How does the 3D maneuver gear work?


In _Shingeki no Kyojin_ , the soldiers use the 3D maneuver gear to attack the
Titans and cut the back of their necks. In the last episodes, I have seen that
they use a balloon of gas as the power to release the chains to climb the
walls and trees. How does this exactly work? Is the gas the only power supply
to release the chains?




There's several components to the 3D gear that are separate and operate
independently. Not all aspects of the mechanics have been revealed in
intricate detail, but there is a pretty good idea of the overall operation.

The short answer is that, yes, it is essentially all gas-powered. The trigger
causes the gas to shoot the wire out, and a gas compression is also what
shortens the wire to pull the device's user forward.

# Operating device

The operating device is what the user holds (where the triggers are located).
The mechanics of this are not known, and are described as being a [black
box](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlackBox).[{2}](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/5/5d/Three-
Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt2.jpg) Use of this component is what
allows the others to function.

# Grapple piston

Once the user pulls a trigger, it activates a
piston[{4}](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piston) within the main device. This
piston uses a quick spurt of compressed gas to fire forward the grapple hook
toward its target.{nt.1} No other power source is necessary for this to happen
due to the intense compression release from the piston.

# Propulsion

The user's grapple hooks fire from a
coil[{1}](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/a/a1/Three-
Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt1.jpg) which is located in the device
itself. When the user wishes to move forward, their gear must quickly pull the
cable back into the device. This is done via a fan
mechanism[{3}](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/7/71/Three-
Dimensional_Maneuver_Gear_pt3.jpg) that is also gas-powered. Basically, when
the user wants to wind back up, the compressed gas blows into the fan,
spinning it rapidly and coiling the wire back up, pulling the user forward.

[![Currently Disclosable Information, Episode 8, card
2](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EvuNh.jpg)](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/5/5d/Three-
Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt2.jpg)

# References and reading

  1. [Episode 8, card 1](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/a/a1/Three-Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt1.jpg)
  2. [Episode 8, card 2](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/5/5d/Three-Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt2.jpg)
  3. [Episode 9, card 1](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/7/71/Three-Dimensional_Maneuver_Gear_pt3.jpg)
  4. [Piston at Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piston)
  5. [3D maneuver gear at the _Shingeki no Kyojin_ Wiki](http://shingekinokyojin.wikia.com/wiki/Three_Dimensional_Maneuver_Gear)
  6. Note 1: Episode 8's second _currently disclosable information_ states that the gas is "compressed ... and injected"[{2}](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/5/5d/Three-Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt2.jpg), but this appears to be a grammatical error; see comments below.




There's several components to the 3D gear that are separate and operate
independently. Not all aspects of the mechanics have been revealed in
intricate detail, but there is a pretty good idea of the overall operation.

The short answer is that, yes, it is essentially all gas-powered. The trigger
causes the gas to shoot the wire out, and a gas compression is also what
shortens the wire to pull the device's user forward.

# Operating device

The operating device is what the user holds (where the triggers are located).
The mechanics of this are not known, and are described as being a [black
box](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlackBox).[{2}](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/5/5d/Three-
Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt2.jpg) Use of this component is what
allows the others to function.

# Grapple piston

Once the user pulls a trigger, it activates a
piston[{4}](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piston) within the main device. This
piston uses a quick spurt of compressed gas to fire forward the grapple hook
toward its target.{nt.1} No other power source is necessary for this to happen
due to the intense compression release from the piston.

# Propulsion

The user's grapple hooks fire from a
coil[{1}](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/a/a1/Three-
Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt1.jpg) which is located in the device
itself. When the user wishes to move forward, their gear must quickly pull the
cable back into the device. This is done via a fan
mechanism[{3}](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/7/71/Three-
Dimensional_Maneuver_Gear_pt3.jpg) that is also gas-powered. Basically, when
the user wants to wind back up, the compressed gas blows into the fan,
spinning it rapidly and coiling the wire back up, pulling the user forward.

[![Currently Disclosable Information, Episode 8, card
2](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EvuNh.jpg)](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/5/5d/Three-
Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt2.jpg)

# References and reading

  1. [Episode 8, card 1](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/a/a1/Three-Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt1.jpg)
  2. [Episode 8, card 2](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/5/5d/Three-Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt2.jpg)
  3. [Episode 9, card 1](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/7/71/Three-Dimensional_Maneuver_Gear_pt3.jpg)
  4. [Piston at Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piston)
  5. [3D maneuver gear at the _Shingeki no Kyojin_ Wiki](http://shingekinokyojin.wikia.com/wiki/Three_Dimensional_Maneuver_Gear)
  6. Note 1: Episode 8's second _currently disclosable information_ states that the gas is "compressed ... and injected"[{2}](http://images.wikia.com/shingekinokyojin/images/5/5d/Three-Dimensional_Maneuver_Device_Mechanics_pt2.jpg), but this appears to be a grammatical error; see comments below.

