Can You Crack This? The Overlooked Netherlands Creation That Shaped the Modern World
There are many contenders for the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
As per a recent publication, however, that honor should go to the automated sawmill invented through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before automated sawing, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated approximately 10 lumberjacks laboring for 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-driven lumber mills, an identical amount of processed timber could be manufactured within a week.”
Thanks to their rapid automated cutter, which turned logs into boards using almost no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that unleashed a century of Dutch maritime, economic as well as cultural supremacy in Europe and the world.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “humanity’s initial authentic factory apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a wheel. One component transformed the circular movement into up-and-down action to power the saw. A separate mechanism changed that same spinning motion into a lateral movement feeding the log toward the cutter. A ratchet system shifted the wood ahead one precise increment each stroke.
“Each element seemed modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius lay in how to integrate them so they acted in a perfectly controlled order, sawing on every downward motion and moving on every upward motion. It was an astonishingly intelligent use of fundamental parts.”
A fact that leads us up to the current challenge. I’d like you to reinvent one of the basic concepts underpinning this historic machine.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism that turns rotary movement to up-and-down action. Your available these components exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or housing through which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the components don’t fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, feel free to propose (non obvious) candidates as the planet’s greatest invention.
