Manipulator end effector apparatus equipped with sensing capabilities attached to the manipulator arm for location of tubing or filamentary bodies is provided. The end effector picks up tubing with vacuum assisted bellows and presents it to the open jaws of two hooks in between a pair of rubber covered wheels. The rubber covered wheels rotate to advance the tubing to a work piece for insertion, assembly, testing, or inspection. If the tubing is clamped at the distal end, transfer to another section of the working surface is accomplished by simple sliding through the hooks while suitable guided by a robot arm. In another separate arrangement, a static manipulator fixed to the working surface is used to move the tubing longitudinally, or rotated on its axis for similar manufacturing or inspection steps.