment, the group formed by the support link 2, the blade holder link 50 and the blade link 30 and the second tip are articulated to one another at a common axis of rotation YY that defines an axial direction coincident with or parallel to said common axis of rotation YY. In other words, the distal connection 17 of the support link 2 is articulated to the group formed by the root 51 of the blade holder link 50 and the root 31 of the blade link 30 and the root 21 of the reaction link 20 at said distal common axis of rotation YY. Preferably, for clarity of presentation, an axial direction coincident with or parallel to the direction of the common axis of rotation YY is defined.

[0202] Preferably, for clarity of presentation, for the blade link 30 and / or the blade holder link 50, an inner axial direction is also defined along the axial direction, facing the reaction link 20, and similarly, for the reaction link 20, the inner axial direction is opposite, i.e. facing the blade link 30 and / or the blade holder link 50.

[0203] The proximal and distal directions (or senses) are understood to refer according to the common meaning of the terms, as indicated by the arrows in FIG.

[0204] Preferably, for clarity of presentation, the term "radial" refers to a direction substantially perpendicular to and incident on the common axis of rotation YY.

[0205] Preferably, for clarity of presentation, this also means a longitudinal direction that may substantially coincide overall with the longitudinal extension direction of the surgical instrument 1, as well as a longitudinal direction that may locally coincide with the longitudinal extension direction of the elongated body of the blade link 30 and / or the blade holder link 50 and / or the reaction link 20.

[0206] According to one embodiment, the root portion 21 of the reaction link 20 and the group formed by the root portion 51 of the blade holder link 50 and the root portion 31 of the blade link 30 are articulated to the distal portion of the support link 2 about a common axis of rotation YY, defining a degree of freedom in the direction of yaw Y. The common axis of rotation YY (or a linear extension thereof) thus intersects said two lugs 3, 4 and said root portions 21, 31, 51 and can be defined by an articulation pin.

[0207] Furthermore, according to one embodiment, the root portion 21 of the further fifth reaction link 20 is articulated to the group formed by the root portion 51 of the blade holder link 50 and the root portion 31 of the blade link 30 about said common rotation axis YY to define a relative opening / closing degree of freedom G for providing a cutting action (or the cutting G degree of freedom, or the gripping G degree of freedom in the widely adopted terminology, although actuation of this degree of freedom does not necessarily result in a gripping action).

[0208] According to one embodiment, an opposing blade 24 is provided which rotates integrally with said mounting root 21 of the reaction link 20. Thus, the reaction link 20 rotates integrally with the opposing blade 24. Although the reaction link 20 is not necessarily configured integrally with the opposing blade 24, according to a preferred embodiment, the reaction link 20 includes the mounting root 21 and the opposing blade 24 as one unit.

[0209] According to one embodiment, the surgical cutting instrument 1 further comprises a first antagonistic tendon pair extending along the shaft 7 and connected to the blade holder link 50 for moving the blade link 30 about said common distal axis of rotation YY. The mounting root 51 of the blade holder link 50 integrally comprises at least a first distal seat 15 for receiving said first antagonistic tendon pair.

[0210] According to one embodiment, the surgical cutting instrument 1 further comprises a second antagonistic tendon pair extending along the shaft 7 and connected to said further reaction link 20 for moving an opposing blade 24 about said common yaw rotation axis YY. The mounting root 21 of the reaction link 20 integrally comprises at least a second distal seat 25 for receiving said second antagonistic tendon pair.

[0211] Each tendon has a main longitudinal extension and is adapted to work only in tension.

[0212] Each tendon is preferably in contact with the links 2, 20, 30, 50 of the articulated end effector 9 only on said convex ruled surfaces 79, 80, 96, 98 of at least a portion of the connecting links, the support links 2, the blade holder links 50 (particularly the root portions 51 of the blade holder links 50) and the reaction links 20 (particularly the root portions 21 of the reaction links 20). Preferably, the actuating tendons avoid contact with the blade link 30, which is resisted in rotation by the blade holder link 50.

