Can You Crack It? That Overlooked Dutch Invention That Forged the Contemporary Globe
There are many contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s greatest innovation.” The wheel. The movable type. The combustion motor.
As per a recent publication, however, that honor should go to the mechanised timber mill conceived by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before automated cutting, building a modest trading ship necessitated around 10 lumberjacks laboring over three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, an identical quantity of processed timber might be manufactured within seven days.”
Thanks to their speedy automated saw, that converted timber into boards using almost no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch maritime, economic as well as artistic dominance in the continent and the globe.
The First True Industrial Device
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues Dávila, was “mankind’s initial authentic factory apparatus.” A windmill turned a wheel. A single part transformed the rotary motion to up-and-down action to power the saw. A separate mechanism changed the rotary motion into a sideway’s movement advancing the log toward the cutter. A ratchet system shifted the log ahead a measured step per cycle.
“Each element seemed modest on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance was to integrate them in order that the machine operated in a perfectly controlled order, sawing on every downward motion while moving on every upward motion. This constituted a remarkably clever application of fundamental parts.”
Which leads us up to the current puzzle. The task is for you to reimagine a key the basic concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism that turns circular motion into vertical motion. You have these items exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, which is a tube or sleeve through which one of the rods will fit perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a base, so the components do not collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please suggest (non obvious) contenders for the planet’s most impactful creation.