Can You Solve It? The Overlooked Netherlands Invention That Shaped our Modern Globe
There are numerous contenders for the designation as “world’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
According to a recent publication, though, that honor should go to a mechanised sawmill conceived by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to automated sawing, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated around ten sawyers working for 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-driven sawmills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be produced within seven days.”
Thanks to their speedy mechanical cutter, which turned timber to boards using virtually no manual labor, the Dutch were able to build vessels faster compared to anyone else, which sparked one hundred years of Dutch maritime, economic as well as cultural supremacy across the continent and the world.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues the writer, represented “humanity’s initial true factory machine.” A windmill rotated a gear. A single part converted its circular motion to vertical motion for the saw. Another component changed the rotary motion into a lateral motion advancing the timber to the blade. A ratchet system moved the log ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Every component seemed modest on its own. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to combine them so the machine operated in a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing on every downward stroke while advancing on every upward motion. This constituted an astonishingly clever use of fundamental parts.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. I’d like for you to reimagine a key the fundamental concepts behind this historic invention.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism which converts circular motion to vertical motion. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or housing through which one of the rods will fit perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to put things on a stand, so the components don’t fall down.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK time featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to propose (less celebrated) candidates for the planet’s most impactful invention.