[0213] According to one embodiment, the one or more convex ruled surfaces with parallel generatrix of the connecting links are parallel to the common proximal axis of rotation PP, and at least one of the one or more convex ruled surfaces 96, 98 with parallel generatrix of the support link 2 is parallel to the common proximal axis of rotation PP. Furthermore, the one or more convex ruled surfaces 79 of the blade holder root part 51 with parallel generatrix of the blade holder link 50 and the one or more convex ruled surfaces 80 of the pulley part of the further root part 21 with parallel generatrix of the further reaction link 20 are parallel to the common distal axis of rotation YY.

[0214] According to a further advantage, the first antagonistic tendon pair and the second antagonistic tendon pair are adapted to slide longitudinally over one or more of said convex ruled surfaces 96, 98 of the connecting link and one or more of said convex ruled surfaces 96, 98 of the supporting link 2, and are adapted to wrap / unwrap without sliding longitudinally over the respective convex ruled surfaces of the root portion 79 or 80 of the blade holder link 50 or another reaction link 20 to move the blade link 30 and the opposing blade 24 open / closed, respectively.

[0215] Thus, the longitudinal extension of the tendon is locally perpendicular to the line that creates the ruled surface with which the tendon is locally in contact.

[0216] According to one embodiment, the cutting edge 34 of the blade link 30 is adapted to abut the opposing blade 24 which rotates together with the reaction link 20 while moving the open / close degree of freedom G under mechanical interference contact to perform a cutting action.

[0217] According to an embodiment, the cutting edge 34 of the blade link 30 is elastically bendable in a direction parallel to the common distal rotation axis YY. The cutting edge 34 of the blade link 30 rotates together with the first end seat 15 for the first antagonistic tendon pair and can be elastically bent in the axial direction. Said opposing blade 24 is adapted to abut said cutting edge 34 and is adapted to elastically bend the body of the blade link 30 in the axial direction. Thus, the axial elasticity for obtaining the cutting action is at least partially provided by the elasticity of the blade part. On the other hand, the distal rotation joint 502 to which the root part 31 of the blade link 30 is articulated is axially rigid, i.e. axially rigid. That is, no elastic load is applied since relative displacements between the distal connection part 17 of the support link 2 and the root parts 21, 31, 51 of the reaction links, between the blade and the blade holder link on the distal rotation axis YY are avoided.

[0218] Thus, the cutting edge 34 of the blade link 30 and the opposing blade 24, which rotates with the reaction link 20, reach a mechanical interference contact to effect a cutting action.

[0219] The mechanical interference contact between the cutting edge 34 and the opposing blade 24, which rotates together with the reaction link 20, provides a cutting action while simultaneously bending the body of the blade link 30. The bending deformation of the body of the blade link 30 during the cutting action is directed substantially parallel to the common axis of rotation YY.

[0220] The opposing blade 24 preferably includes an axially inwardly facing surface adapted to form a mechanical interference contact abutment with the cutting edge 34 of the blade link 30 to axially bend the blade link 30. And, the reaction link 20 provides an axial reaction to the elastic bending of the blade link 30 during the cutting operation. The body of the reaction link 20 is elastically deformable.

[0221] The deformed configuration of the body of the blade link 30 when the blade link 30 and reaction link 20 are in a substantially closed configuration is maximally bent, and in any event, is more bent than the deformed configuration of the body of the blade link 30 when the blade link 30 and reaction link 20 are in a partially closed and partially open configuration. Preferably, but not necessarily, when the opening angle is maximally open and the blade is free, the cutting edge 34 is straight and the body of the blade link 30 has a substantially planar configuration.

[0222] At least one contact point between the cutting edge 34 and the opposing blade 24 preferably changes position and / or size as a function of the opening angle of the open / close degree of freedom G, and preferably tends to move in the distal direction as the opening angle decreases, thereby enhancing bending due to elastic deformation of the body of the blade link 30.

[0223] "Contact point" is preferably meant to refer to the distal-most portion of the contact area between the cutting edge 34 and the opposing blade 24, although the contact area may resemble a point in some configurations of the embodiment.

[0224] As previously mentioned, the cutting edge 34 may be sharpened, i.e., sharpened to have a locally reduced thickness relative to the thickness of the body of the blade portion 14 and / or a sharp shape in its cross section.

