Let's consider three ingredients: 

• 1 x 8 grade student, 
• SW for Makers 
• CyberBrick

Mix well, bake and serve this:
https://youtu.be/wxbHR4YOj8A

This project grew out of a grade 8 school assignment where my son needed to research and design different mechanisms. What better way to learn than by combining SOLIDWORKS with hands-on making?
He started by printing, assembling, and programming the Official CyberBrick Forklift, which gave him a good start in evaluating a mechanical design combined with robotics.
His first custom add‑on was the Carpet Ram attachment, a simple but effective tool, though not a true mechanism.
The next challenge was to design something that moves and acts, a mechanism with purpose. Inspired by real-world forklifts that handle barrels and containers, he created this Gripper Attachment, using the 180 degree angle servo that comes with the Ultimate hardware kit.

Initially he was thinking of using just two gears with a 1:1 ratio, but that generated jerky movement. The gripper would close too fast, sometimes knocking the objects out of its reach.
That was great as a learning moment, because it force him to learn about reducers. He needed to reduce the speed by half and this is what he did in the end, by adding a first stage of 2:1 gear ratio followed by a 1:1 ratio for the fingers of the gripper.

The tinkering that took place for finding the right clearances was spectacular. He kept modeling, printing, failing, adjusting, printing, failing and so on, until he was happy with the result.

He ended up using a 180 degree angle servo motor controlled by a 3-position button. So, he has 3 angles available and gripping force anywhere between these 3 angles.
The driving gear is actuated by friction with the motor shaft. For a certain force, the gear will slip and that acts like a torque limiter. The bottom cap acts also as a Reset mechanism for the arms position, so that slippage is not only fine, but desired.

Long story short - SOLIDWORKS for Makers is a great gateway to sparking the interest in mechanical design for young minds. I am sooo happy to see him doing this.
@MP