Are You Able to Solve It? The Forgotten Netherlands Invention That Shaped our Modern Globe
One can find numerous contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s most significant innovation.” The wheel. The printing press. The combustion motor.
According to a new book, however, that honor should go to a automated timber mill invented through Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Before automated sawing, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated approximately 10 lumberjacks working over three months,” writes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-driven lumber mills, the same quantity of processed timber might be produced in less than seven days.”
Owing to this rapid mechanical saw, that converted logs to planks with virtually no human effort, the Dutch could construct ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch naval, economic as well as cultural supremacy across the continent and the world.
The Original True Industrial Device
The inventor's sawmill, argues the writer, was “humanity’s first true factory machine.” A windmill rotated a wheel. One component transformed the circular movement into up-and-down motion to power the cutting blade. A separate mechanism changed that same spinning motion into a lateral movement advancing the log to the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the log ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Every component was simple by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to integrate these parts so they operated in a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing on every downward motion and advancing with each return stroke. It was a remarkably intelligent application of fundamental components.”
Which brings us up to the current challenge. The task is you to reimagine one of the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine which converts rotary motion to vertical action. You have these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or housing through which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Consider that you can put things on a base, so the components do not collapse.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK time featuring the answer.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to propose (non obvious) contenders for the world’s most impactful creation.
