Are You Able to Crack It? The Overlooked Netherlands Invention Which Shaped the Modern World
There are numerous candidates for the designation as “planet’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
According to a new book, however, that title should go to a automated timber mill invented through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before automated cutting, constructing a modest merchant vessel necessitated approximately 10 sawyers working for 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-driven sawmills, an identical amount of cut lumber could be manufactured within a week.”
Thanks to this rapid mechanical cutter, which turned logs to planks with virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to build vessels faster compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked one hundred years of Dutch maritime, financial as well as cultural dominance across the continent and the world.
The Original True Industrial Device
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends the writer, represented “humanity’s first true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a wheel. A single part transformed its rotary movement into up-and-down motion to power the saw. Another component transformed the spinning movement into a lateral movement feeding the timber toward the cutter. A geared mechanism shifted the log forward a measured step per stroke.
“Every component seemed simple by itself. The Dutchman’s genius was to combine them in order that they acted within a precisely synchronized order, cutting with each downward motion and moving with each upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever use of basic components.”
Which leads us up to the current puzzle. I’d like you to reinvent a key the basic ideas behind Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism which converts rotary movement to up-and-down action. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or housing through which a single the bars will fit snugly. (Assume you can mount components on a base, so that the parts do not fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK featuring the solution.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, feel free to propose (non obvious) candidates as the world’s most impactful creation.
