Are You Able to Crack It? That Forgotten Netherlands Invention Which Shaped the Modern Globe
One can find many candidates for the designation as “world’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
As per a recent publication, however, that title belongs to the mechanised sawmill conceived through Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Before automated sawing, building a simple trading ship necessitated approximately 10 sawyers working for three months,” writes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered sawmills, an identical amount of processed timber could be manufactured within seven days.”
Owing to this speedy mechanical saw, which converted timber into planks with almost no human effort, Dutch builders could construct vessels faster than any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch maritime, economic and artistic dominance in the continent and the globe.
The Original True Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues Dávila, was “humanity’s initial authentic factory apparatus.” A windmill turned a gear. One component converted the rotary movement into up-and-down motion for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed that same rotary movement into a sideway’s movement advancing the log to the cutter. A geared mechanism shifted the wood ahead a measured step per cycle.
“Every component seemed modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius was to combine them so the machine operated within a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing with each downward stroke while advancing with each return motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent use of basic parts.”
Which brings us to today’s puzzle. The task is you to reimagine a key the fundamental concepts underpinning this historic machine.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine which converts circular motion to up-and-down action. You have these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a tube or sleeve through which one of the bars will fit snugly. (Consider that you can mount components on a stand, so that the parts don’t collapse.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, feel free to suggest (less celebrated) contenders as the world’s most impactful invention.