This printable design allows you to twist knobs and move a manipulator hand in the x, y, and z directions. The manipulator can be very helpful to actuate mechanisms otherwise difficult to manipulate at a macro level.

We modified this design from backyard brains in the process of making the smallest Nerf blasters with Mark Rober. We needed a way to actuate the blasters (to learn more view his video or go to print the large scale version here). Because the blaster is smaller than an ant and the trigger is even smaller, we needed to create a mechanism that would allow us to move and manipulate the blaster microscopically.

See our related article in Nature Communications.