[0225] During a cutting operation, the blade surface 35 of the blade link 30 can come into contact, at least in part, with the opposing blade 24 which rotates together with the reaction link 20, exchanging frictional forces substantially directed in the opening / closing direction G.

[0226] According to a preferred embodiment, said opposing blade 24, which rotates together with the reaction link 20, protrudes axially to bend the body of the blade link 30. Providing such opposing blade 24, which rotates together with the reaction link 20 and protrudes, allows it to abut against the cutting edge 34 of the blade link 30 and to bend the body of the blade link 30. According to one embodiment, the protrusion of the opposing blade 24 is strengthened in the distal direction along the longitudinal extension of the body of the reaction link 20.

[0227] According to one embodiment, said opposing blade 24, which rotates together with the reaction link 20, comprises a curved protruding surface having an axially inwardly facing concave surface, whereby the protrusion of the opposing blade 24 is provided by its curvature with an axially inwardly facing concave surface.

[0228] According to one embodiment, the opposing blade 24, which rotates together with the reaction link 20, protrudes towards the rotation footprint of the blade link 30 so as to elastically bend the body of the blade link 30 when the opposing blade 24 is in mechanical interference contact with the cutting edge 34. In other words, the opposing blade 24 protrudes axially inwards. According to one embodiment, said protrusion of the opposing blade 24 is intensified towards the distal direction along the longitudinal extension of the reaction link 20, i.e. away from the common axis of rotation YY, and preferably said protrusion is maximum near or at the distal end 32 of the body of the blade link 30.

[0229] Preferably, the term "close rotational footprint" is meant to indicate the volume of space that can be occupied by the body of the element during the relative rotational movement of the closure of the gripping degree of freedom G.

[0230] According to one embodiment, an opposed blade link 40 is provided which integrally comprises said opposed blade 24, and which rotates together with the reaction link 20. Preferably, the opposed blade link 40 integrally comprises a proximal mounting root 41, said opposed blade 24 and a constrained distal end 42, and the reaction link 20 integrally comprises a root 21 and a distal free end, and the root 41 of the opposed blade link 40 and the root 21 of the reaction link 20 are aligned and in direct contact with each other. When said opposed blade link 40 is provided, the group formed by the root 51 of the blade holder link 50, the root 31 of the blade link 30, the root 41 of the opposed blade link 40 and the root 21 of the reaction link 20 are entirely interposed between the two protrusions 3, 4 of the distal connection part of the support link 2 and in direct contact with them.

[0231] The opposed blade link 40 may be produced by sharpening and forming steps, in this case with a cutting edge 34 , and may be produced from a workpiece 204 .

[0232] According to one embodiment, the opposed blade link 40 includes a reaction force engagement portion 47 that engages a reaction force engagement portion 67 of the reaction link 20 to cause the opposed blade link 40 and the reaction link 20 to rotate together.

[0233] The blade surface 35 is not necessarily a flat portion, i.e., lying on a plane, but may be a curved or arched portion, but according to one embodiment is a flat portion.

[0234] According to one embodiment, the body of the blade link 30 has a two-dimensional main extension, i.e., disposed on a preferably flat or arched lying surface, and has a substantially reduced thickness relative to the extension of said preferably flat or arched lying surface.

[0235] According to one embodiment, the cutting edge 34 is substantially straight, preferably with a flat or arcuate lying surface, to avoid providing a concave surface in the lying surface of the body of the blade link 30 .

[0236] Preferably, the thickness of the blade link 30 is significantly smaller than the thickness of the mounting root 51 of the blade holder link 50 and the mounting root 21 of the reaction link 20, and the body of the blade link 30 is selected so that it is elastically bendable in a direction transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cutting edge 34, in particular in the thickness direction of the blade link 30, when in the operating state. In particular, the body of the blade link 30 is preferably more bendable than the body of the reaction link 20 and is preferably more flexible than the body of the opposing blade 24. The flexibility of the blade link 30, and therefore the flexibility of the cutting edge 34, is intended in the direction of its thickness, i.e. in a direction perpendicular to the lying surface, whether the blade link 30 is flat or arched. For example, the blade link 30 has an arched, i.e. concave, shape with a concave surface facing out of / into the lying surface, in such a case the lying surface of the body of the blade link 30 is an arched surface, similar to the blade surface 35.

