Are You Able to Crack It? That Overlooked Dutch Invention Which Forged our Modern World
One can find numerous candidates to claim the title of “world’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
According to a new book, however, that title should go to the mechanised sawmill conceived by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a modest merchant vessel necessitated around ten sawyers working for three months,” writes the author. “Using wind-powered sawmills, an identical quantity of processed timber could be produced within seven days.”
Owing to their rapid automated cutter, which turned timber into boards using virtually no manual labor, Dutch builders were able to build ships faster than any other nation, which sparked a century of Netherlands maritime, financial as well as cultural dominance across Europe and the world.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues the writer, was “mankind’s first authentic industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a wheel. One component transformed its circular movement to up-and-down action to power the saw. Another component transformed that same spinning movement into a sideway’s motion advancing the log to the blade. A ratchet system moved the log ahead a measured step per cycle.
“Every component seemed simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius lay in how to combine them so they acted within a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing on every downward motion while moving with each upward motion. It was a remarkably intelligent application of basic components.”
A fact that brings us to the current challenge. I’d like you to reimagine a key the fundamental ideas underpinning this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism that turns circular motion to up-and-down motion. You have these items exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or housing through which a single the rods will fit snugly. (Assume you can mount components on a stand, so the components don’t fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK time with the solution.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, please suggest (non obvious) contenders for the world’s most impactful creation.
