Can You Solve This? That Forgotten Dutch Invention Which Shaped the Contemporary World
There are numerous candidates for the title of “planet’s greatest innovation.” The wheel. The printing press. The steam engine.
According to a recent publication, though, that honor belongs to the automated timber mill invented by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Prior to mechanised sawing, building a simple trading ship required around ten sawyers working for three months,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered lumber mills, the same quantity of processed timber might be manufactured within a week.”
Thanks to this speedy automated saw, that turned logs into planks using virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct vessels more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Netherlands naval, financial as well as artistic dominance in Europe and the world.
The First True Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues the writer, was “mankind’s initial true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. A single part converted its circular motion into vertical motion to power the saw. A separate mechanism changed the spinning motion into a lateral movement feeding the log toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log forward a measured step per cycle.
“Every component was modest on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate them in order that the machine acted in a precisely synchronized order, sawing on every downward motion while moving with each upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever application of basic components.”
A fact that leads us to today’s puzzle. I’d like you to reimagine a key the fundamental ideas underpinning this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism that turns circular movement into vertical action. Your available these components only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a tube or housing through which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a base, so the components do not fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to propose (non obvious) contenders as the planet’s most impactful creation.