[0237] The body of the blade link 30, and thus the cutting edge 34, is not necessarily elastically deformable in the lying plane, i.e., it does not necessarily provide bendability perpendicular to its thickness.

[0238] The ratio between the thickness of the body of the blade link 30 at the height of the blade portion 14 and the thickness of the root portion 51 of the link 50 and / or the thickness of the second root portion 21 of the reaction link 20 (excluding in this evaluation the thickness of the cutting edge 34, which is preferably sharp as mentioned above) may be between 1 / 5 and 1 / 20. In absolute values, the thickness of the blade link 30 may be between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm, and according to one embodiment the thickness of the blade link 30 is substantially equal to 0.2 mm.

[0239] As mentioned above, the blade link 30 rotates together with the blade holder link 50. This causes the cutting edge 34 to rotate together with the body of the blade holder link 50 and / or the distal free end, which may be formed by the body of the blade link 30. If the free end is formed by the body of the blade link 30, it may coincide with the distal end 32 of the blade link 30. Being elastically flexible, the cutting edge 34 can be elastically deformed with respect to the blade holder link 50, with which it is integral in rotation, when in an operating state. The elastic deformation of the cutting edge 34 preferably occurs transversely to the longitudinal extension of the body of the blade holder link 50, i.e., transversely to the direction of joining the proximal mounting root 51 and the free end, which rotates together with the cutting edge 34, in other words, in the thickness direction of the body of the blade link 30.

[0240] According to one embodiment, the blade link 30 is substantially straight when in an undeformed configuration, i.e., when lying on a definable lying plane, and elastic bending of the blade link 30 tends to return the blade portion 14 to said undeformed configuration.

[0241] The cutting edge 34 can be aligned with the longitudinal extension direction XX of the shaft 7 in at least one operating configuration, for example when the shaft 7 is a straight, rigid shaft and the cutting edge 34 is not in contact with the protruding portion of the opposing blade 24.

[0242] According to one embodiment, said counter blade 24 is curved, so that it protrudes due to its arch shape. The concave surface of the counter blade 24 preferably faces axially and inwards, i.e. in a direction parallel to the common axis of rotation YY and facing the rotation footprint of the cutting edge 34.

[0243] The opposing blade 24 can act as a wedge to appropriately bend the cutting edge 34 and the body of the blade link 30 to provide a cutting action substantially along the entire longitudinal extension of the opposing blade 24 .

[0244] As previously mentioned, the support link 2 is formed by wire electroerosion starting from a workpiece 302 with two shaped cuts on mutually orthogonal planes, the blade holder link 50 is also formed by wire electroerosion starting from a workpiece 350 with two shaped cuts on mutually orthogonal planes, and the reaction link 20 is also formed by wire electroerosion starting from a workpiece 320 with two shaped cuts on mutually orthogonal planes. The connecting link to the shaft, if present, can also be formed by wire electroerosion starting from a workpiece 390 with two shaped cuts on mutually orthogonal planes. Alternatively, the blade link 30 is made by wire electroerosion starting from a workpiece 204 with two cuts on non-orthogonal planes, one of which is a sharpening cut.

[0245] According to one embodiment, all of the links of the articulating end effector are made by wire electroerosion and assembled together.

[0246] According to a general embodiment, there is provided a robotic surgical system 101 comprising at least one surgical instrument 1 according to any one of the previous embodiments. The robotic surgical system 101 is thus capable of performing surgical or microsurgical procedures including cutting of biological tissue and / or cutting of sutures.

[0247] According to one embodiment, the robotic surgery system 101 comprises at least two surgical instruments, at least one of which is a surgical instrument 1 according to any one of the previous embodiments, and the other surgical instrument can be a needle driver type surgical instrument or a dilator type surgical instrument, but according to one embodiment, both surgical instruments are surgical instruments 1 according to any one of the previous embodiments, and not necessarily identical to each other. For example, one surgical instrument of the at least two surgical instruments can be a surgical scissor type surgical instrument, and the other surgical instrument of the at least two surgical instruments can be a needle driver / scissor type surgical instrument.

