Can You Solve It? The Forgotten Netherlands Invention That Forged our Modern World
There are many candidates for the title of “world’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
According to a recent publication, though, that honor should go to a mechanised sawmill conceived by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before mechanised sawing, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated approximately ten sawyers working over 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, the same quantity of processed timber could be produced within seven days.”
Thanks to their rapid automated cutter, that turned logs into planks with virtually no human effort, the Dutch were able to construct vessels faster compared to any other nation, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Dutch maritime, economic as well as artistic dominance across Europe and the globe.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues Dávila, was “humanity’s initial true industrial machine.” A windmill turned a gear. One component converted the rotary movement to up-and-down action for the cutting blade. Another component transformed the rotary motion into a lateral motion advancing the timber toward the blade. A ratchet system moved the wood forward a measured step each cycle.
“Each element was modest by itself. The Dutchman’s genius lay in how to integrate these parts in order that the machine operated within a perfectly controlled order, cutting with each descending motion and moving with each return stroke. This constituted an astonishingly clever application of basic parts.”
Which leads us up to the current challenge. I’d like for you to reinvent a key the basic concepts underpinning this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a mechanism that turns rotary movement to vertical action. You have these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or sleeve through which a single the bars can slide perfectly. (Assume it is possible to put things on a stand, so the parts do not collapse.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) contenders as the world’s greatest invention.
