Are You Able to Solve This? That Forgotten Dutch Invention That Forged the Modern Globe
There are many contenders to claim the title of “world’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
According to a recent publication, though, that honor belongs to a mechanised sawmill invented through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before automated cutting, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated around ten sawyers laboring over 90 days,” notes the author. “With wind-powered sawmills, the same amount of processed timber might be produced in less than a week.”
Thanks to this speedy automated saw, which turned logs to boards with almost no human effort, Dutch builders could construct ships faster compared to anyone else, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Dutch naval, financial as well as cultural supremacy across the continent and the globe.
The First True Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, contends the writer, represented “humanity’s first true industrial machine.” A windmill rotated a gear. A single part converted the rotary motion into up-and-down motion for the cutting blade. Another component transformed the spinning motion into a sideway’s movement feeding the log to the cutter. A ratchet system moved the wood forward one precise increment per stroke.
“Every component seemed modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate them so they acted within a precisely synchronized sequence, cutting on every descending stroke and advancing on every upward motion. It was a remarkably intelligent application of fundamental components.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. I’d like you to reinvent one of the fundamental concepts underpinning this historic machine.
Round and Up
Design a machine that turns rotary motion into up-and-down action. Your available these items exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two rods. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which one of the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a stand, so the components do not collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, feel free to suggest (non obvious) contenders for the world’s greatest invention.