[0248] The robotic surgery system 101 preferably comprises at least one robotic manipulator 103, to which at least one surgical instrument 1 is operatively connected. For example, a sterile surgical barrier (not shown), such as, for example, a sterile surgical drape, is interposed between the at least one robotic manipulator 103 and a back end 104 of the at least one surgical instrument 1. The robotic manipulator 103 may comprise motorized actuators for stressing the actuation tendons of the pitch P, yaw Y and gripping degrees of freedom G, i.e., for gripping and cutting the surgical instrument 1, and for rotating the surgical instrument 1 around a shaft 7, which defines a rolling degree of freedom. The robotic surgery system 101 may comprise a support 106 (cart or tower), for example, with wheels or other ground-contact units, and an articulated positioning arm 105, for example, manually movable, i.e., passive, extending between the support 106 and the at least one robotic manipulator 103. According to one embodiment, the robotic surgery system 101 comprises at least one master console 107 for controlling at least one surgical instrument 1, preferably a respective robotic manipulator 103, according to a master-slave architecture, and preferably the robotic surgery system 101 further comprises a control unit operatively connected to the master console 107 and to the robotic manipulator 103 for determining the tracking of the surgical instrument 1 relative to the at least one master control device 108 of the master console 107. According to one embodiment, the master console 107 comprises at least one master control device 108 that is untethered, i.e. mechanically decoupled from the ground, and a tracking system, e.g. optical and / or magnetic.

[0249] According to a general embodiment, the manufacturing method by electroerosion according to any one of the aforementioned operating modes results in one or more sharp bodies that are not necessarily intended to perform a cutting operation when in an operating state.

[0250] Furthermore, the sharp bodies produced by the manufacturing method are not necessarily intended for use in the medical field.

[0251] According to the mode of operation, the sharp body produced by the manufacturing method is intended for use in one or more of the following technical fields: watchmaking, jewellery, costume jewellery, precision mechanics, electronics, nanotechnology. The sharpening can have a cutting and / or aerodynamic and / or electrical and / or electromagnetic and / or thermal and / or aesthetic function. For example, clock hands with sharp edges can be produced in this way. For example, they can be produced with micro-antennas with sharp edges.

[0252] It will be fully understood that any combination of features, structures, or functions disclosed in one or more of the appended claims forms an integral part of this specification.

[0253] The above features, provided separately or in combination with one another in certain embodiments and modes of operation, may fulfill the above-mentioned needs and may include the above-mentioned advantages, in particular the following advantages:

[0254] -It allows for an excellent surface finish to be obtained on the walls made by through cuts by Wire Electro-Erosion (WEDM), which helps facilitate product miniaturization in the manufacturing process.

[0255] - Two non-orthogonal cuts are made to simultaneously shape and sharpen the same workpiece, avoiding repositioning of the machined part and thus further improving the finish.

[0256] - "No back bevel" or "chisel edge" type sharpening allows for one or more passes of the cutting edge along a single sharpening cut path.

[0257] - makes it possible to produce sharp elastic bodies, e.g. blades;

[0258] It is possible to produce multiple sharp bodies from a single workpiece, e.g. multiple blades, with a single successive cutting action.

[0259] The rotation angle of the fixture from the sharpening step to the shaping step or vice versa is different from 90°.

[0260] - if two shaping steps are provided, the angle of rotation of the fixture from the shaping step to the re-shaping step is substantially 90°.

[0261] The shaping step may include leaving bridges of material intact to create a semi-finished product 250.

[0262] A coating step can be performed on the workpiece 250 after the sharpening step has been performed and / or on the workpiece 204 before the sharpening step has been performed.

[0263] The forming step may include separating the sharp body from the workpiece.

