This design aims:
- to reduce mechanical stresses in the system by increasing the points of contact
- to offer a more compact alternative to current designs
- to be fabricated entirely from either 3D printed parts OR a CNC machine. The notion is that whatever fabrication method you have, you should be able to churn these out. The only stock parts it depends on are bolts used as joint pins, which are easily accessible from hardware depots.

The mechanism is based on an iris mechanism - I'm working on rendering an animation of it in action, but fusion 360 isn't complying...

This is a concept design, and unfortunately I lack the means to test/prove it. I have limited experience with 3D printing and CNC machining, so would love to hear feedback about the feasibility of this. Any comments/suggestions/criticisms that can help with future developments are welcome! This is early days, and just a thought that might help with giving someone else an idea that might help..