Magnatomic gripping surfaces were a specialized type of panel designed to provide enhanced grip. These panels were integrated into the palms and inner hand areas of super tactical droids. This design allowed them to effortlessly grasp and use most weapons, tools, and equipment intended for use by organic beings, preventing accidental drops. In addition, Phase I clone trooper armor utilized magnatomic grip panels to securely attach the plastoid-alloy armor plates to the body glove worn underneath.
During the Clone Wars, a period of conflict involving the Separatists against the Galactic Republic, clone troopers of the Republic wore phase I armor that incorporated twenty custom-fitted plastoid-alloy composite plates. These plates were affixed to a temperature-regulating body glove through the use of magnatomic gription panels.
Furthermore, magnatomic grip panels were a key feature in the palms and inner surfaces of the hands of super tactical droids belonging to the Separatists. These advanced panels allowed the droids to easily handle and operate a wide variety of weapons, tools, and equipment designed for organic users, ensuring a firm hold. These panels were among the many enhancements made to the armor and limbs of super tactical droids compared to their T-series predecessors. Notable super tactical droids like General Kalani and Commander Aut-O leveraged their grip panels to wield E-5 blaster rifles with greater effectiveness than the T-series models. These grip panels also enabled the super tactical droids to hold other droids, such as a buzz droid, like one droid who commanded a hijacked Venator-class Star Destroyer, sentient beings, such as the Zilkin Colonel Meebur Gascon, who was briefly held by Aut-O, as well as equipment such a datapad, which one droid who worked under Admiral Trench during the Battle of Anaxes held in its hands.
Aut-O utilized his grip panels during hand-to-hand combat against Gascon, R2-D2, and D-Squad. Similarly, the Carida super tactical droid and Kraken employed their grip panels in hand-to-hand engagements with R2-D2 and Anakin Skywalker, respectively.
Seventeen years following the official end of the Clone Wars, in 2 BBY, Kalani used his grip panels during the last battle of the Clone War to hold Clone Captain Rex's helmet after his forces captured Rex and the Spectres Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, and Garazeb Orrelios on the planet Agamar. Later in the mission, Kalani once again wielded an E-5 blaster rifle using his magnatomic grips, but Rex destroyed the blaster.
Within the established Star Wars canon, the initial appearance of magnatomic grip panels was in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, where they were shown attached to the body gloves of phase I clone armor. The "Droid Directory" section of the fifty-first issue of the Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 magazine, published by De Agostini in January 2018, was the first instance in which the grip panels were explicitly named. Within the Star Wars Legends continuity, gription panels, which were synonymous with magnatomic grip panels, served to secure the armor plating of clone troopers to their respective body gloves. Their first appearance was in the 2004 novel Republic Commando: Hard Contact, authored by Karen Traviss.