A device and method for situating pipette or dispenser tips in a system for manipulating liquid samples, has a robot manipulator for orienting the tips relative to sample containers, drives for moving the robot manipulator and processors for controlling movements and actions of the robot manipulator and/or the tips. At least two tips are situated at an axial distance from each another, on at least two blocks on an arm of the robot manipulator. The axial distance corresponds to a grid spacing of wells of a microplate. At least one of the blocks is individually movable in an X direction and in a Y direction. The method allows time-saving pipetting over of liquid samples between diverse sample containers, such as between sample tubes and microplates having 24, 96, 384, or 1536 wells.