Can You Solve This? The Forgotten Netherlands Creation That Shaped our Modern World
One can find numerous contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
As per a new book, though, that title should go to a mechanised timber mill invented through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a modest trading ship required approximately ten sawyers laboring for three months,” writes the author. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, an identical amount of processed timber could be produced in less than seven days.”
Thanks to their speedy mechanical saw, which turned logs into boards with almost no human effort, the Dutch were able to build vessels faster compared to any other nation, which sparked a century of Dutch maritime, economic as well as cultural dominance in Europe and the globe.
The Original True Industrial Machine
The inventor's sawmill, contends Dávila, represented “mankind’s first authentic factory apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component converted the rotary motion into up-and-down action to power the cutting blade. A separate mechanism transformed that same spinning movement into a lateral motion advancing the timber toward the cutter. A geared mechanism shifted the log forward a measured step per cycle.
“Every component seemed modest on its own. The Dutchman’s genius was to combine them in order that the machine acted within a perfectly controlled order, sawing with each descending motion and advancing with each upward motion. This constituted a remarkably clever use of basic parts.”
Which leads us to the current puzzle. The task is for you to reinvent one of the fundamental concepts underpinning this historic machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism that turns rotary motion to vertical action. You have these items exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which one of the rods will fit snugly. (Consider that you can put things on a base, so the components do not collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please suggest (non obvious) contenders for the planet’s greatest invention.
