Can You Solve This? The Overlooked Netherlands Creation Which Forged our Modern Globe
One can find many candidates for the title of “world’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
According to a new book, however, that title belongs to a automated timber mill invented by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a simple trading ship necessitated around 10 sawyers laboring over 90 days,” notes the author. “With wind-powered lumber mills, an identical amount of cut lumber could be manufactured in less than seven days.”
Thanks to this rapid automated saw, that turned logs into boards using almost no human effort, the Dutch could build vessels faster compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked one hundred years of Netherlands naval, financial and artistic dominance in Europe and the globe.
The First Genuine Manufacturing Machine
The inventor's sawmill, argues Dávila, was “mankind’s initial authentic factory apparatus.” A windmill turned a wheel. One component converted its rotary movement to vertical action for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed the rotary movement into a sideway’s movement advancing the timber toward the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the log ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Every component seemed simple by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate them so the machine operated in a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing with each downward stroke and moving on every return motion. This constituted a remarkably clever use of fundamental parts.”
Which leads us to today’s challenge. The task is for you to reinvent a key the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism that turns rotary movement to vertical action. You have these components only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a cylinder or sleeve into which a single the rods can slide snugly. (Consider that you can mount components on a base, so that the parts don’t fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, feel free to propose (non obvious) candidates as the world’s most impactful invention.