[0264] To meet specific contingency needs, those skilled in the art can make some modifications and adaptations to the above-described embodiments and replace elements with other functionally equivalent ones without departing from the scope of the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0265] 1 surgical cutting instruments 2 Support Links 3 Support link protrusion 4 Support link protrusion 9 Articulated end effector for surgical cutting instrument 15 Blade holder link end seat 20 Reaction Links 21 Reaction link base 24 Opposed Blades 25 Reaction link end seat 30 Sharp body, blade, or blade link 31 Root of blade link 32 Distal end 34 Sharp Edges 36 Hole edge or hole edge 37 Blade link drag section 39 Radial cut channel 40 Opposed Blade Link 41 Root of opposing blade link 42 distal opposing blade link end 47 opposing blade link reaction section 50 Blade holder link 51 Blade holder link base 57 Blade holder link drag part 67 Reaction link reaction part 79 Convex ruled surface of blade holder link pulley 80 Reaction link pulley part convex line ruled surface 96 Convex ruled surface of support link 98 Convex ruled surface of support link 200 Wire Electroerosion Machine 202 Cut Wire 204 Processed parts 205 Workpiece flap or edge 206 Lower head of electric erosion machine 207 Upper head of electric erosion machine 208 Electric Erosion Machine Tank 209 Electric Erosion Machine Reel 210 Thickness of the workpiece 211 Pipeline 212 Pump 213 Nozzle 214 Jigs or fixtures 215 Jig fixing part 216 Electric Erosion Machine Bracket 217 First rotating part that accommodates the jig 218 Motors for jigs or fixtures 219 Fixed elements 220 Jig stroke end 221 Flow straightening fixture surface 222 Flow straightening fixture surface 223 Cut wall of processed part 224 Back side of the processed part 225 Surface of the workpiece 228 Surface treatment, e.g. coating and / or heat treatment 229 Calibration Reference Point 230 Formed cut trajectory or path 231 Connecting Bridge 232 Starting point of form cut trajectory or route path 233 End of form cut trajectory or route path 234 Edges of workpieces to be sharpened 235 Start of sharpening cut trajectory or route path 236 End point of sharpening cut trajectory or route path 238 External Cutting Profile Section 239 Cutting Profile Notch 240 Sharpening cut trajectory or path 241 Longitudinal slot in fixture housing 242 Control Systems 243 Bowl 250 semi-finished products 260 Press 264 Pressing hammer 262 Pressing Anvil 270 Second rotating part for accommodating a jig 302 Parts to be molded 304 Second workpiece to be sharpened 320 Parts to be molded 350 Parts to be molded 390 Parts to be molded FF jig rotation axis XX Longitudinal shaft direction α Sharpening rotation angle β Acute angle of sharp edge W Cut wire feed direction or cutting direction

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing one or more sharp bodies by wire electrical erosion, comprising: providing a wire electrical erosion machine (200) comprising a cut wire (202) and a fixture (214) rotatable relative to the cut wire (202) about a rotation axis (F-F) transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cut wire (202); attaching at least one workpiece (204) to the fixture (214); a sharpening step of sharpening at least one edge (234) to be sharpened of at least one workpiece (204) by performing a sharpening through-cut with the cut wire (202) on at least one workpiece (204); a shaping step of shaping at least one workpiece (204) by performing a shaping through-cut with the cut wire (202) on at least one workpiece (204); including between the sharpening step and the shaping step, a rotation step of rotating the fixture (214) by a sharpening rotation angle (α) other than 90° around the rotation axis (F-F) is further performed. Method.

2. One or more of the sharp bodies comprise one or more surgical blades (30), The method is a method for manufacturing one or more surgical blades by wire electrical erosion. The method according to claim 1.

3. The method forms a plurality of sharp bodies in one workpiece (204), The sharpening step and the shaping step are the same for all of the plurality of sharp bodies. The method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The sharpening step is performed along a single sharpening cut track (240) of the cut wire (202), The shaping step is performed along a single shaping cut track (230) of the cut wire (202). The method according to claim 1.

5. The sharpening rotation angle (α) is an acute angle, Preferably, the sharpening rotation angle (α) is in the range of 20° - 70°, Even more preferably, the sharpening rotation angle (α) is in the range of 30° - 60°. The method according to claim 1.

6. The sharpening step is performed first, then the rotation step is performed, and then the shaping step is performed. The method according to claim 1.

7. The forming through-cut of the forming step intersects at least a part of the sharp edge (34). The method according to claim 6.

8. The forming step includes separating the sharp body by the forming through-cut. Preferably, the method further includes a collecting step of collecting the separate sharp bodies into a collecting basket (243) by gravity. The method according to claim 6 or 7.

