Can You Crack This? The Forgotten Dutch Creation That Shaped our Contemporary Globe
There are numerous contenders for the designation as “world’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 by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Prior to automated sawing, building a simple trading ship required around 10 sawyers laboring for three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-driven sawmills, an identical amount of processed timber might be produced within a week.”
Thanks to this speedy mechanical cutter, that turned logs into boards with almost no human effort, the Dutch were able to construct ships faster than any other nation, which sparked a century of Netherlands maritime, financial and artistic dominance in Europe and the world.
The First True Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends Dávila, represented “mankind’s initial authentic industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. A single part transformed its rotary motion to vertical motion for the cutting blade. Another component changed that same spinning movement into a lateral motion advancing the timber to the blade. A ratchet system moved the log ahead one precise increment each cycle.
“Every component was modest on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance lay in how to combine them in order that the machine acted within a precisely synchronized order, cutting on every downward motion and moving on every upward stroke. It was a remarkably intelligent use of fundamental components.”
A fact that brings us to the current challenge. The task is for you to reinvent one of the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine which converts circular motion into up-and-down motion. Your available these items only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a tube or sleeve into which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a stand, so that the components do not fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK time featuring the answer.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please propose (less celebrated) candidates for the planet’s most impactful creation.
