John Parnum
Job role:Retired Engineer and Inventor
Skills:Engineering, electronics, robotics, prototyping
I am a retired Mechanical Engineer with a big interest in electronics controlling mechanical things. I create my machines using wood, aluminium, plastic, DC motors, batteries, servos, sensors & Arduinos. They are designed to be not too big so I can take them into schools as a STEM Ambassador to engage & enthuse children. My Lego Sorting Machine, Wheelie Bin Waste Robot, Local Delivery Robot, and Dinosaurs Automata have all proved popular with years 4, 5 and 6. I believe passionately in increasing STEM awareness in primary schools.
Recent blog entries
I have made all the building blocks to realise Cole’s idea of generating electricity from a Trampoline.
I am using the same idea as the kinetic tile using a string (orange) attached to the centre of the bounce platform. A pulley and gears turns an electrical generator. As the voltage will vary from 0 to 10v I am using two DC to DC convertors to stabilise this at 4.2v so as to be able to charge the batteries. The generator unit will be mounted underneath the trampoline. A magnetic switch will count the number of jumps.
The system will use two battery packs each using two 18650 li-ion batteries. While one pack is being charged the other will power the display. Each battery (4.0v) needs to be charged separately while the display will run on two batteries in series (8v). The batteries and display will be housed in the custom wooden box which will be mounted on the handle of the trampoline.
I added to the turbo wheel and put Joey's original drawing on the tank.
The generator/gearbox have been improved to increase volts. It can be demonstrated without water by just spinning the wheel clockwise. Water demos are messy even with the large plastic box to catch the water. You will also be constantly filling up the tank and emptying the catch box!
I have enjoyed making the Toilet Turbine and it is not far from being finished. Here is a video of the prototype in use at this stage. Version 2 is the final version.
