HI.
About to start a project to build a feeding robot arm for my paraplegic son,
Engineering background but new to robotics 
Hi @iainsherriff and welcome to our forum!
We are glad to hear about your project and your interest in robotics
Good luck with your project
@iainsherriff Welcome to the RobotShop Community. Best of success!
https://www.robotshop.com/collections/robotic-arms
In case it helps, we’ve seen it done before with:
https://www.robotshop.com/products/lynxmotion-al5d-4-degrees-of-freedom-robotic-arm-combo-kit-no-software
The more recent model:
https://www.robotshop.com/products/lynxmotion-lss-4-dof-robotic-arm-kit