My engineering hobby - December 2016

Mechanical theatre comes to life

In his spare time, retired mechanical engineer John Parnum designs and makes automata, which he also describes as mechanised dioramas.

Parnum’s creations are made using Arduino microcontroller boards, Picaxe chips, servo boards, DC motors, timers and relays, Raspberry Pi computers, MP3 players, and handmade marionettes.

“It is a combination of engineering and art,” he says. “I like to make them from wood and metal, with electronics controlling the mechanisms. I also like to incorporate sound by automating MP3 players. You have the satisfaction of seeing your ideas realised as a working machine. It’s all about problem solving and learning new skills.”

Parnum’s interest in automata began in the 1980s when he visited the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, which used to be in Covent Garden, London, and bought his first cardboard automata there.

His automata are primarily aimed at children, and sometimes he uses them for fundraising at schools and around his village. Two recent projects were a rock band and fighting dinosaurs, which play music and sounds from MP3 players.

“Automata are meant to be fun! Seeing the enjoyment children get when they operate my machines is the best thing about my hobby,” he says.

Do you have an interesting hobby? Email liz.wells@caspianmedia.com