Locking bars and arming up!

The main argument is that when locking up you still have an unprotected moving object (the ram). Effectively the robot still moves and is considered dangerous. The opponents to this view suggest turning bottles on slowly to visualise the problem.

The alternative view which i share is that whilst locking down should be the preferred option, there are some designs where for many reasons it is unsafe to do so. For example the ram being more powerful than the chassis holding the robot together, thus any misfire could potentially rip the robot apart (i have seen this happen). Opponents to this view suggest better design.

Edit: Jamie below is also right in that people prefer to not touch the robot after the locking bar is removed. This i agree with.

I believe it's the risk of the flipper blade dropping down and injuring someone. Could be other reasons though, pneumatics isn't something I deal with.

Right oh, cheers for that. Stress testing from a distance might be key here!

Slowely pressurizing good pneumatic setups should be mandatory.

I quite agree!

Pressurizing bad pneumatic setups is rather Darwinist.