Can You Solve It? That Overlooked Dutch Invention Which Shaped the Contemporary Globe
There are numerous contenders for the designation as “world’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
As per a recent publication, however, that honor belongs to the automated timber mill invented through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before automated cutting, building a simple merchant vessel necessitated around ten sawyers working over 90 days,” writes the author. “Using wind-driven lumber mills, an identical amount of processed timber might be manufactured in less than seven days.”
Owing to their speedy mechanical saw, that converted logs to boards using almost no manual labor, the Dutch were able to construct vessels faster compared to any other nation, an advantage that unleashed a century of Netherlands maritime, financial as well as artistic dominance in Europe and the world.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues Dávila, represented “humanity’s initial true industrial machine.” A wind turbine turned a gear. A single part converted the rotary movement to up-and-down action to power the saw. Another component changed the spinning motion into a lateral motion advancing the log to the cutter. A geared mechanism moved the wood ahead one precise increment per stroke.
“Each element was simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance was to integrate these parts so the machine acted within a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing on every descending stroke and moving with each return stroke. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of fundamental components.”
Which brings us to today’s challenge. The task is for you to reimagine one of the fundamental concepts underpinning this historic machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism which converts rotary motion to up-and-down action. Your available these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which one of the bars will fit snugly. (Consider that it is possible to put things on a stand, so that the parts do not collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK time with the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please suggest (non obvious) contenders for the world’s greatest creation.
