Bent tubular shaft and method for producing the same

A method for producing a bent tubular shaft for a tubular shaft instrument comprising:

• providing a hollow shaft component,
• providing an actuating rod, wherein the actuating rod has at least one bending area in which flexible segments and support segments alternate,
• providing the at least one bending area of the actuating rod with a friction-reducing layer, inserting the actuating rod into the hollow shaft component in order to create a tubular shaft, and
• bending of the tubular shaft in an area that corresponds to the at least one bending area of the actuating rod, including grasping the tubular shaft in an area located outside the at least one bending area of the actuating rod,
• wherein the at least one bending area of the actuating rod is produced, in which flexible segments are formed on a cylindrical rod by removing material from the rod, and support elements are formed, in which the original diameter of the cylindrical rod is essentially retained in at least one transverse direction at these sections, and
• wherein the flexible segments are formed as cylindrical sections having a smaller cross-sectional area than the rod outside the at least one bending area, and wherein the support segments are formed essentially spherical and have a maximum diameter that essentially corresponds to the diameter of the cylindrical rod outside the at least one bending area, wherein two adjacent support segments are connected by a flexible section.