First BW Build (Orchid Mantis)

[R9000]

Looks good! I'm a beginner too, currently building my first featherweight, so probably take stuff I say with a pinch of salt. I'd expect you'd want some kind of little linear actuator for the claw, depending on how much force you want out of the end. Although obviously as a beetleweight, you're gonna want to keep the weight down. Was it just a gripper you wanted, or is it meant to crush as well? Obviously, that'll affect what you need to make it out of and power it with. In any case, you'll want to make the arm pretty solid if you're going in with spinners, I've seen even beetleweight spinners can be quite nasty, and you don't want it getting torn off or bent straight away.

You could definitely hinge the wedge, I know quite a few 'bots do. But you'd obviously have to redesign it a little, and be careful of getting stuck on things if the floor isn't perfectly flat. Also, did you check that the TX/RX failsafes on all channels? That's an important requirement.

Best of luck, there are probably a good many others who can give more valid advice than I.

[Lemonism]

Thanks!
I was just looking at making this a gripper, working on the assumption that a crusher would be quite a lot more challenging for a newbie. To that end I want enough grip to keep an opponent on the dustpan, but I don't need enough force to crush.
I've not checked those failsafes, so I'll have to look and see exactly what that involves.