Are You Able to Solve It? The Forgotten Dutch Invention That Shaped our Modern Globe
There are many contenders for the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.
According to a new book, however, that title belongs to a automated timber mill conceived by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Prior to automated cutting, building a modest merchant vessel necessitated around 10 sawyers working for 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-driven lumber mills, the same quantity of cut lumber could be produced in less than a week.”
Thanks to their speedy automated cutter, that converted timber to planks with almost no manual labor, Dutch builders were able to build vessels more quickly compared to any other nation, an advantage that unleashed a century of Netherlands naval, financial and artistic dominance across Europe and the world.
The Original True Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends the writer, was “mankind’s initial authentic factory machine.” A windmill rotated a wheel. One component converted its rotary movement into vertical action for the saw. Another component changed the rotary motion into a sideway’s motion feeding the timber toward the cutter. A ratchet system shifted the log forward a measured step per stroke.
“Each element seemed simple on its own. The Dutchman’s genius lay in how to integrate them so the machine acted within a perfectly controlled order, sawing with each descending motion while advancing on every upward motion. It was an astonishingly clever use of basic components.”
Which leads us to the current puzzle. The task is you to reimagine a key the fundamental ideas underpinning this historic machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine which converts rotary motion into vertical action. You have these items exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which one of the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a stand, so that the components don’t collapse.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please suggest (less celebrated) contenders for the world’s most impactful invention.
