Can You Crack This? The Forgotten Dutch Invention That Shaped the Modern World
There are many contenders for the designation as “planet’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
As per a new book, though, that honor should go to a mechanised timber mill invented through Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Prior to mechanised cutting, building a modest trading ship necessitated around ten lumberjacks working over three months,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered sawmills, an identical quantity of cut lumber might be manufactured in less than seven days.”
Owing to this speedy automated saw, that turned logs to boards with virtually no human effort, the Dutch could build ships faster compared to any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch maritime, financial and cultural supremacy across the continent and the world.
The Original True Manufacturing Device
The inventor's lumber mill, argues the writer, was “humanity’s first authentic factory machine.” A wind turbine turned a wheel. One component converted the rotary movement into up-and-down motion to power the cutting blade. Another component changed the rotary movement into a sideway’s motion feeding the timber toward the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the wood ahead one precise increment per cycle.
“Every component seemed modest on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance lay in how to combine these parts so they acted in a precisely synchronized order, sawing with each descending stroke while moving with each upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever application of fundamental components.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. I’d like you to reimagine one of the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s machine.
Round and Up
Design a machine that turns circular movement to vertical motion. Your available these components only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which a single the bars can slide perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the parts do not collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) candidates as the planet’s most impactful creation.
