yes, definitely. But maybe try it with the demo first before you purchase. But it is extremely intuitive (despite a few small quirks). An hour's worth of tuts and maybe 20 minutes of setup and this would be done. Not to mention a tax write off. And a crazy fun sandbox toy...
As for the robot - even that could be completely managed by newton physics - as newton 2.0 has a pretty rad magnetics engine, and very robust constraint, pulley and joints systems. They also have excellent support and tutorials. And I'm always happy to answer questions.Â
-TG