[roystur44]

Make a y bracket and attach to frame to lock in the gripper when it is in the down position picking up a tube. In the event of a hit on the gripper from another robot the bracket will off load the forces from the upper axle down low to the floor preventing your arm from being bent.

Clean up and label your wiring. Invest in a crimper and some Molex connectors.

Keep the CG as low as possible and try to maintain a balance design.

When selecting your gearing try to use paired ratios in your transmissions so you can easily change gear ratios to make your mechanism slower/faster