Can You Solve It? That Overlooked Netherlands Invention Which Forged our Contemporary Globe
There are numerous contenders to claim the title of “planet’s most significant innovation.” The wheel. The printing press. The combustion motor.
As per a new book, however, that title should go to a mechanised sawmill invented through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Before automated sawing, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated approximately ten lumberjacks working over 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered sawmills, an identical quantity of processed timber might be manufactured within seven days.”
Thanks to this speedy automated saw, which turned timber into planks using virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to build vessels more quickly compared to any other nation, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Dutch naval, economic as well as cultural supremacy across the continent and the world.
The First True Industrial Machine
The inventor's lumber mill, contends Dávila, represented “humanity’s initial true industrial machine.” A windmill turned a gear. One component transformed its rotary motion into vertical motion for the cutting blade. Another component changed the spinning movement into a sideway’s motion feeding the log toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the wood ahead one precise increment per cycle.
“Every component seemed modest by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to integrate these parts in order that the machine acted within a perfectly controlled order, cutting with each downward stroke while moving with each upward motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent use of fundamental parts.”
A fact that brings us to the current challenge. The task is you to reinvent one of the fundamental ideas underpinning this historic invention.
Round and Up
Design a machine that turns rotary movement into up-and-down motion. Your available these components exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a stand, so that the parts don’t collapse.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK time with the answer.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, please propose (less celebrated) contenders for the planet’s greatest creation.