Distally replaceable cable systems in surgical tools

A surgical tool, comprising:

• an elongate shaft;
• an end effector arranged at a distal end of the shaft;
• and
• a wrist that interposes the end effector and the distal end of the shaft, the wrist including:
• a proximal clevis included at the distal end of the shaft;
• a pair of pivot discs removably coupled to the proximal clevis;
• a distal wrist axle extending through the pair of pivot discs;
• a distal plurality of pulleys mounted the distal wrist axle;
• and
• a proximal plurality of pulleys mounted to the proximal clevis at a proximal wrist axle and offset from the distal plurality of pulleys,
• wherein removing the pair of pivot discs from the proximal clevis frees the distal wrist axle and thereby allows a distance between the proximal and distal pluralities of pulleys to be adjusted.

A method of adjusting a surgical tool, comprising:

• providing a surgical tool having an end effector arranged at a distal end of an elongate shaft, and a wrist that interposes the end effector and the distal end, the wrist including:
• a proximal clevis included at the distal end of the shaft;
• a pair of pivot discs movably coupled to the proximal clevis;
• a distal wrist axle extending through the pair of pivot discs;
• a distal plurality of pulleys mounted to the distal wrist axle;
• and
• a proximal plurality of pulleys mounted to the proximal clevis at a proximal wrist axle and offset from the distal plurality of pulleys;
• and
• moving the pair of pivot discs and thereby allowing a distance between the proximal and distal pluralities of pulleys to be adjusted.