9. At least one of the workpieces (204) includes a plate-like body having a thickness (210). The sharpening step and the forming step each form a through-cut that penetrates the thickness of the plate-like body of at least one of the workpieces (204). The method according to claim 1.

10. The workpiece (204) is a plate-like body having a thickness (210) in the range of 0.05 mm - 0.5 mm. Preferably, at least one of the workpieces (204) comprises an elastic body that can be elastically deformed by bending. The method according to claim 1.

11. The sharp edge (34) of the sharp body is a curved edge, for example, a concave and / or convex portion in the plane where the sharp body lies. The method according to claim 1.

12. The forming step includes forming at least one hole edge (36) on the workpiece (204). The hole edge (36) defines a through-hole that penetrates the thickness of the sharp body. The method according to claim 1.

13. After the forming step, The method further includes a reshaping step of reshaping the workpiece on a second cut surface and performing a second forming through-cut on at least one of the workpieces (204) by the cutting wire (202). Between the forming step and the reshaping step, Preferably, a rotating step of rotating the fixture (214) by a forming angle substantially equal to 90° is further performed. The sharpening step is preferably performed before the forming step, and / or The sharpening step is performed between the forming step and the reshaping step. The method according to claim 1.

14. The attaching step includes attaching a plurality of workpieces to the fixture (214). The sharpening step and the forming step include sharpening and forming each of the plurality of workpieces individually. The method according to claim 1.

15. The attaching step includes attaching at least a second workpiece (304) to the fixture (214) to obtain at least two workpieces (204, 304) attached to the same fixture (214). The method further includes a sharpening step of sharpening at least one edge to be sharpened of the second workpiece (304). Between the sharpening step of sharpening at least one edge to be sharpened of at least the first workpiece (204) and the sharpening step of sharpening at least one edge to be sharpened of the second workpiece (304), it includes a further step of rotating at least a part of the fixture (214). The method according to claim 1.

16. further includes a step of zero-adjusting and calibrating the wire electrical erosion machine (200), and this step includes an identifying step of identifying a reference point (229) of a cutting path or orbit, and an approaching step of approaching the cutting wire to the reference point before the sharpening step. including Preferably, the reference point (229) belongs to an edge (234) to be sharpened of the workpiece (204). The method according to claim 1.

17. The identifying step includes identifying a single starting point (232, 235) that functions as the origin of both the sharpening cutting path (240) and the forming cutting path (230). The approaching step includes approaching the cutting wire to the single origin in both the preparation of the sharpening step and the preparation of the forming step. Preferably, the single starting point (232, 235) has a predetermined geometric relationship with the reference point (229). The method according to claim 1.

18. Between the identifying step and the sharpening step and / or the forming step, a rotation by a specific angle that is an acute angle along the rotation axis (F - F) is performed. The method according to claim 16 or 17.

19. The sharpening through cut is performed by repeatedly passing the cutting wire (202) a plurality of times along the same sharpening cutting path (240). The number of times of the plurality of repeated passes of the cutting wire (202) for performing the sharpening through cut is more than the number of passes performed for performing the forming through cut. The method according to claim 1.

20. A semi-finished product (250) comprising a single-piece plate-like body having a plurality of sharp bodies formed and connected to each other by one or more connecting bridges (231), wherein the plate-like body of the semi-finished product (250) comprises an edge portion including a plurality of sharp edge portions (34), semi-finished product (250).

21. A fixture (214) for an electric erosion machine (200), a fixing portion (215) for attaching the fixture (214) to the electric erosion machine (200), and a housing portion (217) for receiving at least one workpiece (204), comprising, wherein the housing portion (217) is rotatable relative to the fixing portion (215) about a rotation axis (F-F), fixture (214).

22. The fixture (214) according to claim 21, further comprising a motor (218) for rotating the housing portion (217) relative to the fixing portion (215). The fixture (214) according to claim 21.

23. Comprising a plurality of housing seats (241) for receiving a plurality of workpieces, wherein the housing seats are arranged so as not to overlap in two directions on the same plane where they are incident on each other, The fixture (214) according to claim 21 or 22.

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