Can You Crack It? The Forgotten Netherlands Creation That Forged the Modern Globe
One can find numerous contenders to claim the title of “planet’s greatest innovation.” The wheel. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a new book, though, that title belongs to the mechanised timber mill conceived through Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Prior to automated sawing, building a simple trading ship necessitated around ten sawyers working over 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered sawmills, the same quantity of processed timber could be produced within a week.”
Owing to this speedy automated saw, that turned logs into boards with almost no manual labor, Dutch builders were able to build ships more quickly compared to any other nation, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Netherlands maritime, financial and cultural supremacy in Europe and the globe.
The Original True Manufacturing Machine
The inventor's sawmill, argues Dávila, represented “mankind’s initial true factory machine.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component transformed the circular motion into up-and-down motion for the saw. Another component changed that same spinning movement into a lateral movement advancing the timber to the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead one precise increment per cycle.
“Each element was modest on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius was to combine them in order that they acted in a precisely synchronized order, sawing with each descending stroke while advancing with each upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever use of basic components.”
Which leads us up to the current puzzle. I’d like for you to reinvent a key the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism that turns circular motion into vertical action. Your available these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve into which one of the bars can slide snugly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the components do not fall down.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK time with the answer.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, feel free to suggest (less celebrated) candidates for the world’s most impactful creation.
